Therapeutic Targeting Of Cell Cycle Checkpoint Aberrations In Pancreatic Cancer: Personalised Medicine In Action
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$634,354.00
Summary
Less than 5% of people with pancreatic cancer (PC) survive 5 years, and the odds of patients beating this disease have remained unchanged for 50 years. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop novel treatment approaches for this highly aggressive cancer. Our study aims to define novel therapeutic strategies for PC utilising specific anti-proliferative therapies and a personalised “companion biomarker” directed strategy.
Targeting NDM-producing ‘superbugs’: Optimising Novel Combinations With ‘old’ Polymyxins Using Pharmacological, Molecular Imaging And Systems Biology Approaches
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$582,732.00
Summary
Rapid global spread of so-called NDM-producing bacterial ‘superbugs’ is presenting a major medical challenge. Without new antibiotics under development, polymyxin is becoming the only effective antibiotic. Unfortunately we recently revealed that treatment with polymyxin alone can rapidly lead to resistance in NDM-producing ‘superbugs’. This project will employ new tools to optimise rational polymyxin combinations, thereby providing urgently needed information to clinicians for treating these ver ....Rapid global spread of so-called NDM-producing bacterial ‘superbugs’ is presenting a major medical challenge. Without new antibiotics under development, polymyxin is becoming the only effective antibiotic. Unfortunately we recently revealed that treatment with polymyxin alone can rapidly lead to resistance in NDM-producing ‘superbugs’. This project will employ new tools to optimise rational polymyxin combinations, thereby providing urgently needed information to clinicians for treating these very problematic infections.Read moreRead less
Optimising Radiation Therapy Delivery For Cancer Patients Using Daily Image Guidance To Maximize Cure And Reduce Normal Tissue Side Effects
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$510,968.00
Summary
When using radiotherapy to kill tumours, the radiation beams need to be targeted at the tumour, plus a margin of error around it to ensure that it receives sufficient dose despite uncertainties in its exact location relative to reference points used for beam alignment. Advanced statistical modelling techniques applied to data collected from patients will be used to determine the optimal margin width for individual patients to maximise cancer cure while minimising normal tissue side effects.
Imaging Neutrophil And Endothelial Function In Acute Glomerulonephritis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$545,517.00
Summary
The glomerulus is a group of small blood vessels which form the filtering component of the kidney. In many diseases, it can be the target of an inappropriate inflammatory response during which white blood cells accumulate in the glomerular blood vessels and cause damage. In this project, we will visualise the blood vessel lining of the glomerulus in order to understand how white blood cells damage this region and cause leakage of protein leak into the urine.
Efficacy Of A 3-month Aerobic Exercise Regime For Restoring 'brain Health' In Heavy Cannabis Users
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,209,221.00
Summary
Over a ten-year period, we, and others have documented the brain and psychological harms associated with regular cannabis use. We have now shown that these harms are not permanent, but can be restored. However, the recovery process takes a long time. This study will build on our extensive work to date and, for the first time, investigate whether a specific form of exercise will cause accelerated and beneficial changes in i) the brain and ii) the daily lives of heavy cannabis users.
Quantifying The Role Of Epigenetic Factors In Neurocognitive Outcomes: A Twin Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,516,790.00
Summary
We aim to identify the environmental factors in early life that contribute towards an individual brain development using MRI brain scans and related psychological skills measured in late childhood. We are using twins to better understand differences in their early life environments independent of genetics.
The Role Of Nuclear Architecture In The DNA Damage Response
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$561,966.00
Summary
The goal of the proposed research is to understand how dynamic changes to the chromatin genome packaging network, interact with the DNA damage response and gene expression machinery, to repair damaged DNA and the impact this has on cancer biology. To do so we are combining cutting edge molecular biology techniques with innovative novel microscopy methods developed by our research team, that far exceed the spatiotemporal resolution currently used to study chromatin biology.
Improving Patient Safety In Radiation Therapy With The Watchdog Real-time Treatment Delivery Verification System
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$593,742.00
Summary
Radiation therapy is a highly effective cancer treatment with extremely high doses delivered using very complex treatment machines. Unfortunately errors have occurred resulting in cases of patient death and mistreatment. We have developed a novel method to assess the treatment delivery in real-time to prevent errors. The method uses imaging devices that are already present on the treatment machine meaning that this method could have a major impact on patient safety in modern radiation therapy.
A Randomised Controlled Trial Of Low-dose Ketamine In Youth With Severe Depression And Elevated Suicide Risk
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,232,757.00
Summary
Recent research has shown that a single injection of low-dose ketamine has powerful, though short-lived, antidepressant effects. Effective treatments are urgently needed for young people with severe depression. This will be the first controlled study to test whether repeated doses of ketamine, given over 4 weeks, is effective for young patients.