Are Dietary Carbohydrates The Key To A Long, Healthy Life? Determining The Impact Of Dietary Carbohydrate Composition On Lifespan And Late-life Health.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
The disease burden associated with old age constitutes a major health challenge and the impact of nutrition on ageing is well established. It has recently been shown that a diet high in carbohydrates and low in proteins leads to increased lifespan and improved metabolic health. The aim of this project is to determine if these advantages are dependent on the type of carbohydrates consumed. This study will reveal the composition of diets that lead to longer and healthier life.
An Interdisciplinary Approach Towards Antiviral Therapy Discovery
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,000,000.00
Summary
Viruses cause significant life-threatening diseases and our armament against viral infections is extremely limited. When coupled with resistance development, humanity is at the mercy of existing and emerging life-threatening viruses. This project will provide new insight into how clinically- significant viruses that cause flu, croup and hand foot and mouth disease attack human cells, as well as discover new drug candidates that combat these viruses.
Interactions Between Protein Leverage, Variety, And Dietary Carbohydrate And Fat Content In The Control Of Energy Intake In Humans
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$580,950.00
Summary
Most attempts to understand human vulnerability to obesity have focussed on fat and carbohydrate, yet recent studies have shown a powerful role for protein: we eat more calories when dietary protein concentration is low. But how does protein interact with other aspects of the diet, notably the prodigious variety of foods available in modern environments and the balance of fat to carbohydrate? We will use controlled trials to investigate how these factors contribute to excess energy intake.
A Novel Role For MHC Class II In Carbohydrate Presentation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$703,030.00
Summary
Cells of the immune system swallow up foreign molecules and break them down to smaller fragments. T cells then identify the degraded antigen fragments and coordinate the immune response. In this project we will investigate how the T cells identify carbohydrates.
Development Of Carbohydrate Based Self-adjuvanting Vaccine Delivery System
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$311,647.00
Summary
The world is in a need for effective vaccines for the treatment/prevention of a range of currently occurring diseases. The aim of this project is to develop sugar/lipid-based delivery systems by revolutionary new chemo-enzymatic technology. Expected outcomes of the project will be numerous biologically active vaccine candidates and novel technologies which will lead to effective therapeutic products.
Role Of The CD8-Heparan Sulfate Interaction In CD8+ T Cell Development And Function
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$649,135.00
Summary
The immune system can recognise a large array of foreign pathogens without reacting to self-components. For this to occur T cells, the main mediators of immunity, must be made to tolerate self-molecules as they develop in the thymus. We have identified a novel interaction between a molecule called CD8 on T cells and a complex carbohydrate called heparan-sulfate, which helps auto-reactive T cells to be eliminates in the thymus. The aim of this project is to further investigate this phenomenon.
Assessing The Effect Of Carbohydrate Intake In Overweight And Obese Pregnant Women And In Women With Gestational Diabetes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$124,075.00
Summary
Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) have more adverse pregnancy outcomes than the general population. These adverse outcomes are related to glucose levels. Given that carbohydrate is metabolised to glucose by the body, it is plausible that a lower carbohydrate diet will lead to improved glucose levels in these women. The aim of this research is to evaluate the relationship between carbohydrate intake, glucose levels and pregnancy outcomes in women with GDM.
Host Parasite Interactions: Disease, Pathogenesis And Control
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$13,738,897.00
Summary
Our program will investigate two major global parasitic diseases: malaria and leishmaniasis. We will explore how the parasites identify and invade the host. This is a critical stage of the infection and we will characterise proteins involved as they are potential targets for drugs and vaccines against the parasites. Many of these recognition and interaction components are excellent candidates for the development of vaccines to interrupt the cycle of infection. We are also unravelling metabolic p ....Our program will investigate two major global parasitic diseases: malaria and leishmaniasis. We will explore how the parasites identify and invade the host. This is a critical stage of the infection and we will characterise proteins involved as they are potential targets for drugs and vaccines against the parasites. Many of these recognition and interaction components are excellent candidates for the development of vaccines to interrupt the cycle of infection. We are also unravelling metabolic pathways unique to the parasites using a mixture of genetic and computational tools complemented with sophisticated instrumentation to chemically identify the parasite�s entire repertoire of metabolic compounds. These pathways, absent from human hosts, are also highly vulnerable and we will feed the key steps into the drug development facet of the program. Our program also looks at how the parasites cause disease and how the host responds to the disease. We will explore the reactions of the immune system to infection and consequences of the body�s (often only partially successful) attempts to fight off the disease.Read moreRead less