Investigating The Role Of Mitochondrial Tom40 In Regulated Cell Death And Neurodegeneration.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$972,660.00
Summary
Mitochondria are internal compartments of cells, separated by bounding membranes. They are crucial to the life and death of cells, and to quality of human life and ageing. Diseases of the nervous system can be caused when mitochondria do not function properly. Our aim is to discover why a protein complex called TOM embedded in the bounding membrane is linked to dementia in some people. This will also lead to a better general understanding of the connection between mitochondria and human health.
Identifying How The Enteric Nervous System Regulates Gut Permeability In Autism
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$448,643.00
Summary
This project aims to investigate causes of increased gut permeability in neurological disorders including autism and will apply neuroscience, immunological and microbiology techniques to clarify the causes of increased gut permeability in a well-characterised genetic mouse model of autism.
Targeting Neurovascular Communication As A Novel Way Of Reducing Vision Loss In Diabetes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$986,663.00
Summary
Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness. Here, we evaluate whether diabetes causes changes in the way neurons signal to blood vessels, and whether blocking some of the signals from neurons reduces blood vessel abormalities. Overall, this information is critical to our understanding of the early changes that occur during diabetes and whether novel treatments used early in diabetes can prevent long term changes and vision loss.
Understanding The Role Of Lipid In Membrane Permeabilization By The Bcl-2 Family Executioner Proteins
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$626,524.00
Summary
Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death that protects our bodies from dangerous cells, e.g cells infected with viruses or that might become cancerous. A network of protein families control this process and this work will understand how certain members regulate a crucial step in this cell death pathway. Our studies will reveal key insights into apoptosis at the molecular level and inform the development of therapeutics for diseases characterised by dysregulated cell death such as cancer.
Targeting Antimicrobial Resistance And Host Immune Evasion In Staphylococcus Aureus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$892,831.00
Summary
This project aims to show how one of the most important human superbugs, Staphylococcus aureus (Golden staph), develops resistance to one of our most important last-line antibiotics and the immune system to cause life-threatening infections. Our work will also investigate and test new treatment strategies for this common and challenging human pathogen.
Bivalent Analgesics: Rational Design Of Selective Ion Channel Inhibitors With Optimised Mechanism Of Action
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$904,890.00
Summary
The so-called 'opioid crisis' leading to the death of millions of people worldwide has highlighted the urgent need for development of novel safe and efficacious pain killers without addictive potential. This proposal aims to rationally design novel analgesic compounds by linking different classes of ion channel modulators with desirable properties.
Dissecting Brain Network Ageing Using Whole Brain Imaging
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$692,964.00
Summary
In this proposal, we will make the first attempt to map the whole brain activity change during ageing using a series of state-of-the-art techniques. We will also identify genetic and pharmacological interventions that improve brain network function during ageing. Outcomes from this research will provide an unprecedented understanding of functional ageing within the brain and identify therapeutic interventions to prevent this process.
Organisation Of The Genome During The Development Of Antibody-secreting Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$886,155.00
Summary
Each cell of our body contains over two metres of DNA that must be correctly packaged in order for our cells to function. We are using cutting-edge molecular biology techniques to study how this DNA circuitry is established in the white blood cells of our immune system that produce antibodies. Our novel approaches will reveal unique strategies to modulate immune responses to our benefit.
A Novel Interaction Between The Immune And Vascular Systems In Early-onset Preeclampsia; An Opportunity For New Treatments?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$921,623.00
Summary
Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication that leads to poor birth outcomes and elevated lifelong cardiovascular disease risk in 4 million women each year. It has no cure and treatments are limited because the causal mechanisms are not understood. We have identified a specialised immune cell in the mother's blood that assists blood vessels to function properly in pregnancy. We will assess whether interventions to enhance these cells can improve poor blood vessel function and pregnancy outcomes.
About one in eight known genetic disorders involve DNA alteration that activates a cellular quality control mechanism that disables the affected gene. This mechanism is more efficient in some individuals than others. It can influence disease outcomes and severity. We will engineer and apply tools and models to measure and manipulate this crucial cellular mechanism. This will allow us to predict disease severity as well as to intervene where a manipulation of this mechanism will be beneficial.