What role does wildlife play in emergency disease? The case of the feral pig. Wildlife populations have been responsible for many disease emergencies with economic and human health impacts, but our current understanding limits their management. This project focuses on the feral pig, an introduced wildlife species. It will develop an understanding of disease spread in feral pigs and from feral pigs to cattle. Using feral pig disease genetics, climate and environmental data, disease spread models ....What role does wildlife play in emergency disease? The case of the feral pig. Wildlife populations have been responsible for many disease emergencies with economic and human health impacts, but our current understanding limits their management. This project focuses on the feral pig, an introduced wildlife species. It will develop an understanding of disease spread in feral pigs and from feral pigs to cattle. Using feral pig disease genetics, climate and environmental data, disease spread models will be developed. These models will be used to better manage emergency disease outbreaks in feral pigs and other wildlife species. This project will deliver practical outcomes, such as the best method of discovering disease and the most effective methods to control emergency animal diseases in wildlife and domestic animals.Read moreRead less
Immunological mechanisms underlying the protective immune responses induced by botulinum oil adjuvanted vaccine. Botulism is recognised as an important bacterial pathogen in commercial beef cattle in Australia and around the world. Development of affective, well-researched vaccine against Clostridium botulinum is a high priority for the cattle industry. A novel oil adjuvanted vaccine (Singvac from Fort Dodge Pty Ltd) has advantage over conventional vaccines as it provides full protection follo ....Immunological mechanisms underlying the protective immune responses induced by botulinum oil adjuvanted vaccine. Botulism is recognised as an important bacterial pathogen in commercial beef cattle in Australia and around the world. Development of affective, well-researched vaccine against Clostridium botulinum is a high priority for the cattle industry. A novel oil adjuvanted vaccine (Singvac from Fort Dodge Pty Ltd) has advantage over conventional vaccines as it provides full protection following a single administration. The aims of this study are to investigate the immunological mechanisms underlying the protective response by this novel vaccine using bovine and murine models. This study will discover new control measures for botulism in Australia.Read moreRead less
Development of new tools for surveillance of chlamydial infections in sheep. This project aims to improve health in sheep and reduce on-farm losses for Australian producers, by developing new serological tests for chlamydial infections in sheep. These infections can result in significant on-farm losses and loss of trade in the live export industry. Currently, surveillance of chlamydial infections is hindered by outdated serological tools that are unreliable and difficult to interpret. The ser ....Development of new tools for surveillance of chlamydial infections in sheep. This project aims to improve health in sheep and reduce on-farm losses for Australian producers, by developing new serological tests for chlamydial infections in sheep. These infections can result in significant on-farm losses and loss of trade in the live export industry. Currently, surveillance of chlamydial infections is hindered by outdated serological tools that are unreliable and difficult to interpret. The serological tests to be developed aim to be species-specific tests to detect the most important chlamydial sheep pathogens. This in turn endeavours to improve domestic surveillance, reducing on-farm losses and costs, and improve market opportunities for Australian sheep exporters as well as informing veterinary populations on best practice treatment.Read moreRead less
Biotechnology applications in the veterinary pharmaceutical industry: Pharmacological manipulation of ovarian function in domestic animals. The purpose of this research is to develop a humane, simple, safe, effective means of sterilizing female domestic animals without the need for surgical intervention. This novel experimental strategy is to target the supply of dormant eggs in the ovaries of female mammals. Every female mammal is born with a finite supply of eggs in the ovarian cortex. These c ....Biotechnology applications in the veterinary pharmaceutical industry: Pharmacological manipulation of ovarian function in domestic animals. The purpose of this research is to develop a humane, simple, safe, effective means of sterilizing female domestic animals without the need for surgical intervention. This novel experimental strategy is to target the supply of dormant eggs in the ovaries of female mammals. Every female mammal is born with a finite supply of eggs in the ovarian cortex. These cells cannot divide and so when this store is exhausted, reproduction ceases. Our strategy is to develop pharmaceutical reagents that will destroy this dormant egg population, thereby rendering the animals instantaneously and irreversibly infertile.Read moreRead less
Environmental contamination and pig disease: an Australian microbe evolves. The Australian pig industry produces pork commodities from over 4.75 million pigs per year. Infectious diseases in industrial-scale piggeries can have a devastating effect on pork production, particularly on feed conversion efficiency and growth rates, and can pose downstream environmental contamination and food safety risks. This project aims to assess a current infectious disease problem in pigs by studying a microbe t ....Environmental contamination and pig disease: an Australian microbe evolves. The Australian pig industry produces pork commodities from over 4.75 million pigs per year. Infectious diseases in industrial-scale piggeries can have a devastating effect on pork production, particularly on feed conversion efficiency and growth rates, and can pose downstream environmental contamination and food safety risks. This project aims to assess a current infectious disease problem in pigs by studying a microbe that appears to have uniquely evolved in Australia. These results could inform the rational design of monitoring, prevention and treatment strategies to minimise infection outbreaks in Australian pigs and may result in production benefits to the pork industry, reduced environmental microbial contamination and safer food.Read moreRead less
