Neonatal Therapy For Improving Myelination And Long Term Outcome Following Preterm Birth
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$799,883.00
Summary
Preterm birth leads to the early loss of the nurturing uterine environment which supports key developmental processes. This results in behavioural disorders later in life including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety. Preterm birth leads to loss of support for the maturation of oligodendrocyte cells and myelination which contributes to these disorders. This work will delineate therapies for preterm neonates that restore myelination and improve long-term behavioural outcomes.
Bushfire Smoke Exposure During Pregnancy And Epigenetic Changes In Offspring
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,707,578.00
Summary
The Australian bushfire season of 2019/2020 was unprecedented in terms of length and intensity, and a question of significant importance to public health for the community is whether exposure to bushfire smoke has long term impacts on children whose mothers were pregnant at the time. This grant investigates a potential mechanism called epigenetics (which changes the way genes are expressed in response to environmental conditions), in newborns whose mothers were exposed to bushfire smoke.
PRECIS: PRecision Evidence For Childhood Obesity Prevention InterventionS
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,280,254.00
Summary
This project will bring together global knowledge on community-based obesity prevention to identify the most effective and equitable approaches to create healthier communities. The project will support communities to create positive actions that are tailored to their own community characteristics and resources, to prevent childhood obesity now and into the future.
BETTER MAN Project: Tailored Early Online Intervention For Men Using Intimate Partner Violence
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$506,202.00
Summary
Domestic violence damages the health of families, particularly women and children. We aim to make all families safer by generating new knowledge from a world-first trial of a healthy relationship website (BETTER MAN). This website assists men to identify their use of abuse and violence early and motivate them to seek help. We will tailor their help-seeking response to their individual experiences. We will have the safety, health, and well-being of women and children as our focus in this work.
User-centred Design Of A Technology-mediated, Theory Driven, Intervention Package To Reduce Incorrect Use Of Child Car Restraints
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$691,342.00
Summary
This project aims to develop and optimise an efficient, cost-effective intervention that provides instruction on how to correctly use child car restraints, as well as promoting behaviours required to achieve correct restraint of children in cars. This work offers potential paradigm shifting solutions to a long-standing problem that is currently putting more than 50% of children travelling in cars at a three-fold increased risk of serious injury and death
Developing An In Vitro Model Of A Human Blastocyst
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$890,062.00
Summary
Using novel cellular and molecular technologies we propose to develop an artificial model of an early human blastocyst. This will allow us to study the first initial steps in human development without the use of real embryos. Such a model will not only help us decipher the first steps in human development, but we anticipate it will be essential to study how gene mutations and the environment affect this initial step in human development.
Vaccine To Prevent Influenza Virus And Bacterial Super-infection.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$707,717.00
Summary
Influenza viruses have the ability to pre-dispose infected hosts toward secondary bacterial complications. The mortality of viral infections that are complicated by a concurrent, or subsequent, bacterial infection (known as a super-infection), is often greater than that of either the virus or the bacteria alone. We will develop a novel multi-pathogen vaccine candidate against the major upper respiratory tract pathogens - Influenza A and Streptococcus pyogenes to prevent super-infections.
Growth Factor Directed Developmental And Pathological Lymphangiogenesis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,048,507.00
Summary
The formation of new lymphatic vessels occurs in normal development and in diseased tissues in cancer and cardiovascular disease. We have developed an understanding of how lymphatics form in development but we understand far less about how they form in disease. This project will apply multidisciplinary approaches, including genetics and computational biology, to compare how lymphatics form in development and disease. We hope to uncover new ways to manipulate this process for therapeutic gain.
Relaxin Receptor Structural Determination To Aid Therapeutic Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,249,114.00
Summary
The receptor for the peptide hormone relaxin, RXFP1, is being targeted by numerous drug companies for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. However, the lack of molecular detail of how relaxin binds and activates RXFP1 is hindering new drug development. We will determine the structure of the complex of relaxin bound to RXFP1 and the mechanism by which this activates cells. The knowledge gained will aid in the design of new drugs targeting RXFP1 for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.
Harnessing The Benefits Of Autonomous Vehicles For Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$738,596.00
Summary
The arrival of autonomous vehicles (AVs) will have huge implications for health behaviours, including physical activity and diet. It is critical that appropriate planning processes are undertaken as early as possible to prevent cities of the future being designed around AVs rather than people, thereby losing the potential for this new technology to be harnessed as a means of enhancing health. This project will facilitate the inclusion of health considerations in AV implementation processes.