The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) invites you to participate in a short survey about your
interaction with the ARDC and use of our national research infrastructure and services. The survey will take
approximately 5 minutes and is anonymous. It’s open to anyone who uses our digital research infrastructure
services including Reasearch Link Australia.
We will use the information you provide to improve the national research infrastructure and services we
deliver and to report on user satisfaction to the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research
Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) program.
Please take a few minutes to provide your input. The survey closes COB Friday 29 May 2026.
Complete the 5 min survey now by clicking on the link below.
A New Function For An Old Enzyme: Src Protein Kinase Directs Excitotoxic Neuronal Death In Stroke
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$513,975.00
Summary
In our previous investigation of how brain cells die in patients suffering from stroke, we found that stroke causes aberrant activation of an enzyme called Src in the affected brain cells. Furthermore, this aberrantly activated Src directs the brain cells to undergo cell death. Our proposal, which aims to decipher this neurotoxic mechanism of the aberrantly activated Src will benefit development of new therapeutic strategies to reduce brain damage in stroke patients.
Improving Patient Management Pathways In Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$181,065.00
Summary
Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of vision impairment in Australians aged over 50 years. In recent years, there have been a number of diagnostic tests and new interventions developed for AMD, but it has proven challenging to communicate this information to all primary eye care practitioners. This project will investigate the reasons management guidelines are not always being followed, and develop online training to provide direct bench-to-bedside AMD education.
Low Dose Aspirin And Age-related Macular Degeneration: Randomised Controlled Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,043,189.00
Summary
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of visual impairment in advanced countries, responsible for nearly half of all legal blindness in Australia. Due to increased life expectancy, the number of people with this progressive late onset disease will double by 2025. Aspirin could prevent or delay the onset of AMD in older persons but its bleeding risk also needs to be considered. This project will determine whether treatment with low dose aspirin reduces incidence or progression o ....Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major cause of visual impairment in advanced countries, responsible for nearly half of all legal blindness in Australia. Due to increased life expectancy, the number of people with this progressive late onset disease will double by 2025. Aspirin could prevent or delay the onset of AMD in older persons but its bleeding risk also needs to be considered. This project will determine whether treatment with low dose aspirin reduces incidence or progression of AMD.Read moreRead less
Promoting Regrowth Of Nerve Fibres Into The Epidermis During Diabetic Neuropathy By LRP Agonists
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$427,102.00
Summary
Nerve damage can develop post injury or disease and is often very debilitating, slow to heal and can cause increased pain. Our work aims to examine a new class of molecules that we show can activate selected fat-receptors on nerve cells to guide the growth of regenerating nerves. We will determine how these receptors function with the aim of developing a novel class of therapeutics directed at healing nerve damage.
Migration And Differentiation Of Enteric Neuron Precursors
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$385,116.00
Summary
There are many millions of nerve cells within the wall of the intestine, and they control many intestinal functions, including motility. During development, these nerve cells arise from cells which migrate away from the developing brain and first enter the stomach. The migratory cells are called neural crest cells. After entering the stomach, neural crest cells migrate within the wall of the gastrointestinal tract, until they reach the far (anal) end. In embryonic mice, this colonisation of the ....There are many millions of nerve cells within the wall of the intestine, and they control many intestinal functions, including motility. During development, these nerve cells arise from cells which migrate away from the developing brain and first enter the stomach. The migratory cells are called neural crest cells. After entering the stomach, neural crest cells migrate within the wall of the gastrointestinal tract, until they reach the far (anal) end. In embryonic mice, this colonisation of the entire small and large intestines by neural crest cells takes over 4 days, and in humans the process probably takes at least one week. It is essential that the neural crest cells colonise the entire gastrointestinal tract, since regions of intestine lacking neural crest cells (and hence nerve cells) cannot function and intestinal contents build up in front of the region lacking nerve cells. This condition is found in some babies (Hirschsprung's disease), and it can only be treated by surgically removing the region lacking nerve cells. It is therefore essential that migratory neural crest cells colonise the entire gastrointestinal tract. Currently, little is known about the mechanisms controlling the migration of neural crest cells, and whether a) particular molecules within the gut wall are important for migration, and-or b) the migratory behaviour of the neural crest cells is regulated mostly by the neural crest cells themselves. In this study we will take time-lapse images of neural crest cells migrating through the gut of embryonic mice to identify the factors that are important for the migration. After the neural crest cells have colonised the entire intestine, they develop into different types of nerve cells. We will also examine some of the factors affecting the development of different types of nerve cells.Read moreRead less
Many infants and children suffer from bowel motility disorders, for example, chronic constipation affects up to 1 in 10 children. However, the cause of many of these paediatric motility disorders remains unknown. In this project, we will examine the development of wiring of the nervous system that controls bowel motility. This is the first study to investigate the development of cell-cell communication during early stages of nervous system development.