The biosynthesis of structural proteins in parasites. The socio-economic impact of parasitic diseases, in Australia and throughout the world, is enormous- they kill 2-3 million people per year and cost livestock industries billions of dollars per annum. Some are serious food and waterborne threats, such as the coccidia, because they are transmitted from person-to-person via the faecal-oral route, or via ingestion of contaminated water or food, or through the ingestion of cysts in raw or underco ....The biosynthesis of structural proteins in parasites. The socio-economic impact of parasitic diseases, in Australia and throughout the world, is enormous- they kill 2-3 million people per year and cost livestock industries billions of dollars per annum. Some are serious food and waterborne threats, such as the coccidia, because they are transmitted from person-to-person via the faecal-oral route, or via ingestion of contaminated water or food, or through the ingestion of cysts in raw or undercooked meat. They cause diarrhoea, which in some cases, can be life-threatening. We will understand how the coccidia protect themselves as they move from host to host and, through that understanding, develop new ways to control them and eliminate the suffering caused by parasitic diseases.Read moreRead less
Life Expectancy among Disease-Diagnosed. This project aims to improve methodological tools for calculating life expectancy for populations with mental or physical disorders in Australia as well as to determine gains and losses in terms of excess mortality. To achieve this goal innovative measures, which solve methodological previous shortcoming regarding different age at diagnosis will be applied. The expected outcomes of the project include precise figures of excess mortality related to mental ....Life Expectancy among Disease-Diagnosed. This project aims to improve methodological tools for calculating life expectancy for populations with mental or physical disorders in Australia as well as to determine gains and losses in terms of excess mortality. To achieve this goal innovative measures, which solve methodological previous shortcoming regarding different age at diagnosis will be applied. The expected outcomes of the project include precise figures of excess mortality related to mental and physical disorders. Significant benefits for future public policy-making will be gained by analysing excess mortality among individuals diagnosed mental or physical disorders, and cross-country comparisons using national linkage data. Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC130100005
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,405,204.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production. Innovative Wine Production: responding to climate, water, market and economic challenges. This Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production will provide new knowledge, methods and technologies as well as highly skilled PhD and postdoctoral researchers to tackle the main challenges for industry: Climate warming, water restrictions, changing consumer preferences and rising wine alcohol content, in order to help make the wines that consumers wan ....ARC Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production. Innovative Wine Production: responding to climate, water, market and economic challenges. This Training Centre for Innovative Wine Production will provide new knowledge, methods and technologies as well as highly skilled PhD and postdoctoral researchers to tackle the main challenges for industry: Climate warming, water restrictions, changing consumer preferences and rising wine alcohol content, in order to help make the wines that consumers want.Read moreRead less
New targets for antiviral therapies. The ability of dangerous viruses to cause lethal disease depends on their capacity to evade the immune system of infected hosts. This project will uncover at the molecular level the strategies used by viruses to disable immune responses; this will identify new ways to treat incurable diseases, by disabling the virus' defences against the immune system.
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354888
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$30,000.00
Summary
Australian Research Council Research Network for Parasitology. Parasites are a major cause of death and suffering in humans and animals throughout the world. The ARC Research Network for Parasitology aims to bring together Australia's finest researchers and establish a world class environment and web of facilities that attracts and retains the most talented young investigators and places Australia in a strong position to deal with current and future parasitological threats. The Network will focu ....Australian Research Council Research Network for Parasitology. Parasites are a major cause of death and suffering in humans and animals throughout the world. The ARC Research Network for Parasitology aims to bring together Australia's finest researchers and establish a world class environment and web of facilities that attracts and retains the most talented young investigators and places Australia in a strong position to deal with current and future parasitological threats. The Network will focus and enhance Australia's fundamental, strategic and applied parasitology research capabilities to :
(1) develop new approaches to vaccination;
(2) identify novel drug targets; and
(3) ensure the sustainability of wildlife and ecosystem health.
Read moreRead less