CENTRE OF RESEARCH EXCELLENCE TO REDUCE INEQUALITY IN HEART DISEASE
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,607,253.00
Summary
There is increasing recognition of a societal responsibility to provide effective and sustainable health care to the entire population and not just to selected parts. Indigenous and regional Australians are most affected by Australia's biggest killer - heart disease. In response, the CRE to Reduce Inequality in Heart Disease, is a national collaboration of researchers from a range of health disciplines. Together they aim to address this problem by developing sustainable and cost-effective health ....There is increasing recognition of a societal responsibility to provide effective and sustainable health care to the entire population and not just to selected parts. Indigenous and regional Australians are most affected by Australia's biggest killer - heart disease. In response, the CRE to Reduce Inequality in Heart Disease, is a national collaboration of researchers from a range of health disciplines. Together they aim to address this problem by developing sustainable and cost-effective health care services.Read moreRead less
The END RHD CRE: Developing An Endgame For Rheumatic Heart Disease In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,601,147.00
Summary
Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is caused by an abnormal immune reaction to some bacterial infections. Although RHD is rare in developed countries, Indigenous Australians still live with the burden of RHD. The END RHD CRE will explore risk factors for RHD, prevention with antibiotics, management of RHD and the potential for vaccine development. Individuals and communities experiencing RHD are integral partners to this work. The CRE will establish a strategy for ending RHD in Australia.
Improving Delivery Of Secondary Prophylaxis For Rheumatic Heart Disease: A Stepped-wedge, Community-randomised Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,913,074.00
Summary
Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a major health problem in Indigenous communities. Continued progress in controlling RHD requires an understanding of how to improve delivery of regular injections of penicillin - secondary prophylaxis (SP). We will evaluate a systems-based approach to improving delivery of SP, using a stepped-wedge trial in 12 communities in NT and Qld. If successful, this model will provide a practical and transferable model.
GABA(B) Receptor Modulation Of Gastrointestinal Function In Health And Disease By Alpha-Conotoxins
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$689,050.00
Summary
Chronic visceral pain is a common and debilitating condition arising from numerous diseases that affect our internal organs. There is a desperate need for more information about the mechanisms responsible for signalling chronic visceral pain to provide therapies and potentially find a cure for it. Our research focuses on ?-conotoxins (small peptides from marine cone snail venom) as novel potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of chronic visceral pain.
Imaging The Hepatitis C Virus Life Cycle In Real-time
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$477,504.00
Summary
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a serious viral pathogen that causes significant liver disease. This proposal plans to examine how two proteins from the HCV, core and NS5A, interact with host proteins and pathways to facilitate viral replication and release of HCV; two processes that are poorly understood. Specifically we will tag viral proteins to allow us to investigate the HCV life cycle in living cells and determine the role of core and NS5A in facilitating HCV replication. This proposal may unco ....Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a serious viral pathogen that causes significant liver disease. This proposal plans to examine how two proteins from the HCV, core and NS5A, interact with host proteins and pathways to facilitate viral replication and release of HCV; two processes that are poorly understood. Specifically we will tag viral proteins to allow us to investigate the HCV life cycle in living cells and determine the role of core and NS5A in facilitating HCV replication. This proposal may uncover novel therapeutic strategies to combat HCV.Read moreRead less
Reducing health disparities for culturally and linguistically diverse peoples. This project aims to develop a greater understanding of migrants and the factors that predict poor health outcomes related to blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections. The delayed access by migrants to healthcare from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds results in late diagnosis, low treatment uptake, and poorer health outcomes, with enhanced risk of infection and increased burden on the h ....Reducing health disparities for culturally and linguistically diverse peoples. This project aims to develop a greater understanding of migrants and the factors that predict poor health outcomes related to blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections. The delayed access by migrants to healthcare from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds results in late diagnosis, low treatment uptake, and poorer health outcomes, with enhanced risk of infection and increased burden on the health system. The data collected in this project will assist in developing health services to meet these needs.Read moreRead less
