Collaborative Ovarian, Prostate And Breast Gene-environment Study (COGS)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$447,383.00
Summary
The EU-COGS application has arisen from genome wide scans that identify common genetic variants associated with breast, ovarian and prostate cancer risk. Our studies contributed 50% of DNA samples to the prostate cancer genome wide scan. COGS will now measure these variants in a large number of cases and controls from an international consortium of studies to test whether genetic risks are modified by other genes or lifestyle factors. This will better define genetic risks and identify men at inc ....The EU-COGS application has arisen from genome wide scans that identify common genetic variants associated with breast, ovarian and prostate cancer risk. Our studies contributed 50% of DNA samples to the prostate cancer genome wide scan. COGS will now measure these variants in a large number of cases and controls from an international consortium of studies to test whether genetic risks are modified by other genes or lifestyle factors. This will better define genetic risks and identify men at increased risk who should be the focus of appropriate screening and prevention strategies. Australian participation in the prostate cancer genome wide scan helped to identify a number of genetic variants associated with prostate cancer risk. The aim of EU-COGS, which needs large numbers of samples with epidemiological, tumour pathology and clinical information, is to determine whether these genetic variants act singly or together and the extent to which lifestyle and environmental factors can modify the genetic risk. Our contribution of >10% of the total DNA samples to COGS will enable us to understand how such genetic risks can be modified in the Australian environmental context.Read moreRead less
Establishment Of A Latrobe Valley Power Industry Cohort And Biospecimen Bank For The Study Of Asbestos Related Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$614,466.00
Summary
The Latrobe Valley has been the site of Victoria�s electricity generation since the 1920�s. Very large amounts of asbestos were used in the construction of power stations and housing for the workers employed to build and operate them. Asbestos is known to cause a tumour of the lining of the lung cavity called mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a highly debilitating tumour, with a median survival as low as seven months following diagnosis. Mesothelioma can occur in asbestos exposed individuals up to f ....The Latrobe Valley has been the site of Victoria�s electricity generation since the 1920�s. Very large amounts of asbestos were used in the construction of power stations and housing for the workers employed to build and operate them. Asbestos is known to cause a tumour of the lining of the lung cavity called mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a highly debilitating tumour, with a median survival as low as seven months following diagnosis. Mesothelioma can occur in asbestos exposed individuals up to forty years following exposure, and as such, the peak number of cases of mesothelioma is not expected in Australia for another 10-20 years. The incidence of mesothelioma in the Latrobe Valley is several fold the state average. We will recruit a cohort of 5000 asbestos exposed former power industry workers, and provide information, support and smoking cessation campaigns. For 1000 of the most highly exposed we will offer annual testing for mesothelin, a protein in the blood which may indicate the presence of mesothelioma prior to a clinical diagnosis.Read moreRead less
Enterovirus 71 In The Asia-Pacific Region: Reverse Genetic Approaches To Virus Surveillance And Vaccine Development.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$690,833.00
Summary
In this research the team will use advanced biotechnological techniques to study the distribution and virulence markers of an important emerging infectious disease, enterovirus 71 encephalitis, in the Asia-Pacific region. The knowledge and technical advances derived from this study will be shared with neighbouring countries in order to conduct sensitive surveillance for this infection throughout the region. The study's other major aim is to use cutting-edge biotechnological techniques to develop ....In this research the team will use advanced biotechnological techniques to study the distribution and virulence markers of an important emerging infectious disease, enterovirus 71 encephalitis, in the Asia-Pacific region. The knowledge and technical advances derived from this study will be shared with neighbouring countries in order to conduct sensitive surveillance for this infection throughout the region. The study's other major aim is to use cutting-edge biotechnological techniques to develop a genetically defined, live attenuated vaccine strain. Candidate vaccine strains will be tested for their effectiveness in both cell culture-based and animal models.Read moreRead less
Injecting Drug Users: Social Networks And Molecular Epidemiology Of The Hepatitis C Virus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$543,868.00
Summary
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) continues to spread among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Australia at a very high rate, despite success in preventing the spread of HIV in the same groups; the complete reasons for this remain unclear. There is an urgent need for the HCV epidemic among IDUs to be contained. To do so, we must better understand the ways in which it is spreading among IDUs. Much is known about risk behaviours of individual IDUs and how they contribute to HCV transmission; much less is kn ....The hepatitis C virus (HCV) continues to spread among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Australia at a very high rate, despite success in preventing the spread of HIV in the same groups; the complete reasons for this remain unclear. There is an urgent need for the HCV epidemic among IDUs to be contained. To do so, we must better understand the ways in which it is spreading among IDUs. Much is known about risk behaviours of individual IDUs and how they contribute to HCV transmission; much less is known about how these behaviours are modified by the influence of the IDUs peer group, especially their immediate and intimate social networks. Despite its importance in influencing attitudes and behaviours, and therefore HCV transmission, this has never been studied in Australia, nor, in relation to HCV, in the world. We hope that by studying social and risk networks of IDUs we shall discover new ways in which control of the HCV epidemic can be achieved in Australia. We intend to do this among two groups of young IDUs, one of Vietnamese ethnicity, located in the one suburb of Melbourne. By using field techniques for gathering information (ethnography), and sophisticated analytic techniques to understand how these networks are formed and influence behaviours, we hope to be able to identify interventions which work at the level of the social group rather than the individual in bringing about the behaviour change necessary to prevent HCV transmission. To ensure that the risk networks we describe are as influential as they appear, and to discover more about the variability of HCV, we will also be investigating the relationship between the various strains of HCV in members of the IDU networks, particularly as another measure of the connectedness of networks and network members. This will be done using sophisticated genetic analysis of the HCV obtained from network members by blood test.Read moreRead less
