Postviral Wheezing In Childhood: Disregulation Of Airway Tone?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$577,040.00
Summary
Asthma is a very common childhood condition that is becoming increasingly more common. Wheezing is common in infants and young children following viral infections and is often thought of as the first manifestation of asthma. However, many children and infants who wheeze with viral infections appear to grow out of asthma in their teenage years. Asthma that persists into adult life is usually associated with allergies to common environmental allergens, such as house dust mite and grass pollens. Ho ....Asthma is a very common childhood condition that is becoming increasingly more common. Wheezing is common in infants and young children following viral infections and is often thought of as the first manifestation of asthma. However, many children and infants who wheeze with viral infections appear to grow out of asthma in their teenage years. Asthma that persists into adult life is usually associated with allergies to common environmental allergens, such as house dust mite and grass pollens. However, many infants who wheeze with viral infections, especially in the first year of life, do not develop allergies in later life, raising the possibility that they did not have the same type of asthma as those whose symptoms persist. This project will study the effects of viral infections on lung function to determine whether particular types of virus can have detrimental effects of lung function lasting for years. We will also examine whether the age at which the infection occurs and the severity of the infection influence the long-term outcome. The project involves studying infants during the recovery phase of respiratory viral infections, older children years after documented infections and experimental animal models that have been infected under controlled conditions. By determining whether respiratory viral infections can have long-term effects on lung function that can mimic asthma, we will advance our understanding of how asthma develops. In addition, specific treatment and preventative strategies could then be developed to prevent these long-term abnormalities, instead of relying on asthma medication (especially inhaled corticosteroids) as is the current practice. Preventative strategies could include encouraging the development of specific vaccines.Read moreRead less
The Impact Of Therapy On T-cell Recognition Of Mutated Tumour Neo-antigens
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,126,685.00
Summary
Cancer is caused by mutations which should be 'seen' and destroyed by the patients immune cells, similar to how immune cells protect us against viruses. But they don't. This grant will study how current cancer treatments help the immune cells 'see' these mutations. We will undertake these studies in the important cancers lung cancer and mesothelioma.
Do Exposures Before Conception Influence The Risk Of Asthma In Offspring?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$688,586.00
Summary
Asthma and poor lung function are major causes of public health issues. Emerging evidence suggests adverse exposures even before the conception of a child may cause these conditions. The proposed project is part of an international study across generations to identify these factors. This study will provide novel evidence to guide interventions and identify studies to advance this area further. These original findings will be of great importance both nationally and internationally.
Compartmental Analysis Of T-cell Responses In Thoracic Malignancies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$851,403.00
Summary
To improve immune therapy for cancer we have to be able to determine how cancer patients ‘see’ mutated cancer proteins. Blood is the easiest & most useful source of immune ‘killer’ cells for that task, but the lymph node that drains the tumour and the fluid that bathes a tumour probably contain a much higher number of these killer cells than blood. If so, studying them would help us better track responses to therapy and enable us to choose the best mutated proteins for a vaccine.
The Importance Of Neutrophil Plasticity In Early Cystic Fibrosis Lung Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
Lung disease is a lifelong problem for people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Blood immune cells called neutrophils swarm the lung and cause ongoing damage. No treatments exist because how CF lungs talk to neutrophils is poorly understood. I will apply new skills from an international neutrophil expert to study samples from AREST CF, a world leading CF research group. This unique combination will recreate the early CF lung in the laboratory, testing triggers of CF lung disease and potential drugs.
The health effects of electronic cigarette use are virtually unknown. They have only recently been introduced into widespread use, and as such their effects on human health will not be known for many years. We will use our expertise in exposure models and health outcome measurement to provide timely hard-data on their potential to impact health – data that are urgently required to guide policy makers in this area.
A Randomised Controlled Trial Of Interventional Versus Conservative Treatment Of Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$412,315.00
Summary
Primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) is a collapsed lung that occurs in otherwise healthy people without underlying lung disease. Current standard treatment is to insert a chest drain into the chest to remove the air around the collapsed lung so that the lung re-inflates rapidly ("interventional treatment"). We will determine whether doing nothing, i.e. letting the lung re-inflate slowly on its own over several weeks ("conservative treatment"), is just as good or even better for patients.
The Identification Of Thoracic Targets For Prevention And Intervention In Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$316,449.00
Summary
The persistence of breathing problems from infancy to later life is a complication of premature birth with lifelong consequences. Breathing problems often occur together with lung disease, but prematurity can also affect heart and blood vessel development, and weakness of the main breathing muscle. We will find out how much the heart, lungs and diaphragm contribute to breathing problems in babies; helping us to better predict, diagnose and treat severe breathing problems in babies born preterm.
ARC Research Network in Spatially Integrated Social Science. The ARC Research Network in Spatially Integrated Social Science (SISS) builds Australia's capacity and capability for innovative, collaborative, cross-disciplinary effort to investigate the impacts of change on the behaviour and well-being of people and the fortunes of places. SISS theories and research tools permit the integration of diverse and complex databases, the generation of new synthetic datasets, the incorporation of spatial ....ARC Research Network in Spatially Integrated Social Science. The ARC Research Network in Spatially Integrated Social Science (SISS) builds Australia's capacity and capability for innovative, collaborative, cross-disciplinary effort to investigate the impacts of change on the behaviour and well-being of people and the fortunes of places. SISS theories and research tools permit the integration of diverse and complex databases, the generation of new synthetic datasets, the incorporation of spatial concepts into statistical analysis and modelling, powerful visualisation of information, and the building spatial decision support systems, to provide an improved evidence base and better informed decision-making to address the significant challenges facing Australia's people and its places.Read moreRead less
Contested Landscapes and Divided Communities. The Struggle for Place and Belonging in Papua New Guinea. PNG, as Australia's nearest neighbour and major recipient of Australian foreign aid, is facing major challenges including a weakening state capacity to govern, a breakdown in civil society and escalating law and order problems. These processes, which led to civil conflict in Fiji and Solomon Islands, for example, remain largely misunderstood. Nevertheless, such events have major implications f ....Contested Landscapes and Divided Communities. The Struggle for Place and Belonging in Papua New Guinea. PNG, as Australia's nearest neighbour and major recipient of Australian foreign aid, is facing major challenges including a weakening state capacity to govern, a breakdown in civil society and escalating law and order problems. These processes, which led to civil conflict in Fiji and Solomon Islands, for example, remain largely misunderstood. Nevertheless, such events have major implications for our region's political and economic security. By generating a greater understanding of the contexts and factors contributing to these tensions the project will contribute to better informed policy making by the Australian government, especially in the area of international assistance.Read moreRead less