Defining The Interaction Of HIV With The Interferon System In Initial Mucosal Infection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$867,716.00
Summary
Very early after virus exposure, immune cells secrete interferons that help limit the spread of viruses within the body. We will investigate the complex interplay between HIV and the interferon system, especially how HIV inhibits the early induction of interferon to aid its spread and then how the body later restores the interferon response. We will also examine how HIV manipulates the interferon system in order to persistent latent reservoirs within tissues.
Initial Interactions Of Herpes Simplex Virus With Innate Immune Cells In Human Skin
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$522,589.00
Summary
Herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2 cause widespread and occasionally serious diseases including genital herpes, neonatal death and encephalitis. Current vaccine candidates are at best partially effective. This grant will examine the way that the virus enters, initially spreads within the skin and interacts with immune cells to help determine which cells should be stimulated by vaccines.
HIV-1 Transcriptional Gene Silencing By Promoter Targeted Si/shRNAs: Uncovering Mechanisms, Optimising Delivery Systems, Assessing In Vivo Efficacy.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$641,789.00
Summary
Current therapy for HIV is effective but must be taken for life. If therapy is stopped the virus comes back immediately from reservoirs not affected by current drugs. These fluctuating levels of virus are associated with increased illness and death. We are exploring a method of inducing prolonged viral latency using short double stranded RNA molecules. We propose to understand the mechanism of action of these possible therapeutics and to develop these constructs towards use in clinical trials.
Investigating The Link Between Oxidative Stress And Biomechanical Integrin Activation In Diabetes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$653,742.00
Summary
Diabetes represents a serious healthcare problem globally. A large proportion of deaths associated with diabetes can be attributed to the development of blood clots in the circulation of the heart and brain (heart attack/stroke). The blood clotting mechanism is ‘hyperactive’ in diabetes, although the reason for this is not well defined. In this proposal we will investigate a new mechanism promoting blood clots, and will investigate innovative approaches to reduce this clotting mechanism.
The Structural Basis For Glutamate Transporter Function
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,144.00
Summary
Glutamate transporters are vacuum cleaners in the brain that suck the neurotransmitter glutamate into cells. When the glutamate vacuum breaks down or becomes blocked, glutamate levels outside cells increase, leading to cell death in the brain. This process underlies the damage in many brain diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. The aim of this project is to understand the mechanism of the glutamate vacuum cleaner so we can develop therapeutics to fix it when it breaks down.
The Role Of The Orbitofrontal Cortex In Disorders Of Response Inhibition
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$515,488.00
Summary
We will investigate the role of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in decision-making, particularly the effect of hyperactivity in the medial vs. ventrolateral orbitofrontal cortex on decision-making. Hyperactivity in these structures has been linked to obsessive compulsive disorder and, in line with the distinct functions of the different regions of OFC, we develop and test a novel hypothesis as to the psychological and neural bases of the obsessions and compulsions distinctive to that disorder.
Structural And Functional Analysis Of A Cancer-linked Co-regulator Complex
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$729,571.00
Summary
We seek to understand the mechanisms by which genes are switched on and off throughout our lifetime. A number of multi-component protein machines are involved in this process but their make-up and mechanism of action is not understood. We will investigate the structure and function of one of these machines that has been strongly linked to cancer.
Information Encoding By Temporal Structure Of Afferent Spike Trains
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$231,175.00
Summary
Our ability to sense, discriminate and interpret touch stimuli underpins some of the most crucial functions of the human hand that relate to object exploration and manipulation. The fundamental mechanism of how nerve impulses generated by tactile receptors are interpreted by the nervous system is not understood. Only by discovering the underlying neural encoding mechanisms can we appreciate the functional impairments in patients and learn to identify them before they become widespread and irreve ....Our ability to sense, discriminate and interpret touch stimuli underpins some of the most crucial functions of the human hand that relate to object exploration and manipulation. The fundamental mechanism of how nerve impulses generated by tactile receptors are interpreted by the nervous system is not understood. Only by discovering the underlying neural encoding mechanisms can we appreciate the functional impairments in patients and learn to identify them before they become widespread and irreversible.Read moreRead less
A Scalable Intervention For Increasing Vigorous Physical Activity Among Older Adolescents: The ‘ Burn To Learn ’ Cluster RCT
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$636,912.00
Summary
Physical inactivity has been described as a global pandemic and only 15% of Australian adolescents are sufficiently active. The pressure to perform in major school assessments drives many older adolescents to sacrifice physical activity to maximise academic performance. Our team has designed a time-efficient solution to increase physical activity in senior high school students using high intensity interval training which will be evaluated using a cluster randomised controlled trial.
Benefit Of 2D-strain Surveillance In Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes In Cancer Patients Undergoing Cardiotoxic Chemotherapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,391,979.00
Summary
Cancer survivors are susceptible to heart failure (HF) caused by heart muscle damage from chemotherapy. The current testing for this problem is based on a measure that cannot identify minor changes of cardiac function. Cardiac strain is a sensitive new marker of cardiac function which is predictive of overt dysfunction & HF. This study seeks to identify whether strain can be used to assign treatments that lead to improved cardiac function and are eventually associated with a reduction in HF.