Understanding Australia’s Drug Use: Prescription Psychotropics, Recreational Drugs And Novel Emerging Psychoactive Substances
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$763,409.00
Summary
Australians are consuming record levels of drugs that affect their mood and behaviour, both prescribed and illicit. They are also consuming an increasing array of novel synthetic drugs, the effects of which are largely unknown. Professor Iain McGregor engages in innovative research that examines the drugs we take, their effects on the brain, and their risks and benefits. His team also develops new medications that may become future treatments for anxiety, depression and addictions.
Small Molecule Therapeutics: From Infectious And Parasitic Diseases To Cancers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$763,845.00
Summary
I will lead a team of medicinal chemists to discover better treatments of diseases focused in two major domains. On one hand, I will discover new drugs to treat certain parasitic diseases such as Sleeping Sickness, Chagas disease and malaria, all caused by protozoal parasites. On the other hand, I will discover new drugs to treat certain cancers, in particular acute myeloid leukemia and Burkitt’s lymphoma, caused by dysfunction of certain types of enzymes called histone acetyltransferases.
Prof A Suhrbier is the Group Leader of the Inflammation Biology Group at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. The group focuses at the applied end of inflammation research and development and will be involved in the identification and development of new interventions and diagnostics for inflammatory diseases and cancer, often in collaboration with the biotech industry.
Biomedical Investigations Of Pharmacology And Pathology For Disease Treatment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$863,413.00
Summary
I am an NHMRC SPRF & Director of the Molecular Pharmacology & Pathology Program consisting of 34 researchers. The breadth of our studies is diverse & continues to expand. Excitingly, we have recently obtained commercialisation support to develop our anti-tumour drug, DpC. My vision for the next 5 yrs is to direct development of these agents together with investigations of basic mechanism. These studies will be done with a team of outstanding researchers I am mentoring and an established group of ....I am an NHMRC SPRF & Director of the Molecular Pharmacology & Pathology Program consisting of 34 researchers. The breadth of our studies is diverse & continues to expand. Excitingly, we have recently obtained commercialisation support to develop our anti-tumour drug, DpC. My vision for the next 5 yrs is to direct development of these agents together with investigations of basic mechanism. These studies will be done with a team of outstanding researchers I am mentoring and an established group of experienced collaborators.Read moreRead less
Advancing Nanomedicine Through Particle Technology
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$876,005.00
Summary
This proposal will support the development of advanced particle systems to improve the delivery of medicines in neurological diseases, HIV, diabetes and cancer. It will provide important insights for particle-based therapeutic delivery that are expected to underpin progress on nanotechnology in the areas of biology and medicine. These developments in nanotechnology-enabled medicines towards commercialisation will ultimately improve the health and quality of life of Australians.
Research Fellowship: Understanding G Protein-coupled Receptors (GPCRs)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$444,177.00
Summary
This project focuses on drug action at G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), the largest class of drug targets. It builds on key discoveries by the applicant that novel sites on GPCRs can be targeted by small molecules in a selective manner, thus minimizing side effects and maximizing therapeutic efficacy. Because this approach can work across most GPCR families, the relevance to the pharmaceutical industry and GPCR-related diseases, such as schizophrenia and diabetes, is very high.
Translational Research Initiatives In Acute Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$631,010.00
Summary
Recent research has focussed on molecular characterisation of high-risk acute leukaemia subtypes. This proposal will combine the power of genomic analysis, global analysis of protein kinases and stringent preclinical drug testing in order to improve the treatment of these high-risk acute leukaemia subtypes. Several innovative and interrelated projects within this Program will utilise a unique and clinically relevant experimental model to achieve their goals.
G protein-coupled receptors are proteins that exist on every human cell, where they sense, and respond to environmental stimuli. Because of their importance they are targeted by drugs to treat many diseases. However little is known about how drugs activate these receptors and this has hindered new drug development. I use state-of-the-art technology to determine how drugs activate receptors and develop new methods for drug discovery. This work will have major impact on the Pharmaceutical industry
Improving Therapeutic Outcomes Through Pharmaceutical Sciences Research
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$823,008.00
Summary
This Fellowship seeks to improve patient outcomes by better understanding of how drugs and nanotechnology systems interact with the body under normal and diseased conditions, and to translate these findings into improved therapeutic and chemical safety practice. Aspects include how medicines are absorbed through skin; are handled in normal and diseased patients; are best administered, including to intensive care patients; and the development of new clinical pharmacy practitioner - researchers.
Professor Michael Parker from St Vincent’s Institute in Melbourne is one of Australia’s leading structural biologists. He will use his Fellowship to help establish a Cancer Structural Biology Centre to provide early stage drug discovery tools which will aid many of Australia’s leading cancer researchers to translate their basic discoveries into drugs. This work will utilise key major infrastructure investments including the Australian Synchrotron.