New Evidence To Guide Decisions About The Prevention And Treatment Of Common Cardiovascular Diseases.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$7,309,675.00
Summary
The Program brings together clinicians, epidemiologists and statisticians in a unique endeavour designed to improve the prevention and treatment of heart attack and stroke. For the foreseeable future, these conditions will remain leading causes of death and disease in Australia and most other countries in the region. While there are many established treatment and prevention strategies for these conditions there remains great potential for further advances to be made, which might avert very large ....The Program brings together clinicians, epidemiologists and statisticians in a unique endeavour designed to improve the prevention and treatment of heart attack and stroke. For the foreseeable future, these conditions will remain leading causes of death and disease in Australia and most other countries in the region. While there are many established treatment and prevention strategies for these conditions there remains great potential for further advances to be made, which might avert very large numbers of premature deaths and serious disabling outcomes. This Program of research seeks to provide new information that will give patients, doctors and policy makers innovative options for the treatment and prevention of heart attack and stroke. The Program will incorporate two main elements: observational studies and randomised controlled trials. The observational studies will establish the precise importance of each of the main causes of cardiovascular diseases (such as diabetes, blood pressure, smoking and cholesterol) at different ages, in different ethnic groups and in different geographic regions. Furthermore, these studies will also define the relative importance of established and novel risk factors for cardiovascular disease, providing important new information about how resources for prevention should be directed. The large-scale trials will provide evidence about the effectiveness and safety of a range of new cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment strategies. The work will build on the team�s very successful approach of evaluating the effects of established interventions in high-risk groups for whom those particular treatments are not currently indicated.The Program will also include studies that address the critical issue of translating health research findings into practice _ in terms of health policy, clinical practice and consumer behaviour. A particular focus involves the application and evaluation of novel Internet technologies for promoting best practice. The methodologies used by the team will ensure that the evidence generated by the Program is as precise and reliable as possible, in order to provide a sound base to guide decisions about changes in health care policy and practice. The research findings will have direct relevance to the healthcare needs of millions of Australians within the next five years, and the impact of the work will be assured by the development of implementation and dissemination plans for each major component of the Program.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
Breast Cancer is a very common disease in women and although huge progress has been made in the last two decades, much remains to be done to improve our understanding of different types of breast cancer and its management. This program brings together the expertise of three senior researchers: 2scientists and 1 medical scientist. Dr Trench has an interest in identifying genes involved in cancers arising in patients who have a strong family history. She will use molecular methods and cohorts of p ....Breast Cancer is a very common disease in women and although huge progress has been made in the last two decades, much remains to be done to improve our understanding of different types of breast cancer and its management. This program brings together the expertise of three senior researchers: 2scientists and 1 medical scientist. Dr Trench has an interest in identifying genes involved in cancers arising in patients who have a strong family history. She will use molecular methods and cohorts of patients enrolled with Kathleen Cunningham Foundation for Research into Familial Breast and Ovarian Cancer to identify the genes responsible, assess their distribution in the population and determine whether these genes also play a role in non-familial cancers. Dr Khanna's work examines the complex array of enzymes that are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the DNA, and investigates how failure of these mechanisms leads to damage of the genetic material which ultimately results in cancer. It is known that genes involved in familial predisposition code for proteins that work as DNA repair enzymes. It is also known that different types of breast cancer exist, each with differing behaviour and response to treatment and that they are associated with specific genetic changes, including those associated with a familial predisposition. Prof Lakhani's interest lies in using microscopy and the latest molecular tools to refine the classification of these different types of breast tumour so that they can be managed appropriately by his surgical and oncological colleagues. A better understanding of the genetic changes and underlying biology of different types of breast cancer will lead to individualised and specific therapy for patients. This program brings together a unique combination, nationally and internationally, that investigates cancers at the level of genes and cells and translates the information to the clinic for the benefit of patient management.Read moreRead less