Epidemiology And Community Consequences Of Asbestos Exposure In WA
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$879,876.00
Summary
We aim to explore the impact of asbestos exposure on the health of individuals using the Wittenoom workers and residents cohort studies and the Australian community with the formation of a new community based cohort study. Using data from the Wittenoom workers and residents studies, we will examine the impact of asbestos exposure on women�s health which has not been looked at before. We will examine if asbestos exposure affects psychosocial health and determine if long term supplementation with ....We aim to explore the impact of asbestos exposure on the health of individuals using the Wittenoom workers and residents cohort studies and the Australian community with the formation of a new community based cohort study. Using data from the Wittenoom workers and residents studies, we will examine the impact of asbestos exposure on women�s health which has not been looked at before. We will examine if asbestos exposure affects psychosocial health and determine if long term supplementation with Vitamin A for cancer prevention results in an increased risk of bone fractures. We will also examine the genetic susceptibility of asbestos related diseases in these cohorts, and create and validate an algorithm to derive measures of fibre counts from occupational histories. Earlier projections of mesothelioma in the general community have been based on extrapolations from disease incidence in the past. We intend collecting data on a new community based cohort, to examine the distribution of asbestos in the community in order to predict future cases of asbestos related disease and the perception, beliefs and knowledge that exists in the community of its potential health effects. With this new knowledge we will devise an intervention program with the aim of preventing future cases of asbestos related disease. As part of this process we will use a multimedia website as an information hub. This will allow us to experiment with the use of creative media to present personal and community experiences of living with asbestos and present scientific research and public health messages.Read moreRead less
Risk Of Brain Cancer From Exposure To Radiofrequency Fields In Childhood And Adolescence
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$708,426.00
Summary
Mobile phone use is increasing in Australia, especially among children and young adults. This study is the Australian arm of an international multi-centre study that will investigate exposure to radiofrequency radiation from mobile phone use during childhood and adolescence and later onset of brain tumours in people between the ages of 10 and 24 years. There is considerable community concern and scientific interest about possible health effects from mobile phone exposure in young people and this ....Mobile phone use is increasing in Australia, especially among children and young adults. This study is the Australian arm of an international multi-centre study that will investigate exposure to radiofrequency radiation from mobile phone use during childhood and adolescence and later onset of brain tumours in people between the ages of 10 and 24 years. There is considerable community concern and scientific interest about possible health effects from mobile phone exposure in young people and this multi-centre study will provide important information about such cancer risks.Read moreRead less
Novel, High-throutyput Platform For Rapid Identification, Quantintation, Differential Diagnosis, And Resistance Testing
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$333,362.00
Summary
This proposal utilizes a newly invented process (multiplex tandem polymerase chain reaction, MT-PCR) to measure multiple (up to 100) genetic targets (eg RNA or DNA) in one sample. A range of different virus and bacterial genes can be detected, including those which make the influenza virus different (eg H1N1 or H5N1) and allow it to bypass vaccine immunity or resist drug therapy (due to neuraminidase inhibitor resistance). We will simultaneously target infections which are influenza-like (ILI) o ....This proposal utilizes a newly invented process (multiplex tandem polymerase chain reaction, MT-PCR) to measure multiple (up to 100) genetic targets (eg RNA or DNA) in one sample. A range of different virus and bacterial genes can be detected, including those which make the influenza virus different (eg H1N1 or H5N1) and allow it to bypass vaccine immunity or resist drug therapy (due to neuraminidase inhibitor resistance). We will simultaneously target infections which are influenza-like (ILI) or which might make influenza infection worse (eg staphylococcal pneumonia) as well as their resistance genes (eg MRSA). The test is rapid and automated and includes a specimen processing (DNA and RNA extraction) function that is being developed in parallel. We expect to be able to conduct high-throughput screening of multiple samples for a limited number of targets or conduct multiple tests on fewer specimens, simply by adjusting assay configuration. Measurement of the rise and fall in concentrations of influenza virus in infected persons will allow us to understand when they are no longer infectious to others, to predict when they are getting better or worse, and allow us to better understand the pattern of illness in people who are immunized against influenza or on drug therapy, or are in some other special category (eg immune compromise due to organ transplantation). While this will be able to be rolled out by our industry partners in the event of an influenza pandemic, it does not require an outbreak for successful development, and has value well beyond influenza diagnosis.Read moreRead less
Prospective Study Of The Emergence Of Syndromal And Sub Syndromal Anxiety And Depression During Cognitive Decline.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$555,696.00
Summary
In older people it is well known that memory impairment and cognitive decline are associated with depression and anxiety. However, it is remains quite uncertain which comes first. For a long time it had been thought that deteriorating brain function associated with ageing and the development of dementia is also the cause of new symptoms of depression and anxiety found in older people. Recently, some evidence has emerged to challenge this hypothesis. So we plan to study this question in detail wi ....In older people it is well known that memory impairment and cognitive decline are associated with depression and anxiety. However, it is remains quite uncertain which comes first. For a long time it had been thought that deteriorating brain function associated with ageing and the development of dementia is also the cause of new symptoms of depression and anxiety found in older people. Recently, some evidence has emerged to challenge this hypothesis. So we plan to study this question in detail with data from an existing longitudinal study of ageing women.Read moreRead less