The team has been at the forefront of research on type 1 diabetes for over a decade. This form of diabetes is a major chronic disease from childhood, as well as accounting for at least 10% of adult-onset diabetes. It occurs when the body�s immune system attacks and destroys the beta cells in the pancreas that make insulin, the hormone that controls the level of glucose in the blood. The team was one of the first in the world, and is the only one in Australia, to develop screening programs to tes ....The team has been at the forefront of research on type 1 diabetes for over a decade. This form of diabetes is a major chronic disease from childhood, as well as accounting for at least 10% of adult-onset diabetes. It occurs when the body�s immune system attacks and destroys the beta cells in the pancreas that make insulin, the hormone that controls the level of glucose in the blood. The team was one of the first in the world, and is the only one in Australia, to develop screening programs to test and identify people at risk for type 1 diabetes. They showed that the underlying disease could start years before symptoms occurred and discovered genes that determine the rate at which the underlying disease progresses. They have also found evidence that the disease may be triggered by gut viruses called rotaviruses in genetically-susceptible individuals. They showed that type 1 diabetes could be prevented in a mouse model by getting the immune system to make a protective response to insulin, and then went on to apply this in at-risk humans in a controlled trial of intranasal insulin, the first of its kind. They have used genetic techniques not only to pinpoint the mechanisms responsible for killing the beta cells but also to modify the beta cells to make them resistant to attack by these mechanisms. The multidisciplinary approach of the team will be directed to further understanding the genetic and environmental factors underlying type 1 diabetes and the immune mechanisms, particularly involving special white blood cells called T cells, that kill beta cells. A molecular target of the immune attack, the parent of insulin called proinsulin, will be used, paradoxically, as a tool to regulate the immune system and avert the attack. This will be achieved by giving proinsulin via the mucosa of the naso-respiratory tract or via the bone marrow-derived stem cells, initiallyin the mouse model as a test of feasibility for human application. In parallel with these approaches to prevention, specially constructed viruses will be used to transfer several new genes into beta cells to improve their resistance to immune attack, so that they can be transplanted into people with established diabetes without the need for potentially toxic drugs that suppress the immune system overall. The integrated research of the team is helping to provide a sound, rational base for the eventual prevention and cure of type 1 diabetes.Read moreRead less
To understand the genetic basis of two of the most important cancers in women, breast and ovarian cancer. The team has already identified one gene that confers a very high risk of breast cancer and may account for a large proportion of 'familial' breast cancer. Their aim is to identify additional predisposition genes and to determine their normal function in the cell, as well as the way in which they contribute to the development of cancer
Interactions Between Adaptable Pathogens, Drugs And The Human Host
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$5,727,327.00
Summary
The Centre for Clinical Immunology and Biomedical Statistics (CCIBS) represents a collaboration between Royal Perth Hospital and Murdoch University that has brought together internationally recognised expertise in clinical immunology, experimental biology and innovation in biostatistics and computing. These resources have been applied to a broad range of research issues within the broad framework of HIV and hepatitis C disease and treatment. CCIBS has become a leading centre of research excellen ....The Centre for Clinical Immunology and Biomedical Statistics (CCIBS) represents a collaboration between Royal Perth Hospital and Murdoch University that has brought together internationally recognised expertise in clinical immunology, experimental biology and innovation in biostatistics and computing. These resources have been applied to a broad range of research issues within the broad framework of HIV and hepatitis C disease and treatment. CCIBS has become a leading centre of research excellence internationally, establishing a reputation for innovative approaches to host-viral interactions that are built on a long tradition of research into the population genetics of both human and viral genomes, combined with a willingness to negotiate complex computation and statistical challenges in order to faithfully reflect dynamic biological processes at a population level. An early recognition that large and integrated repositories of genetic and clinical data are fundamental to the research success in the genomic era has also led to the creation of the single most comprehensive repository of HIV genetic sequencing data in the world. The contributions that CCIBS has made to several distinct areas of research, including understanding viral adaptation to host immune responses, the development of genetic testing to predict drug hypersensitivity reactions, and causes of antiretroviral drug-associated toxicities, have been published in prestigious journals including Science, Nature, Nature Immunology, The Lancet, Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, and The American Journal of Human Genetics, and have also resulted in numerous international collaborations that recognise the unique attributes that CCIBS has been able to bring to the global research effort aimed at understanding fundamental aspects of HIV and hepatitis C biology and treatment.Read moreRead less
Developmental Aspects Of Respiratory Inflammation, Allergy And Asthma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$7,169,609.00
Summary
Asthma develops as a complex series of interactions between genetic susceptibility and environmental exposures occurring in early life. While many children grow out of asthma others do not and develop the chronic form of the disease that persists into adult life. Our research involves understanding why some susceptible children develop asthma and why this becomes chronic in some. We will undertake studies in children to find out how and why this occurs. A major part of our studies involve longit ....Asthma develops as a complex series of interactions between genetic susceptibility and environmental exposures occurring in early life. While many children grow out of asthma others do not and develop the chronic form of the disease that persists into adult life. Our research involves understanding why some susceptible children develop asthma and why this becomes chronic in some. We will undertake studies in children to find out how and why this occurs. A major part of our studies involve longitudinal studies in cohorts of children recruited before birth. Having the ability to study children as they grow and develop conditions such as allergies and asthma allows us to understand why these conditions occur and allow us to predict which children are likely to develop them. Our research Program also has a solid focus on Translational Research, in which we will use the findings from our basic science studies to develop and test new methods of preventing and of treating asthma. These studies will include new methods for preventing the development of allergies, preventing the damage done to the lungs by severe viral respiratory infections in early life and better methods of treating established allergic asthma by improving immunotherapy techniques. By its very nature, primary prevention of disease in young children is controversial and raises some interesting questions. As part of this Program we intend to initiate consultation and debate in public, academic, regulatory and industry circles. An important role for our Program is shifting the current emphasis away from treatment of established disease towards preventing disease occurring. This is the best way to decrease the health, social and economic burden of chronic diseases such as asthma.Read moreRead less