The Impact Of HIV Integration Sites On Eliminating HIV Latency
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$778,313.00
Summary
Current antiviral therapy for HIV controls virus production and allows recovery but does not eliminate the silent infection that prevents complete virus elimination and cure. We will examine two ways that HIV can silently infect T cells for differences in the sites at which the HIV DNA inserts into the genome. We will examine the way in which these differences at the genomic level may limit the ability to activate and eliminate persistent infection in memory T cells.
Dengue Host-cell Signalling Interactions: Novel Insights And Interventions
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$124,676.00
Summary
Dengue is a virus transmitted by mosquitoes that occurs in many tropical and subtropical regions. Approximately 40% of the world's population is at risk of this infection. Sometimes it can be mild but it can lead to severe illness and death especially with second infections. The body produces a response that over-reacts to the virus in these severe infections. The project aims to understand why the body does this and what parts of the immune system are affected using a model in mice.
The Role Of Dendritic Cells In Sexual Transmission Of HIV And Viral Reservoir Formation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$654,296.00
Summary
This grant aims to determine the subsets of dendritic cells found in the different tissue of the anogenital tracts and to determine which ones play the key roles in HIV transmission. The relative ability of these cells to transfer the virus to activated T cells leading to productive infection and resting memory T cells leading to latent infection will be investigated. Finally the key receptors which mediate this process will be determined and strategies to block this transfer developed.
Elucidating The Pathogenic Role Of Rotavirus Infection In Type 1 Diabetes Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$535,579.00
Summary
Rotavirus infection is the main cause of severe diarrhoea in children, and has been implicated in accelerated progression of genetically at-risk children towards type 1 diabetes in two independent studies. My group has further discovered that rotavirus also accelerates diabetes onset in mice in a novel immunological process. In this project, we will determine the mechanism behind this disease exacerbation in the mice, to facilitate understanding of the process in children.
Elucidating The Mechanisms And Consequences Of Clinical HIV-1 Resistance To The CCR5 Antagonist Maraviroc
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$622,732.00
Summary
CCR5 antagonists are a new class of anti-HIV drug, and maraviroc (MVC) is the only CCR5 antagonists that is licensed for use as a HIV treatment. Like all HIV treatments, drug resistance to MVC can develop in patients. This study will determine the mechanism of how HIV becomes resistant to MVC, which will permit the development of improved, second generation CCR5 antagonists, and will reveal ways to determine which patients are more likely to develop MVC resistance.
Prophylactic Vaccine To Prevent Cytomegalovirus Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$436,360.00
Summary
This project is aiming to develop a prophylactic vaccine against a common herpesvirus which has been linked to the birth defects in new born babies and significant morbidity and mortality in transplant patients. In this project we are testing a novel nanoparticle-based vaccine formulation which stimulates the immune system with single injection and the immunity induced is sustained for long-term.
Elucidating Unique Molecular Mechanisms Involved In HIV-1 Subtype C Pathogenicity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$710,989.00
Summary
Most people infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have subtype C virus (C-HIV) and live in Southern Africa and Central Asia. These regions are where the HIV pandemic is at its worst. However, we know very little about C-HIV. We have evidence that C-HIV evolves differently compared to other HIV-1 subtypes, which impacts the way it leads to AIDS. This project aims to characterise these unique molecular mechanisms, which may lead to vaccines and drugs that are optimised for C-HIV.
The Role Of Chemokines In Establishing HIV Latency
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,049.00
Summary
Although antiviral therapy is effective in controlling HIV, therapy must be continued life-long because the virus cannot be cleared from long lived infected CD4+ T cells that are silently or latently infected. In this proposal we will explore the mechanism of how HIV can enter these resting CD4+ T-cells and establish long lived latent infection. Understanding this process may potentially lead to new strategies to cure HIV infection.
The Role Of Rip3 And Caspase 8 In Necroptosis And Apoptosis During Viral Infection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$459,499.00
Summary
Programmed cell death can be beneficial or detrimental depending on circumstances. This delicate balance is most obvious during an infection. The host tries to limit the spread of a pathogen by initiating programmed death in infected cells but excessive death particularly in uninfected cells is catastrophic. It is essential to have a thorough understanding of the interplay between cell death mechanisms so we can overt pathological outcomes and this is the focus of our research.