Treating Equine Laminitis. This project aims to explore the causes of equine laminitis, and to work with a newly-established Australian biopharma company to develop the world's first anti-laminitis medication. Equine laminitis is a painful, crippling disease of the foot, often necessitating euthanasia, and is the second-most common cause of death in domestic horses. In 2007, a landmark study identified insulin toxicity as a primary cause of laminitis, and subsequent research has identified over- ....Treating Equine Laminitis. This project aims to explore the causes of equine laminitis, and to work with a newly-established Australian biopharma company to develop the world's first anti-laminitis medication. Equine laminitis is a painful, crippling disease of the foot, often necessitating euthanasia, and is the second-most common cause of death in domestic horses. In 2007, a landmark study identified insulin toxicity as a primary cause of laminitis, and subsequent research has identified over-stimulation of the IGF-1 receptor as the most likely mechanism. This project aims to prove that mechanism and to develop an effective treatment.Read moreRead less
Exploitation of a Novel Drug Target for Controlling Animal Trypanosomiasis. Trypanosomiasis greatly reduces livestock productivity in countries where it is endemic and is a threat to livestock and native wildlife in countries such as Australia where it is exotic but there is a risk of entry. New trypanocidal drugs with different modes of action are urgently needed to overcome growing resistance. This project aims to characterise trypanosome tubulin and, with this information, produce new tubulin ....Exploitation of a Novel Drug Target for Controlling Animal Trypanosomiasis. Trypanosomiasis greatly reduces livestock productivity in countries where it is endemic and is a threat to livestock and native wildlife in countries such as Australia where it is exotic but there is a risk of entry. New trypanocidal drugs with different modes of action are urgently needed to overcome growing resistance. This project aims to characterise trypanosome tubulin and, with this information, produce new tubulin-binding compounds for assessment in vitro and in vivo. Upon completion of the project it is expected that drug binding sites on trypanosome tubulin will be characterised and at least one candidate for clinical trials identified.Read moreRead less
Improving diagnostic accuracy and treatment options for equine PPID. Equine Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID) is a common, chronic and potentially life-threatening disease of older horses and ponies. Although a treatment is available, the disease is poorly understood and there are some concerns that the current diagnostic technology is not delivering accurate results. Thus, this project aims to develop a more accurate diagnostic test for PPID, while exploring the relationship between ....Improving diagnostic accuracy and treatment options for equine PPID. Equine Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID) is a common, chronic and potentially life-threatening disease of older horses and ponies. Although a treatment is available, the disease is poorly understood and there are some concerns that the current diagnostic technology is not delivering accurate results. Thus, this project aims to develop a more accurate diagnostic test for PPID, while exploring the relationship between PPID and metabolic syndrome, to generate new insights into the cause and consequences of both diseases. As an added benefit, the project will assist horseracing laboratories to improve their detection methods for peptide doping in younger competition horses.
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Characterisation of insulin-independent glucose uptake mediated by guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins) coupled receptors. This project will provide first class postdoctoral training for Dr Sato in the laboratory of A/Prof Bengtsson one of the pioneers in the field of cell metabolism. He will learn new approaches to the study of cell signalling including the use of ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) technologies and of a series of functionally altered mutants of phosphatidylinosito ....Characterisation of insulin-independent glucose uptake mediated by guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins) coupled receptors. This project will provide first class postdoctoral training for Dr Sato in the laboratory of A/Prof Bengtsson one of the pioneers in the field of cell metabolism. He will learn new approaches to the study of cell signalling including the use of ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) technologies and of a series of functionally altered mutants of phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase that he will bring back to Monash University. A better understanding of the cell signalling mechanisms involved in glucose transport will be of enormous benefit in developing new approaches to the treatment of diseases such as type II diabetes.Read moreRead less
A novel drug class for the effective treatment of Giardia infections. Companion animals play a pivotal role in the lifestyle of the average Australian family. The 9 million cats and dogs, residing in >65% of our households, have provided significant health and well-being benefits to owners, especially during COVID. Ensuring pet health is a primary obligation of pet ownership. Giardia infections (Giardia duodenalis, with 94% of infections in dogs identified as Assemblage A) is the most prevalent ....A novel drug class for the effective treatment of Giardia infections. Companion animals play a pivotal role in the lifestyle of the average Australian family. The 9 million cats and dogs, residing in >65% of our households, have provided significant health and well-being benefits to owners, especially during COVID. Ensuring pet health is a primary obligation of pet ownership. Giardia infections (Giardia duodenalis, with 94% of infections in dogs identified as Assemblage A) is the most prevalent enteric parasite identified globally in dogs. Infection rates can be as high as 75% in puppies. Current treatments are failing due to poor efficacy, resistance and poor adherence to treatment schedules. We have identified a novel, extremely rapid acting series of compounds capable of single shot eradication of Giardia.Read moreRead less
Alphaherpesvirus recombination: safety implications for attenuated Herpesvirus vaccines. Under certain conditions some herpesviruses, including mild vaccine strains, can recombine to generate virulent viruses. Following findings that this occurred naturally between Australian poultry vaccines, with devastating results, this project will study natural herpesvirus recombination with the aim of allowing vaccines to be used more safely.
