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Characterizing The Cancer Stem Cell Population In Human Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$380,665.00
Summary
At the root of many cancers are rare cells that sustain a tumour’s ability to grow and spread. These rare cells, termed “cancer stem cells”, are poorly understood and unfortunately are not eliminated by most current cancer therapies. Thus, after a course of chemotherapy that has eradicated the bulk of the tumour, these rare cells can persist and allow the disease to return. The aim of this proposal is to better characterize cancer stem cells so that improved therapies can be devised.
Identifying Endophenotypes For Schizophrenia And Autism: A Support Vector Machine Learning Approach
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$316,449.00
Summary
Schizophrenia and autism are mental health problems that often occur together. Despite this, little is known about the overlap between them and how to treat people who experience both. In this study, I will compare young adults with schizophrenia and autism using three measures of brain function. I plan to employ complex statistical analyses to better understand the similarities and differences between the disorders in order to improve diagnosis and treatment.
Thalamocortical Neural Circuits In Higher Order Cognitive And Sensory Processing
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$370,860.00
Summary
Schizophrenia, depression and dementia are devastating disorders with problems in thinking and sensory perception, but the neural circuits causing these symptoms are not known. I will use new optical and genetic tools in mice to identify the cortical and subcortical circuits required for complex touchscreen tasks, the same tasks to assess patients. Identification of neural circuits that underlie clinical symptoms will increase our understanding of these disorders and improve treatments.
Improving Physical Health Outcomes For Young People With Psychotic Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$189,384.00
Summary
Enduring psychotic disorders are associated with a reduced life expectancy by 25 years, which is mainly due to cardiovascular disease. This project will produce a training package that will improve clinician’s skills and knowledge of screening and treatment for physical health risk factors in young people with psychosis. This project will result in the development of an intervention for reducing the prevalence of these cardiovascular risk factors known to contribute to this early mortality.
Positive Allosteric Modulation Of Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5; A Novel Approach For The Treatment Of Schizophrenia And Cognitive Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$348,428.00
Summary
The metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGluR5) has emerged as an exciting new target for the treatment of schizophrenia and cognitive disorders. We will investigate novel drug-binding sites on these receptors with the aim to discover new therapeutics. These studies also aim to definitively characterize mGluR5 activity following treatment with novel compounds to improve our understanding of the normal function of these important receptors.
Cardiometabolic Health Of People With Severe And Persistent Mental Illness
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$187,322.00
Summary
People with schizophrenia have much higher rates of smoking, obesity and diabetes. To date, psycho-social interventions to reduce these physical health risk factors have had limited success. This research aims to conduct clinical trials among people with schizophrenia of 1. a novel diabetes medication to help people lose weight and gain better control of their sugars, and 2. newly developed vaporised nicotine products to help reduce cigarette smoking.
Endoscopic Diagnosis And Therapy: The Frontier Of Minimally Invasive Patient Care.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$344,644.00
Summary
Minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment is a rapidly developing field, and has potential to significantly improve patient management and health care utilization. This research will apply endoscopic innovations to diagnose and treat early oesophageal and pancreatic cancer, with the aim to improve survival and quality of life. The research will also develop capacity to treat oesophageal motility disorders with minimally invasive endoscopic resection techniques.
Skill Building Interventions To Address Barriers To Social Inclusion For People With Schizophrenia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$251,715.00
Summary
People with a psychotic illness often experience unemployment, social isolation and difficulty living independently. Social and cognitive (e.g. thinking and memory) skill difficulties contribute to this, however, most psychiatric treatments fail to improve the underlying skill problems. This program of research will measure whether computer-assisted cognitive remediation and social skill training can effectively improve everyday living and social participation in people with a psychotic illness.
Mechanism Of Proteotoxic Stress Induced Type I Interferon Signalling And Implications For Human Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$322,952.00
Summary
All cells have a proteasome system to degrade unwanted proteins. Proteasome dysfunction causes a build-up of proteins that triggers, through an unknown mechanism, activation of the immune system leading to inflammation. People with mutations in genes which code for proteasome activity experience a severe disease known as Proteasome-Associated Autoinflammatory Syndrome. We aim to elucidate the link between protein aggregation and immune activation and employ this knowledge in disease treatment.
From Brain Maps To Mechanisms: Modeling The Pathophysiology Of Schizophrenia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$320,891.00
Summary
My Fellowship will develop a framework that integrates brain imaging data with mathematical models of the brain to help understand the mechanisms responsible for schizophrenia. By linking functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) measurements to models of their underlying causes, the work may lead to new treatments that target the specific dysfunction in individuals with this debilitating brain disorder.