Changing Patterns Of Immunity Following Large Scale Malaria Control Programs In The South West Pacific
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$299,564.00
Summary
People can develop partial immunity to malaria, which requires ongoing exposure to infection to be maintained. If exposure to infections is completely prevented, people can lose the immunity it has taken them years to develop. In the context of significant ongoing malaria bednet control efforts in the South West Pacific, we will investigate loss or maintenance of the malaria-immune state. This is important for vaccine development and to help us define risk of rebound disease.
Personalizing Antipsychotic Medicines To Improve Patient Outcomes In Schizophrenia: Development Of Decision Support Tools Using Pharmacometabolomics And Pharmacometrics
Nutrition, Physical Function And Muscle Mass In Advanced Liver Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$303,014.00
Summary
Muscle wasting is associated with increased risk of death in patients with liver disease. Many factors contribute to this muscle wasting, but our group’s recent finding that testosterone therapy increases muscle mass in men with liver disease remains the only proven treatment. This project aims to increase understanding of the causes of muscle wasting and to show that testosterone treatment improves clinical outcomes, which could improve the health of liver disease sufferers worldwide.
Investigation Of The Molecular Basis Of Frailty And Development Of Frailty Biomarkers In A Novel Mouse Ageing Model
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,768.00
Summary
Frailty is a state of high vulnerability for adverse health outcomes, and the prevalence of frailty increases with increasing age. There is very little known about why frailty develops, and there is also no widely accepted, efficient method of determining if someone is frail. This project will test blood markers for frailty, that will allow for optimization of treatment for older frail people and use mouse models of frailty to learn more about why frailty develops.
Optimising Accuracy And Cost-Effectiveness Of Screening For Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension In Scleroderma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,403.00
Summary
Scleroderma is one of the most devastating diseases of the immune system. With features that affect every organ in the body, scleroderma shortens the average patient’s life by over three decades. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a condition of increased resistance in the blood vessels of the lungs, is the major cause of death in this disease. The purpose of this project is to develop a new 'screening' model for the early detection of PAH in scleroderma, thereby enabling earlier initiation ....Scleroderma is one of the most devastating diseases of the immune system. With features that affect every organ in the body, scleroderma shortens the average patient’s life by over three decades. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), a condition of increased resistance in the blood vessels of the lungs, is the major cause of death in this disease. The purpose of this project is to develop a new 'screening' model for the early detection of PAH in scleroderma, thereby enabling earlier initiation of life-saving treatment.Read moreRead less
Use Of Molecular Tumour Markers To Improve Diagnostic Performance Of Bronchoscopy In Assessment Of Pulmonary Nodules And Early Diagnosis Of Lung Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$303,014.00
Summary
Pulmonary nodules may represent early lung cancer though difficulty in accurate diagnosis means many patients experience delayed diagnosis, or unnecessary surgical biopsy or repeat CT imaging (& consequent radiation exposure). I will identify molecular (DNA, protein) markers in bronchoscopic & blood specimens to accurately characterize malignant & benign nodules. These biomarkers will also be investigated for their value as a non-invasive screening test for lung cancer
Acute Severe Ulcerative Colitis - Clinical And Translational Studies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$340,891.00
Summary
One in five patients with severe ulcerative colitis, a condition resulting in damage to the large bowel, may require surgery to remove the bowel. This project aims to find out how best to avoid surgery using a drug called infliximab which targets the immune system to reduce bowel damage. This study also aims to find changes in the immune system that cause ulcerative colitis and identify which patients are more likely to avoid surgery with infliximab thereby minimising side effects and costs.
Enhancing The Anti-Cancer Immune Response By Combining Radiotherapy And Immunotherapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$265,138.00
Summary
Lung cancer is the biggest cause of cancer related death in Australia. Recently, immune therapies have shown promise by unlocking the body’s own defenses to fight against lung cancer. I aim to maximise the effect of the anti-PD-1 immune therapy by ‘kick-starting’ the immune response with high-precision stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR). By completing clinical trials and biological research into the combination of therapies I hope to improve outcomes for patients with lung cancer.
Discovering Optimal Weight Loss Interventions To Prevent Osteoarthritis In Obesity Through The Lens Of Early Biomarkers: The TANGO Diet Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of arthritis, and an obese population increases the disease burden of OA. Weight-loss is the first line management for symptom relief but is unclear whether weight loss can prevent OA changes in the joint. Biological OA markers can pick up early disease changes long before any signs on routine X-ray. My research will look at the effect of weight loss by very low energy diet on early OA biomarker in patients with overweight or obesity.
Biomarker-driven Applications Of Immunotherapy In Lymphoma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$189,384.00
Summary
Immunotherapy is a new treatment strategy that works in many different lymphoma types but there is no successful method of predicting response or selecting patients. I aim to explore use of immunotherapy in 3 key lymphoma subtypes to identify new techniques for predicting which patients respond to treatment through prospective biomarker research using novel techniques. These aims will be achieved through a series of clinical trials of immunotherapy in lymphoma all with a biomarker research focus