Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. This project aims to develop a multicomponent vaccine system to deliver equal effectiveness against several disease targets in a single administration. New and innovative vaccine design strategies incorporating economical commercial production processes are urgently needed for new and existing human and animal health applications. A vaccine capab ....Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. This project aims to develop a multicomponent vaccine system to deliver equal effectiveness against several disease targets in a single administration. New and innovative vaccine design strategies incorporating economical commercial production processes are urgently needed for new and existing human and animal health applications. A vaccine capable of targeting multiple diseases by a single injection is an obvious way to expedite future vaccine development and deployment. However, the recipient’s immune system can repress equivalent responses to these multicomponent vaccines. This project’s research is expected to address these problems, and underpin the future commercial development of this vaccine platform.Read moreRead less
A Physicochemical Approach for Optimizing Drug Delivery from BioSilicon. By applying modern techniques and a multidisciplinary approach, this research will develop an understanding of drug loading of BioSiliconTM at a molecular level. This novel class of nano-structured biomaterial has exciting potential for developing a range of controllable drug delivery systems. Existing medical applications of BioSilicon deliver only small molecules for very specialised uses. Current research has not focused ....A Physicochemical Approach for Optimizing Drug Delivery from BioSilicon. By applying modern techniques and a multidisciplinary approach, this research will develop an understanding of drug loading of BioSiliconTM at a molecular level. This novel class of nano-structured biomaterial has exciting potential for developing a range of controllable drug delivery systems. Existing medical applications of BioSilicon deliver only small molecules for very specialised uses. Current research has not focused on understanding the pore structure and how it can be adapted for special applications. Our research will create new drug delivery systems with many innovative applications in medical, veterinary and bio-diagnostics fields. The medical and socio-economic impacts will be internationally significant.Read moreRead less
Nanotechnology-Enhanced Vaccines: New inulin bioconjugates to defeat global pandemic threats. Inulin-based adjuvants have the potential to revolutionise the vaccine arena; man's critical first line of defence against infectious disease. Any breakthrough in developing completely safe new adjuvants, will therefore be of major global significance, and will play a vital role in the maintenance of global health for decades. New and completely safe vaccine adjuvants are a vital step in the developmen ....Nanotechnology-Enhanced Vaccines: New inulin bioconjugates to defeat global pandemic threats. Inulin-based adjuvants have the potential to revolutionise the vaccine arena; man's critical first line of defence against infectious disease. Any breakthrough in developing completely safe new adjuvants, will therefore be of major global significance, and will play a vital role in the maintenance of global health for decades. New and completely safe vaccine adjuvants are a vital step in the development of improved vaccine technology in the 21st century. This project addresses two National Research Priorities, Namely Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and Safeguarding Australia. On commercialization, this will then be an important Australian contribution towards protecting the nation against any future pandemic outbreaks.Read moreRead less
Improving and manipulating the immune adjuvant properties of recombinant fowlpox vectors. Unbalanced immune responses may cause or worsen common and important diseases such as infections, allergies, cancers and autoimmunity. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) is the only immune active product or cytokine that safely skews an aberrant immune response to a healing type of response. Fowlpox viruses (FPV) provide safe and effective human vaccines. Engineering FPV to make both a relevant antigen and a cytokine is ....Improving and manipulating the immune adjuvant properties of recombinant fowlpox vectors. Unbalanced immune responses may cause or worsen common and important diseases such as infections, allergies, cancers and autoimmunity. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) is the only immune active product or cytokine that safely skews an aberrant immune response to a healing type of response. Fowlpox viruses (FPV) provide safe and effective human vaccines. Engineering FPV to make both a relevant antigen and a cytokine is proprietary technology. With our commercial partner and using experimental mice, we will test the concept that FPV making a model antigen and IL-4 initiate and/or maintain beneficial Type 2 responses. A successful outcome will guide clinical FPV-based vaccine development for the treatment of important human and veterinary diseases.Read moreRead less