Alphaherpesvirus vaccination, recombination and latency; a study in the natural host. Attenuated alphaherpesvirus vaccines are used widely in production and companion animals to help control disease. These vaccines help to prevent clinical signs of disease following challenge with virulent viruses. There is also the potential to use these vaccines to help prevent latent herpesvirus infections, and to limit the opportunities for herpesvirus recombination to occur. This would enhance the ability t ....Alphaherpesvirus vaccination, recombination and latency; a study in the natural host. Attenuated alphaherpesvirus vaccines are used widely in production and companion animals to help control disease. These vaccines help to prevent clinical signs of disease following challenge with virulent viruses. There is also the potential to use these vaccines to help prevent latent herpesvirus infections, and to limit the opportunities for herpesvirus recombination to occur. This would enhance the ability to control disease in animal populations. This project aims to systematically study how vaccines may be used to limit latency and recombination events by studying avian infectious laryngotracheitis virus in the natural host leading to new insights into how vaccines may be used more efficaciously.Read moreRead less
Artificial intelligence to explore and combat eukaryotic pathogens. The revolution in artificial intelligence (AI) provides unprecedented opportunities for integrative analyses of complex multi-omics data sets and for creating radically new strategies to control some of the world’s most serious animal diseases. In a strong partnership with international experts, we will use AI-based methods to make major conceptual advances in our understanding of eukaryotic pathogens and host-pathogen interacti ....Artificial intelligence to explore and combat eukaryotic pathogens. The revolution in artificial intelligence (AI) provides unprecedented opportunities for integrative analyses of complex multi-omics data sets and for creating radically new strategies to control some of the world’s most serious animal diseases. In a strong partnership with international experts, we will use AI-based methods to make major conceptual advances in our understanding of eukaryotic pathogens and host-pathogen interactions, discover the "choke-points" in biological pathways, and develop novel treatments, vaccines and diagnostics. This leap forward will substantially enhance the global profile of pathogen research in Australia, build major capacity in a priority area, and enable access to international research funding and networks.Read moreRead less
Reduction of antibiotic usage in the commercial pig industry. This project intends to identify factors that make a pig enterprise more likely to use high levels of antibiotics and develop alternative, vaccination-based methods for disease control. The development of multi-drug resistance in zoonotic bacterial pathogens (e.g. Salmonella and Campylobacter spp.) in pigs has raised concerns that antimicrobial resistance can be transferred from livestock to humans. Although the epidemiology to suppor ....Reduction of antibiotic usage in the commercial pig industry. This project intends to identify factors that make a pig enterprise more likely to use high levels of antibiotics and develop alternative, vaccination-based methods for disease control. The development of multi-drug resistance in zoonotic bacterial pathogens (e.g. Salmonella and Campylobacter spp.) in pigs has raised concerns that antimicrobial resistance can be transferred from livestock to humans. Although the epidemiology to support a claim that there is a causal association between antimicrobial use in food animals and public health is complex there is universal agreement that use of antimicrobials in food animal production should be minimised. This project intends to deliver outcomes that will reduce antibiotic use on commercial pig farms.Read moreRead less
Evaluating host-parasite interplay in individual tissues. The immune system of the host and the infecting parasite has coevolved into a sophisticated balance of power. This project will explore this balance using Schistosoma japonicum infection in sheep and determine immune mechanisms unleashed by the host in various tissues as well as the response of the parasite to these attacks.