Signaling Pathways To Enhance Potency Of AMPK-targeting Drugs
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$661,966.00
Summary
Sedentary lifestyles and consumption of high energy foods has led to epidemics of obesity-related metabolic diseases that place enormous financial and medical burden on the Australian economy. An attractive drug target to treat these diseases is AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) which functions as both a cellular fuel gauge and co-ordinator of whole-body metabolism. Our goal is to improve AMPK drug potency by identifying novel processes that sensitize AMPK to drugs.
A Structural Understanding Of Class B G Protein-coupled Receptor Function
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,289,570.00
Summary
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of cell surface proteins that enable communication from external signals to the inside of cells of the body. Class B GPCRs are a therapeutically important subclass of these receptors and they play crucial roles in bone and energy homeostasis, cardiovascular control and immune response. This grant will uncover fundamental knowledge on how these receptors work, and will enhance future development of therapeutics.
Testing metabolic theories in ecology. There are striking similarities in the way plants and animals take up and use energy (metabolism), despite enormous variation in size and life-style. This project will make the first experimental comparison of the predictions of the two major theories for these broad patterns. The results will significantly progress this controversial and exciting field.
Discovery And Development Of Better Pain Treatments
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$9,613,850.00
Summary
Many forms of pain remain poorly treated, leading to significant quality of life and economic losses. This Program grant will discover and characterise new peptides from cone snails and spiders that modulate specific channels in nerves that are critical to the transmission of pain signals to the brain. Using advanced chemical and structural approaches, promising leads will be optimised for potency and stability and evaluated in disease and pathway-specific models of pain to establish their clini ....Many forms of pain remain poorly treated, leading to significant quality of life and economic losses. This Program grant will discover and characterise new peptides from cone snails and spiders that modulate specific channels in nerves that are critical to the transmission of pain signals to the brain. Using advanced chemical and structural approaches, promising leads will be optimised for potency and stability and evaluated in disease and pathway-specific models of pain to establish their clinical potential.Read moreRead less
Enhancing wellbeing over the family life course. This project aims to investigate the impact of family life transitions, such as relationship formation and dissolution or births, on wellbeing over the life course. It will do this by analysing data following people over time and will provide information about the negative and positive effects of family transitions for wellbeing, track changes in wellbeing before, during and after transitions, and highlight the intersections of the family life cou ....Enhancing wellbeing over the family life course. This project aims to investigate the impact of family life transitions, such as relationship formation and dissolution or births, on wellbeing over the life course. It will do this by analysing data following people over time and will provide information about the negative and positive effects of family transitions for wellbeing, track changes in wellbeing before, during and after transitions, and highlight the intersections of the family life course with gender, age and socioeconomic status. This will considerably enhance understandings of wellbeing over the family life course, providing insights for targeted policies and interventions to improve health and wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Pore Engineering of Chromatography Membranes for Bioseparation. Protein separation and purification is an essential unit operation in manufacturing processes of therapeutic proteins. The project aims to advance the practical applications of chromatography membrane, an emerging technology for protein separation and purification, by tailoring membrane pore geometry and surface functionality to achieve enhanced separation performance. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge and technique ....Pore Engineering of Chromatography Membranes for Bioseparation. Protein separation and purification is an essential unit operation in manufacturing processes of therapeutic proteins. The project aims to advance the practical applications of chromatography membrane, an emerging technology for protein separation and purification, by tailoring membrane pore geometry and surface functionality to achieve enhanced separation performance. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge and techniques in the fields of reactive polymer synthesis, functional membrane fabrication and application in bioseparation. The innovative membranes developed in the project are able to improve the production capacity of therapeutic protein manufacturing processes, providing significant economic benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less
Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes for Organic Solvent Separation. Directly addressing the pressing challenge of organic solvent separation faced by numerous industries, the project aims to develop molecular sieve membranes with outstanding selectivity and solvent tolerance by constructing zeolite-carbon mixed matrix membrane via incorporating zeolite nanosheets into carbon materials. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge of nanosheet synthesis, membrane fabrication and selective mole ....Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes for Organic Solvent Separation. Directly addressing the pressing challenge of organic solvent separation faced by numerous industries, the project aims to develop molecular sieve membranes with outstanding selectivity and solvent tolerance by constructing zeolite-carbon mixed matrix membrane via incorporating zeolite nanosheets into carbon materials. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge of nanosheet synthesis, membrane fabrication and selective molecule transport. The membranes developed in the project have great potentials for improving the production capacity and sustainability of Australian industries, e.g., pharmaceutical manufacturing, bioethanol production and petroleum refining, providing significant economic and environmental benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less
Confronting everyday harms: preventing abuse of people with disability. The findings of the Disability Royal Commission necessitate new approaches to prevent violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. Framed by recognition theory, this project proposes empirical research with young people with cognitive disability, using a new concept of ‘everyday harms’ in their paid relationships. The results will inform early responses to poor quality interactions in disability support. The strategic alliance ....Confronting everyday harms: preventing abuse of people with disability. The findings of the Disability Royal Commission necessitate new approaches to prevent violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. Framed by recognition theory, this project proposes empirical research with young people with cognitive disability, using a new concept of ‘everyday harms’ in their paid relationships. The results will inform early responses to poor quality interactions in disability support. The strategic alliances with the government, industry and community partners will develop a practice framework to prevent everyday harms and the escalation to abuse, and to promote safety and wellbeing. The research has policy benefits for capacity-building in the sector to act on the rights and voices of people with disability. Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC150100019
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,571,797.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Liquefied Natural Gas Futures. ARC Training Centre for Liquefied Natural Gas Futures. This training centre aims to deliver projects and training to enable future Australian Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) production from reserves in deep water, at small or remote on-shore locations, with greater efficiency, less environmental impact, and at lower cost than currently possible. This should be accomplished via research projects undertaken by the PhD students and research fellows ....ARC Training Centre for Liquefied Natural Gas Futures. ARC Training Centre for Liquefied Natural Gas Futures. This training centre aims to deliver projects and training to enable future Australian Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) production from reserves in deep water, at small or remote on-shore locations, with greater efficiency, less environmental impact, and at lower cost than currently possible. This should be accomplished via research projects undertaken by the PhD students and research fellows with guidance from the centre’s industrial partners. The centre’s expected legacy is a unique research and training facility, designed for future integration into a microscale LNG plant. The anticipated research and training outcomes will help to ensure Australia plays a leading role in future global LNG developments.Read moreRead less
Assessing the physiological roles of ubiquitination in regulating neuronal ion channels, receptors and transporters. Significant alterations in the activity neuronal transporters and receptors occur during tissue injury and regeneration as well as in many neurodegenerative disease states. Modulation of the pathways that control these transporters is an emerging therapeutic target, however, the molecular basis of these control mechanisms remain poorly understood. The outcome of this project will ....Assessing the physiological roles of ubiquitination in regulating neuronal ion channels, receptors and transporters. Significant alterations in the activity neuronal transporters and receptors occur during tissue injury and regeneration as well as in many neurodegenerative disease states. Modulation of the pathways that control these transporters is an emerging therapeutic target, however, the molecular basis of these control mechanisms remain poorly understood. The outcome of this project will be a thorough characterisation of a novel regulatory paradigm in neurons that is likely to be crucial for neuronal development and regeneration, and will potentially provide novel therapeutic targets for various neuronal diseases.Read moreRead less