Interfacial Studies of Nanoparticulate Dendrimers for Improved BioPharmaceutical Application. Dendrimers are a novel class of nanoparticles with exciting potential as pharmaceuticals for the prevention of major disease states, e.g. viral and cancer. A colloid and interfacial chemistry approach will be employed to develop an understanding of the mechanisms for the solution to cell transport processes and for optimisation of formulation strategies for delivery vehicles. Significant advances in t ....Interfacial Studies of Nanoparticulate Dendrimers for Improved BioPharmaceutical Application. Dendrimers are a novel class of nanoparticles with exciting potential as pharmaceuticals for the prevention of major disease states, e.g. viral and cancer. A colloid and interfacial chemistry approach will be employed to develop an understanding of the mechanisms for the solution to cell transport processes and for optimisation of formulation strategies for delivery vehicles. Significant advances in the development of novel pharmaceutical products will result, with significant social and economic benefits nationally and internationally.Read moreRead less
Development of a vaccine to protect koalas against koala retrovirus (KoRV). This project aims to develop a vaccine against koala retrovirus (KoRV) to arrest the increasing loss of animals due to this infection. Along with Chlamydia, KoRV threatens the long-term survival of the koala. KoRV infects over 95 per cent of Australia’s koalas and has been strongly linked to lymphoma and leukemia. Although quarantine and antiretroviral drug treatment are possible control measures, they are impractical in ....Development of a vaccine to protect koalas against koala retrovirus (KoRV). This project aims to develop a vaccine against koala retrovirus (KoRV) to arrest the increasing loss of animals due to this infection. Along with Chlamydia, KoRV threatens the long-term survival of the koala. KoRV infects over 95 per cent of Australia’s koalas and has been strongly linked to lymphoma and leukemia. Although quarantine and antiretroviral drug treatment are possible control measures, they are impractical in the wild, leaving vaccination as the only realistic option. This is valuable for both wild and captive koalas; zoos report high animal losses due to KoRV-associated lymphoma. The main outcome will be a KoRV vaccine which can be combined with a Chlamydia vaccine which is being developed in parallel.Read moreRead less
The development of a potent new passive immunotherapeutic for the treatment and prevention of bacterial sepsis and septic shock. Bacterial sepsis and septic shock is a leading cause of death in hospital intensive care units and represents a significant public health burden. By developing a new passive immunotherapeutic regimen to treat and prevent bacterial sepsis and septic shock, the project aims to reverse the significant mortality and morbidity associated with this condition.
Exploring the immunomodulatory potential of Natural Killer T cells. Natural Killer T cells (NKT cells) are an innate-like population of T cells that recognise a range of lipid based antigens when bound to the antigen-presenting molecule, CD1d. Once activated, NKT cells rapidly secrete a variety of cytokines. This project, in partnership with Vaxine Pty Ltd, aims to gain a basic understanding of NKT recognition of lipids and NKT cell activation by lipids. The project aims to use a combination of ....Exploring the immunomodulatory potential of Natural Killer T cells. Natural Killer T cells (NKT cells) are an innate-like population of T cells that recognise a range of lipid based antigens when bound to the antigen-presenting molecule, CD1d. Once activated, NKT cells rapidly secrete a variety of cytokines. This project, in partnership with Vaxine Pty Ltd, aims to gain a basic understanding of NKT recognition of lipids and NKT cell activation by lipids. The project aims to use a combination of cellular immunology and structural biology to gain insight into NKT cell agonism.Read moreRead less
Testing co-evolutionary processes driving venom diversity in tiger snakes. Testing co-evolutionary processes driving venom diversity in tiger snakes. This project aims to examine the geographic variation amongst tiger snakes in anatomy, ecology, and life history traits, and the relationship of these factors to venom toxins and production; and to evaluate the true pharmacological potential of tiger snake venom. This project will investigate the role of venom adaptation in long-term animal evoluti ....Testing co-evolutionary processes driving venom diversity in tiger snakes. Testing co-evolutionary processes driving venom diversity in tiger snakes. This project aims to examine the geographic variation amongst tiger snakes in anatomy, ecology, and life history traits, and the relationship of these factors to venom toxins and production; and to evaluate the true pharmacological potential of tiger snake venom. This project will investigate the role of venom adaptation in long-term animal evolution, by identifying rare venom transcripts involved in providing evolutionary potential for adaptation to environmental change. This is essential as continuing climatic and human-induced alteration of our environment affects southern Australia where many people live, work and interact with native wildlife. Anticipated outcomes are maximizing venom harvests and enhanced snakebite treatment capacity.Read moreRead less