Saving Sight Through Novel BioTech Innovations For Inherited Retinal Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,534,523.00
Summary
Inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) are the leading cause of blindness in working-aged adults. My work focuses on learning more about IRDs, including the correlation between genes and the degenerative changes in the eye. I am developing new outcome measures to predict who might lose vision faster, and to use in clinical trials. I will then use this knowledge in two clinical trials for new IRD treatments - a gene therapy and an electronic device that is implanted into the eye.
Hazards, Tipping Points, Adaptation and Collapse in the Indo-Pacific World. The project aims to provide a new understanding of Indo-Pacific history post-1000 based on an improved understanding of the interrelationship between natural environmental cycles and events, and social and political cycles and events. By employing specialists and methodologies in both the social and natural sciences, the project aims to identify tipping points or thresholds beyond which both social and natural systems ch ....Hazards, Tipping Points, Adaptation and Collapse in the Indo-Pacific World. The project aims to provide a new understanding of Indo-Pacific history post-1000 based on an improved understanding of the interrelationship between natural environmental cycles and events, and social and political cycles and events. By employing specialists and methodologies in both the social and natural sciences, the project aims to identify tipping points or thresholds beyond which both social and natural systems change irrevocably. The anticipated outcome of the project highlights the importance of natural hazards as potential catalysts of historical change. Current societies might learn from these experiences to better understand disaster risk reduction in the context of anticipated climate variability.Read moreRead less
Serological Responses To Anal HPV Infection: Characterising The Natural History Of Anal HPV
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$220,506.00
Summary
Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes 90% of anal cancer. Anal cancer rates are 20-100 times higher in gay men than other men. The natural history of anal HPV infection and progression to cancer is not completely understood. This study measuring antibodies to HPV will be part of the ongoing Study of the Prevention of Anal Cancer. We aim to show 1) if infection provides any immunity, which will inform HPV vaccination of older gay men and 2) whether antibodies could be used as a marker of cancer risk.
The Natural History Of Injecting Drug Use Among IDU In Melbourne: A Prospective Cohort Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$760,869.00
Summary
Our response to the emergent epidemic of methamphetamine injection is hampered by our lack of understanding of injecting drug use (IDU) natural history that place users at risk of harm and the effectiveness of interventions. This study will examine typical trajectories of IDU and provide a framework for service evaluation. The study will focus on untreated methamphetamine and heroin users, providing the first clear indication of the comparative harms associated with these different types of IDU.
Rheumatic Fever Follow-up Study (RhFFUS) _ Determining The Optimal Clinical Response For Minor Heart Valve Abnormalities In An Indigenous Australian Setting
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,394,792.00
Summary
Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) are a major health issue for Indigenous Australians. In a previous study heart ultrasounds in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children frequently showed suspicious but not diagnostic changes. RhFFUS (Rheumatic Fever Follow-Up Study) aims to see if these changes are associated with a higher risk of ARF and progression to RHD. If this is the case these high risk children could be identified earlier and offered regular antibiotics ....Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) are a major health issue for Indigenous Australians. In a previous study heart ultrasounds in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children frequently showed suspicious but not diagnostic changes. RhFFUS (Rheumatic Fever Follow-Up Study) aims to see if these changes are associated with a higher risk of ARF and progression to RHD. If this is the case these high risk children could be identified earlier and offered regular antibiotics to prevent this cause of heart disease.Read moreRead less
Epidemiology, Natural History And Treatment Of Hepatitis C Virus Infection In Injecting Drug Users
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,388.00
Summary
In Australia, the majority of hepatitis C is acquired by injecting drug users (IDUs). Given the asymptomatic nature of infection and difficulties in identifying and following those at risk of acquiring infection, our knowledge of hepatitis C has been hampered. The overall goal of this proposed research is to assess markers to better diagnose and predict clearance of hepatitis C, assess hepatitis C transmission and assess health services to enhance HCV assessment and treatment among IDUs.