Tropical Infectious Diseases - Pathogenisis And Vaccine Research
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$7,311,989.00
Summary
The diseases on which three themes of the work proposed centre, malaria, streptococcal diseases and scabies are infectious diseases largely affecting indigenous people in various parts of the world on a massive scale, for which there are no vaccines. The aim of the work is to develop vaccines or other biological prevention measures against each of these diseases and the problems that need to be solved are similar. The team includes senior experts on thebiology of infectious diseases with long hi ....The diseases on which three themes of the work proposed centre, malaria, streptococcal diseases and scabies are infectious diseases largely affecting indigenous people in various parts of the world on a massive scale, for which there are no vaccines. The aim of the work is to develop vaccines or other biological prevention measures against each of these diseases and the problems that need to be solved are similar. The team includes senior experts on thebiology of infectious diseases with long histories of collaboration as well as younger members with impressive credentials that are new to the collaboration. The fourth theme of the work proposed is concerned with inventive new ways of making such vaccines by novelchemical methods. It has already been the subject of published collaborative work onstreptococcal disease and is equally applicable to the other themes.Read moreRead less
A major obstacle to the development of safer and more effective pain treatments is the poorly defined nature of the different pathways involved in chronic pain. The applicant team bring together a unique set of research expertise in using neurotoxins to define, at the molecular level, how the nervous system functions. The applicants also share a common interest in understanding and improving treatments for pain, especially chronic pain which continues to remain poorly managed Through a focus on ....A major obstacle to the development of safer and more effective pain treatments is the poorly defined nature of the different pathways involved in chronic pain. The applicant team bring together a unique set of research expertise in using neurotoxins to define, at the molecular level, how the nervous system functions. The applicants also share a common interest in understanding and improving treatments for pain, especially chronic pain which continues to remain poorly managed Through a focus on pain research, the Program will significantly enhance the scope of existing multidisciplinary collaborations between the Cis Lewis Alewood, Adams and Christie, which have already made a considerable impact in the fields of pharmacology and neuroscience. The CIs also have considerable experience in the development of pain therapeutics, having discovered two conopeptides now under commercial development with AMRAD (AM336) and Xenome Ltd (Xen2174). This Program will discover and use highly selective conopeptides such as these to dissect the pharmacology of peripheral pain pathways and their projections into the central nervous system, and to identify and characterise new targets amenable to drug intervention. The long-term goal of the Program is to discover new targets in pain pathways and develop conopeptides that act on these targets in animal models of chronic pain. These molecules will be optimised within the Program to the point where they can be considered for pre-clinical development in collaboration with commercial partners.Read moreRead less