The Molecular Basis For Target Selection In The Central Nervous System By Sensory Axons
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$251,325.00
Summary
The normal function of the brain depends upon the specific connections that nerve cells make with each other. These connections are set up in the developing embryo when nerve cells send out long processes - axons - which grow towards their synaptic targets. How axons select their correct targets from amongst the millions of alternatives in the developing brain is unknown. A better understanding of this problem will help us develop therapies to assist regenerating axons re-establish correct conne ....The normal function of the brain depends upon the specific connections that nerve cells make with each other. These connections are set up in the developing embryo when nerve cells send out long processes - axons - which grow towards their synaptic targets. How axons select their correct targets from amongst the millions of alternatives in the developing brain is unknown. A better understanding of this problem will help us develop therapies to assist regenerating axons re-establish correct connections following injury to the brain or spinal cord. We propose to use a simple model system, the embryo of the fruitfly Drosophila, to find molecules that are involved in this process of neuron target recognition - ' axon targeting' molecules - and to study how they work. Drosophila can be genetically manipulated in ways not possible in higher animals. Furthermore the simplicity of its nervous system means that we can determine the connections of individual nerve cells with a high degree of precision. In the first part of our project, we will examine Drosophila embryos that carry mutations in genes suspected to code for targeting molecules. We will stain individual sensory nerve cells in these embryos with dyes to reveal the anatomy of their axons in the brain. If sensory axons terminate abnormally in the brain of a given mutant, the affected gene is likely to code for an axon targeting molecule. In the second part of the study, we will investigate the functions of candidate axon targeting molecules using two approaches. Firstly, we will seek to determine whether the molecule acts in the sensory axons or in their target cells. Secondly, we will use time-lapse microscopy to study how the homing behaviour of the sensory axons is affected in mutant embryos. The results of these studies will lead us closer to an answer to the question: How do axons recognise their specific target cells in the brain?Read moreRead less
Novel Morphological Retinal Vascular Features As Early Biomarkers Of Vision-threatening Eye Diseases.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$107,169.00
Summary
Vision loss is not just a personal health burden, but a huge socio-economical burden. Management of major vision-threatening eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma will be improved if we can successfully identified persons at risk of developing the disease before clinical presentation to benefit from preventive treatment. My research aims to contribute to the prediction of these blinding diseases using advanced computer imaging analysis for simpl ....Vision loss is not just a personal health burden, but a huge socio-economical burden. Management of major vision-threatening eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma will be improved if we can successfully identified persons at risk of developing the disease before clinical presentation to benefit from preventive treatment. My research aims to contribute to the prediction of these blinding diseases using advanced computer imaging analysis for simple retinal photographs.Read moreRead less
The Role Of Cell Adhesion Molecules In Regulation Of Axon Advance
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$426,006.00
Summary
All cells contain on their surface a class of molecules, cell adhesion molecules, that enable them to adhere to other cells in tissues. Cell adhesion molecules have long been known to be involved in the guidance of axons to their targets during development. However the molecular mechanisms by which these molecules act are largely unknown. We propose to use the powerful genetic tools available in the fruitfly to dissect the mechanisms by which two cell adhesion molecules promote axon growth.
Aurora Kinase: Molecular, Cellular And Functional Studies Deciphering Its Role In Stroke Injury
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$580,993.00
Summary
In stroke patients, oxygen deprivation indirectly induces massive nerve cell death by activating an enzyme called aurora kinase A (AURKA). We aim at unravelling (i) how AURKA is activated by oxygen deprivation, (ii) where the activated AURKA is localised in cells, and (iii) how the activated AURKA induces nerve cell death.The study will benefit development of therapeutic strategies to protect against brain damage in stroke since this is novel and different target for drug targeting.