Our goal is to discover new mechanisms involved in our cells’ delicate balancing act with respect to cholesterol levels. Understanding how production of cholesterol is controlled in our cells is key to developing new drugs aimed at preventing its excessive accumulation. This will have long-term benefits for health considering that a cellular imbalance in cholesterol is involved in two of the most common conditions threatening the health of Australians, namely heart disease and Alzheimer’s diseas ....Our goal is to discover new mechanisms involved in our cells’ delicate balancing act with respect to cholesterol levels. Understanding how production of cholesterol is controlled in our cells is key to developing new drugs aimed at preventing its excessive accumulation. This will have long-term benefits for health considering that a cellular imbalance in cholesterol is involved in two of the most common conditions threatening the health of Australians, namely heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.Read moreRead less
My research projects in the fields of cancer biology, vascular biology and immunology assess molecular mechanisms of vascular remodelling and implications for disease.
Which Neurons Maintain Sympathetic Vasomotor Tone?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$567,918.00
Summary
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, a major burden of disease worldwide. High levels of nerve activity that cause the blood vessels to constrict elevating blood pressure are characteristic of hypertension. We do not know which brain cells set and maintain this nerve activity. We will identify these cells, determine how they function and what regulates them. Ultimately we could control these cells treating the cause of hypertension or when clinical need arises.
Peripheral Mechanisms Involved In Autonomic Hyperreflexia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$229,917.00
Summary
Bladder distension or minor unheeded injuries below the lesion in spinally injured people often lead to episodes of high blood pressure that may cause stroke or death. These events require emergency hospitalization and are expensive as well as dangerous. After spinal injury, the control of sympathetic nerves that supply arteries and regulate blood pressure is lost. However, the nerves below the injury remain in place and the spinal cord below the lesion contains connections that can activate the ....Bladder distension or minor unheeded injuries below the lesion in spinally injured people often lead to episodes of high blood pressure that may cause stroke or death. These events require emergency hospitalization and are expensive as well as dangerous. After spinal injury, the control of sympathetic nerves that supply arteries and regulate blood pressure is lost. However, the nerves below the injury remain in place and the spinal cord below the lesion contains connections that can activate them. Signals from the bladder or skin enter the remaining lower part of the spinal cord and activate the sympathetic supply generating a rise in blood pressure. This project will test the hypothesis that increased sensitivity of arteries to the chemicals released from the sympathetic nerves leads to excessive vessel constriction, contributing to the exaggerated increase in pressure. We will investigate arteries removed from rats with experimental spinal transection. We will test the contractions of the arteries (a) to sympathetic nerve stimulation and (b) to the chemicals noradrenaline, adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) and neuropeptide Y that are normally released during nerve activity. We will determine whether release of noradrenaline and ATP from nerves is normal or augmented using electrochemical and electrophysiological techniques. We will compare the responses with those in normal arteries, those in arteries whose nerves have been silenced by removing all connections from the spinal cord and those in arteries that have lost all their nerve supply. This will enable us to identify whether the mechanisms for release of transmitter substances are modified and whether the arterial muscle is hypersensitive to these substances. The results will help in the design of safer treatment for these potentially lethal emergencies in spinal patients.Read moreRead less
Characterisation Of MiRNAs That Regulate Vascular Leakage.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$167,493.00
Summary
Vascular permeability or leak is a major problem in diseases such as cancer and in cardiovascular diseases . MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small control genes that influence dveleopment and disease. We have identified a miRNA cluster in endothelial cells, the cells that line the blood vessels, that is important in the control of vascular leak. This project is focused on understanding the impact of these miRNAs in disease.
A Case Control Study Of Hypertension In The Setting Of Poverty, Overcrowding And Infection.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$603,331.00
Summary
It is unclear why chronic diseases are emerging in regions of significant disadvantage, i.e. where people are not overweight, are physically active and relatively young. We aim to identify factors responsible for the development of high blood pressure in a region where there is overcrowding, poverty, and infection. Low cost strategies to modify risk and educate the community can then be developed to prevent the emergence of these diseases.