Betacellulin: Defining A Novel Sub-type In Schizophrenia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$907,515.00
Summary
Schizophrenia is a severe lifelong mental disorder affecting 0.7% of the world population with only partially effective symptomatic treatments. Its cause is unknown and thus cures cannot be developed currently. A promising candidate is betacellulin a growth factor which is very reduced in the brain and blood of people with schizophrenia. Little is known about its role in the brain and this project seeks to identify its relevance to schizophrenia as a step to develop new treatments.
Identifying How The Enteric Nervous System Regulates Gut Permeability In Autism
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$448,643.00
Summary
This project aims to investigate causes of increased gut permeability in neurological disorders including autism and will apply neuroscience, immunological and microbiology techniques to clarify the causes of increased gut permeability in a well-characterised genetic mouse model of autism.
Harnessing The Dual Roles Of Pericytes To Improve Stroke Outcomes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$853,943.00
Summary
Pericytes are cells that are in the walls of capillaries - the smallest blood vessels. Pericytes control blood flow and help promote recovery after injury. In stroke, pericytes squeeze the capillary shut, limiting the amount of energy getting to the brain. This proposal will use innovative techniques to understand how pericytes limit blood flow and also how we can utilise pericytes to improve brain recovery after stroke. This will allow us to identify new potential treatment options for stroke.
Development Of An Intracellular Tau-specific Antibody Therapeutic For The Treatment Of Alzheimer's Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$410,378.00
Summary
The protein, tau, is a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and related dementia's. Targeting tau is a challenge, however, as it is mostly localised within brain cells and a therapeutic must therefore be able to cross multiple barriers to engage and neutralise tau. This project overcomes this hurdle by using virus' to deliver a tau-specific antibody gene across the multiple barriers where it can be produced by brain cells and target intracellular tau.
Vascular Changes Are A Key Contributor To And Novel Drug Target For Interferon-alpha Induced Neurological Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,245,401.00
Summary
Type I interferons (IFN-Is) contribute to wide range of neurological diseases including ageing and neurodegeneration. At its extreme IFN-I-mediated neurodegeneration is known as 'interferonopathy'. The mechanisms of how IFN-Is drive disease are unclear, making causal treatment difficult. We have recently uncovered ground-breaking evidence that abnormal blood vessels are a key contributor to the disease. Here, we will investigate novel treatment targets for patients with interferonopathies.