Modelling and control of mosquito-borne diseases in Darwin using long-term monitoring. Management of mosquito populations is a high public health priority because these insects can spread diseases such as malaria, dengue, Ross River virus, Barmah Forest virus, Murray Valley encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis and Kunjin/West Nile virus. Our research into the effectiveness of mosquito control programs in Darwin is of immediate national relevance and priority given the need to Safeguard Australia ....Modelling and control of mosquito-borne diseases in Darwin using long-term monitoring. Management of mosquito populations is a high public health priority because these insects can spread diseases such as malaria, dengue, Ross River virus, Barmah Forest virus, Murray Valley encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis and Kunjin/West Nile virus. Our research into the effectiveness of mosquito control programs in Darwin is of immediate national relevance and priority given the need to Safeguard Australia from invasive diseases. There is an urgency to undertake our research because global environmental change and increasing movements of people (particularly military personnel) from overseas regions where these diseases are endemic is increasing the vulnerability of northern Australia to the (re)establishment of mosquito borne diseases.Read moreRead less
Developing Zn-dense, high-yielding wheat by molecular marker technology. The objective of this project is to identify pathways leading to the accumulation of zinc — an important element for human nutrition — in wheat. The project aims to provide biochemical and molecular markers for breeding programs that will facilitate the selection of superior breeding lines for improved human nutrition and seed health. This project builds on studies using a wheat diversity panel with 90 000 gene-based single ....Developing Zn-dense, high-yielding wheat by molecular marker technology. The objective of this project is to identify pathways leading to the accumulation of zinc — an important element for human nutrition — in wheat. The project aims to provide biochemical and molecular markers for breeding programs that will facilitate the selection of superior breeding lines for improved human nutrition and seed health. This project builds on studies using a wheat diversity panel with 90 000 gene-based single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, where zinc–SNP associations were identified. The project also builds on recent studies that show particular metabolites and macronutrients around anthesis are linked to improved grain zinc concentration at maturity.Read moreRead less
Estimating genotype-environment interaction using genomic information. This project aims to develop statistical methods that can explore genotype–environment interaction at the genomic level using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms or sequence data. It plans to estimate how the effects of genetic variants change with changing environmental conditions and how overall genetic variance changes due to changing effects in specific gene regions. It plans to deliver statistical models and meth ....Estimating genotype-environment interaction using genomic information. This project aims to develop statistical methods that can explore genotype–environment interaction at the genomic level using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms or sequence data. It plans to estimate how the effects of genetic variants change with changing environmental conditions and how overall genetic variance changes due to changing effects in specific gene regions. It plans to deliver statistical models and methods and an efficient algorithm implemented in software, which would broadly benefit the field of complex trait genetics. Methods to estimate genotype–environment interaction effects at the genomic level would help elucidate complex biological systems, including human genetic response to changing environmental factors and the potential adaptation of animals to changing environmental conditions.Read moreRead less
Whole-genome multivariate reaction norm model for complex traits. This project aims to develop a multivariate whole-genome genotype-covariate correlation and interaction model that can be applied to a wide range of existing genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets. Genotype-covariate correlation and interaction (GCCI) are fundamental in biology but there is no standard approach to disentangle interaction from correlation in the whole-genome analyses. This project will address the key featur ....Whole-genome multivariate reaction norm model for complex traits. This project aims to develop a multivariate whole-genome genotype-covariate correlation and interaction model that can be applied to a wide range of existing genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets. Genotype-covariate correlation and interaction (GCCI) are fundamental in biology but there is no standard approach to disentangle interaction from correlation in the whole-genome analyses. This project will address the key feature in biology, which relates to dissecting the complex mechanism of association and interaction. The proposed statistical model implemented in a context of a novel design based on multiple GWAS data sets is a paradigm shifting-tool with applications to multiple industries.Read moreRead less