The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) invites you to participate in a short survey about your
interaction with the ARDC and use of our national research infrastructure and services. The survey will take
approximately 5 minutes and is anonymous. It’s open to anyone who uses our digital research infrastructure
services including Reasearch Link Australia.
We will use the information you provide to improve the national research infrastructure and services we
deliver and to report on user satisfaction to the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research
Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) program.
Please take a few minutes to provide your input. The survey closes COB Friday 29 May 2026.
Complete the 5 min survey now by clicking on the link below.
Novel Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies For Children Exposed To High Transmission Of Multiple Plasmodium Species
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,378,408.00
Summary
We recently found that the WHO-recommended combination antimalarial therapy artemether-lumefantrine and the candidate regimen dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine were not fully effective for both falciparum and vivax malaria in young PNG children, a group at risk of complications and death. We plan to study two new combinations (artesunate-pyronaridine and artemisinin-naphthoquine) and hypothesise that at least one will prove superior and be used as first-line treatment in PNG and similar countries.
Antibiotic Potentiators As An Alternative Therapeutic Option For The Treatment Of Extensively Drug-resistant Gram-negative Infections
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$856,858.00
Summary
Antibiotic mono-therapies are increasingly ineffective for hard-to-treat bacterial infections, forcing clinicians to rely on combinations of antibiotics. Our project has identified compounds that have weak to no antimicrobial potency in their own right, yet when combined with an existing antibiotic they potentiate its activity and restore its ability to treat resistant infections. These antibiotic potentiators are exciting alternatives to current therapies with reduced risk of induced resistance
Comprehensive Assessment Of Novel Artemisinin-based Combination Regimens For Treatment Of Malaria In Papua New Guinea
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$529,500.00
Summary
Malaria is one of the most important causes of death and disease in Australia's closest neighbour, Papua New Guinea (PNG). The cornerstone of strategies to tackle malaria is the provision of prompt and effective drug treatment for those at risk. Unfortunately older drugs are becoming ineffective due to development of resistance and most newer drugs are too expensive for poor countries. As in sub-Saharan Africa, a looming public health disaster awaits the imminent loss of effectiveness of afforda ....Malaria is one of the most important causes of death and disease in Australia's closest neighbour, Papua New Guinea (PNG). The cornerstone of strategies to tackle malaria is the provision of prompt and effective drug treatment for those at risk. Unfortunately older drugs are becoming ineffective due to development of resistance and most newer drugs are too expensive for poor countries. As in sub-Saharan Africa, a looming public health disaster awaits the imminent loss of effectiveness of affordable antimalarials in PNG. There are however some new drugs that may be highly effective and relatively cheap but require further evaluation before they can be deployed. The new artemisinin drugs from China are cheap, safe and effective. However they must be combined with a second drug to ensure cure and to prevent the development of resistance, a stragegy known as artemisinin combination therapy (ACT). The World Health Organisation has endorsed ACT but finding a suitable 2nd drug to combine with the artemisinin drug has been challenging. Our group has pioneered research into the drug piperaquine, which we believe may be the best affordable drug to combine with artemisinin drugs. Piperaquine was first synthesised in the 1960's and was shown to be effective in Chinese studies in the 1970's, but little is known of its blood levels, metabolism and interactions with other drugs in humans. We plan to carry out laboratory studies, studies in healthy volunteers, and field studies in PNG children with malaria that should provide detailed information about piperaquine and its potential role in ACT for malaria. This will help us to develop better dosing formulations and to maximise the effectiveness of this treatment. Development and registration of a piperaquine-containing ACT would consititute a new and potent weapon in the fight against malaria in PNG and other tropical countries.Read moreRead less
Next-generation Glioblastoma Multiforme Therapies Based On Multistage Delivery Nanovectors
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$314,644.00
Summary
Nanomedicine provides novel therapies with enhanced treatment success and reduced side effects, which improve the patient’s quality of life. Drug delivery systems that are able to treat highly drug-resistant tumours such as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) are a key target for nanomedicine-based therapies. We will investigate a new GBM treatment by developing a multistage delivery nanovector to selectively carry and release a combination of chemical and physical therapeutics.
Preclinical Development Of A Therapeutic Anticancer Antibody To C-Met
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$435,530.00
Summary
Many common cancers cannot be effectively treated. A range of these cancers (e.g. gastric and lung cancer) display the molecule c-Met on their cell surface. c-Met promotes tumour growth; therefore, blocking c-Met is a promising strategy for treating these cancers. However, no antibodies or drugs that target c-Met have been licensed. The therapeutics that are being developed to target c-Met all have considerable limitations. Thus, there is an opportunity to develop a 'best-in-class' therapeutic.
Targeting Immune Suppressive Neutrophils To Improve Cancer Immunotherapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
Cancer is the leading cause of death in Australia. Despite the recent successes of cancer immunotherapies, there is an unmet need to overcome primary unresponsiveness and acquired resistance. Today mounting evidence has accumulated that neutrophils contribute to therapy resistance by fostering tumour blood supply and an immune suppressive microenvironment. The central aim of this project is, to improve cancer immunotherapy by blocking an immune suppressive neutrophil response.
Improving Outcomes For Children With Cancer: Targeted Treatments And Prevention
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$900,000.00
Summary
Child cancer is the commonest disease causing death in children. Relapse is due to small, treatment-resistant populations of cancer cells in the initial tumour. Improvements in cure rates have slowed due to poor investment by the pharmaceutical industry in targeting specific child cancer driver genes. My program of research will use novel technologies to identify: new vulnerabilities for combination drug therapies, drugs directed against child cancer gene targets and strategies for prevention.
Investigating Deregulation Of Mitosis As A Mechanism Of Tumourigenesis In MYCN-driven Neuroblastoma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,298.00
Summary
Neuroblastoma chemotherapy often only works temporarily because a small number of tumour cells can resist drugs and eventually regrow as a new tumour. These resistant cells resemble the very first cells that turn into a cancer cell at tumour initiation. We have used single cell technology to uncover genetic markers of tumour initiating cells. In this project we will determine how these marker genes cause tumour initiation and develop therapies that target them in drug resistant neuroblastoma.
The blood-brain barrier is a major impediment to the treatment of brain tumours because it prevents most anti-cancer drugs from entering the brain, and brain tumour, from the bloodstream. This proposal examines new approaches to open the blood-brain barrier to allow the use of existing highly potent anti-cancer drugs as brain cancer therapies. Successful outcomes of this work could lead to substantial improvements in the outcomes for brain tumour patients.
Optimising Targeted Polyamine Depletion For Treatment Of Childhood Neuroblastoma And Brain Tumours
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$928,152.00
Summary
Paediatric neuroblastoma and brain tumours, which often have dismal outcomes despite intensive therapy, have high levels of polyamines, which are essential for cell growth. We have shown that depleting polyamines, combined with chemotherapy, represents a highly promising therapy for neuroblastoma. We will make this exciting new treatment approach even more effective by comparing three ways of enhancing polyamine depletion, as a precursor to future neuroblastoma and brain tumour clinical trials.