The world has suddenly been alerted to the threat of pandemic influenza with the recent deaths in Asia of patients and their close contacts from which the avian influenza H5N1 virus has been isolated. Experts believe that it is only a matter of time before this virus mutates and acquires the ability to rapidly spread within the human population. The currently available vaccines have virtually no capacity to prevent infection by a new pandemic virus. Once the virus strikes appropriate vaccines ca ....The world has suddenly been alerted to the threat of pandemic influenza with the recent deaths in Asia of patients and their close contacts from which the avian influenza H5N1 virus has been isolated. Experts believe that it is only a matter of time before this virus mutates and acquires the ability to rapidly spread within the human population. The currently available vaccines have virtually no capacity to prevent infection by a new pandemic virus. Once the virus strikes appropriate vaccines can be made against it but this procedure takes at least 6 months, the time predicted for the virus to have already spread throughout the globe. We are proposing that a vaccine designed to induce killer T cells (called CTLs) that target the conserved regions shared by all influenza viruses, could be used as a preventative measure without prior knowledge of the exact type of virus that will emerge. This sort of vaccine will not prevent against infection but will greatly lessen the severity of the disease. We have already designed a vaccine that that will induce high levels of CTLs that can greatly speed up the clearance of viruses of the type that are currently in the human population, when tested in animal models. However, we predict that a new pandemic virus will be much more vigorous in its growth and so our vaccines will have to be improved to cope with this. This project looks at ways of increasing the number and effectiveness of the CTLs that are induced by our vaccines. This will require an understanding of how we can modulate the function of other specialised cells, dendritic cells and helper T cells, that play a role in starting and maintaining the CTL response, as well as modulating the CTLs themselves.Read moreRead less
Heterosubtypic T Cell-inducing Vaccines For Influenza In Humans
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$352,307.00
Summary
Bird flu virus poses a large risk to the world if it mutates to become easily spread between people. If this occurs vaccines will be made to the mutated strain but there will be a time lag before these are available. We have been working on a novel vaccine that induces protective T cell immunity to parts of the virus that are common to all influenza strains and will be effective against any new virus. Our information from animal models will be used to create a human vaccine of this type .
Improved Vaccines Against Tuberculosis Based On Dendritic Cell Manipulation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$257,036.00
Summary
The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is increasing throughout the world. BCG, the only currently available vaccine is only partially protective and better vaccines are urgently required to help limit the spread of TB. We have recently prepared naked DNA vaccines with the genes for three mycobacterial proteins and found that they partially protected against lung TB in mice. Further improvement is required and this project is to design and test improved DNA vaccines. Vaccines will be more effective ....The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is increasing throughout the world. BCG, the only currently available vaccine is only partially protective and better vaccines are urgently required to help limit the spread of TB. We have recently prepared naked DNA vaccines with the genes for three mycobacterial proteins and found that they partially protected against lung TB in mice. Further improvement is required and this project is to design and test improved DNA vaccines. Vaccines will be more effective if they generate stronger cellular immune response to mycobacteria. Dendritic cells (DC) are the major cells that present mycobacterial antigens to T lymphocytes and thus stimulate T lymphocytes to generate immune responses that protect against TB. Therefore the aim of this project is to identify ways to manipulate DC to improve their ability to activate protective immunity. We will target membrane molecules on DC to activate the antigen- presenting function of these cells by fusing the genes for mycobacterial proteins to genes either for antibodies to surface molecules on DC or receptors for these molecules. These novel DNA vaccines will be tested for their effects on DC function and their capacity to stimulate the protective pattern of immunity in mice. The cytokine environment at the time of stimulation will be modified by giving the DNA vaccine together with two cytokine-expressing vaccines, to 'push' the T lymphocytes to respond more vigorously. Finally, we shall test whether a combination of the new DNA vaccines and BCG is more effective than BCG at protecting against virulent TB infection.Read moreRead less
Aetiology, Burden And Causal Pathways Of Acute Lower Respiratory Infections Using Population Linked Data
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$437,476.00
Summary
Lower respiratory, or chest infections, are a problem for many children. This project will investigate the impact of chest infections on hospitals and emergency departments, the viruses and bacteria that cause them, identify those children who are at an increased risk of having chest infections and investigate the impact of routine immunisations on specific types of infections. This project will greatly add to our understanding of chest infections so appropriate interventions can be developed.
Cross-Sectional And Longitudinal Evaluation Of Childhood Anxiety And Depression: Pathways, Risk Factors And Prevention
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$333,055.00
Summary
Anxiety and depression are the most common forms of psychological distress affecting Australian children today. These disorders are seriously disabling and continuous across time. Therefore, it is very important to understand more about the onset and course of these disorders, and about factors which influence these disorders in either a positive or negative manner. There are three major goals for the current project. The first is to further our understanding of the development, maintenance, and ....Anxiety and depression are the most common forms of psychological distress affecting Australian children today. These disorders are seriously disabling and continuous across time. Therefore, it is very important to understand more about the onset and course of these disorders, and about factors which influence these disorders in either a positive or negative manner. There are three major goals for the current project. The first is to further our understanding of the development, maintenance, and amelioration of anxiety and depression in a child and youth population. The second is to understand the relationship between these two disorders in children and youth. The third is to use the acquired information to assist in the identification of optimal ages for preventive interventions, and to aid in the matching of interventions to the specific needs and vulnerabilities of children versus adolescents. This project aims to meet these goals through implementation of a controlled prevention trial. The aims fo the research are: 1. To examine the relationship between symptoms of anxiety and depresison in Australian children and youth 2. To gain valuable clinical information regarding the assessment and prevention of these disorders 3. To understand the risk and protective factors associated with these disorders, and the impact of these factors over time 4. To implement and evaluate a school-based prevention program The expected outcomes of the research are: 1. To acquire valuable information related to the onset and course of anxiety and depression in children and youth, and their associated risk and protective factors 2. To further development of more timely and targeted interventions for the prevention of anxiety and depression 4. To enhance the emotional resilience of participating children and prevent the onset of anxiety and depression 5. To promote Australian research by publishing the results of the project within the international research literatureRead moreRead less
The Role Of Fractalkine In Leukocyte Recruitment In The Periphery
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$215,196.00
Summary
This research will determine whether a new type of gene plays an important role in inflammation in tissues in the periphery. If it does, we will design strategies to inhibit its function, thereby controlling its effects in inflammation. Such treatment may be useful for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes as well as allergies.
Optimising Immunity Towards Cancers By Vaccination.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$211,320.00
Summary
In this project we will be studying the mechanisms of how an efficient anti cancer vaccine could be generated. We will be using cervical cancer associated human papillomavirus type 16 E7 protein as the model protein in an experimental vaccine model in mice. The results obtained from this project not only able us to design better vaccines against cervical cancers in women but against many other cancers and viruses.