Mechanical Factors In Normal Human Colonic Motility
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$650,023.00
Summary
Abnormal human colonic contractions cause significant medical, societal and financial burdens. Diagnosis and treatment of motility disorders requires an understanding of normal colonic contractility against which to measure dysfunction. Through state-of-the-art recording and analytical techniques, developed by the applicants, this project will provide the first clear description of normal human colonic motor patterns and how they are generated.
Validating CaMKK2 As A Rational Treatment Target For Bipolar Disorder
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$688,175.00
Summary
Bipolar disorder is a disabling, chronic mental illness that profoundly impairs the ability of affected individuals to function in daily life. Existing treatments for bipolar disorder are inadequate and lack the necessary efficacy and tolerability required for long-term therapy. This project will validate the enzyme, CaMKK2, as a rational treatment target for bipolar disorder, which will guide the development of more effective and safer drugs to improve patient outcomes.
Understanding Epigenetic Modification During Oogenesis For Novel Treatments Of Female Infertility
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$314,644.00
Summary
Infertility affects about 10% of Australian women and the success rates of current infertility treatments are low due to our poor knowledge of eggs development. The numbers of obese and older women trying to conceive are increasing; fertility treatments are even less effective for them. I have generated mouse models to elucidate the pathways regulating egg development. I will study for alterations in these pathways in the mouse models which perfectly mimic the obesity and aging in women.
Cellular Regulation Of Receptor Signalling And Cytokine Responses
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$859,288.00
Summary
Cell surface receptors and signalling pathways elicit the release of cytokines, or chemical messengers, to control inflammation, which is the body’s response to infection or danger. We have discovered a new signalling pathway that can turn off inflammation and help prevent inflammatory disease. Our studies will now define the molecular details of this pathway and show how new and existing drugs targeting this pathway can be optimally used to treat inflammation and cancer.
Transcriptional Effectors Of Oncogenic ERK Signaling In Colorectal Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$820,776.00
Summary
This project aims to unravel how one of the most frequently deregulated molecular pathways in colorectal cancer controls the expression of genes required for these tumours to grow and spread. We expect this work to uncover novel therapeutic targets to effectively inactivate this pathway and biomarkers to select patients most likely to benefit from existing therapies.
During injury or infection, our body’s immune system protects us by launching inflammation. But uncontrolled inflammation drives common diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. This project will reveal how the body produces interleukin-1? – a protein at the heart of inflammation and disease – so we can design better strategies for treating patients with inflammation-driven disease.
ROLE OF RIP KINASES & IAPs IN MUCOSAL IMMUNE DEFENCE
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$631,168.00
Summary
Pathogenic bacteria are master manipulators of the inflammatory signalling pathways designed to thwart them. Understanding how they do this will allow us to develop drugs that limit their ability to infect. We have shown that pathogenic bacteria inject a protein called EspL into human cells to promote the destruction of a family of human proteins, called RIP Kinases (RIPK), that co-ordinate the inflammatory response and aim now to discover how EspL causes RIPK degradation and thereby promotes in ....Pathogenic bacteria are master manipulators of the inflammatory signalling pathways designed to thwart them. Understanding how they do this will allow us to develop drugs that limit their ability to infect. We have shown that pathogenic bacteria inject a protein called EspL into human cells to promote the destruction of a family of human proteins, called RIP Kinases (RIPK), that co-ordinate the inflammatory response and aim now to discover how EspL causes RIPK degradation and thereby promotes infection.Read moreRead less
How The Lateral Habenula Integrates Behavioral And Autonomic Functions: The VTA Dopamine Connection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$819,904.00
Summary
When adverse events occur, the lateral habenula, an old brain nucleus, helps calculate the wisest corrective action by contributing to the “brake” that controls the brain’s dopamine reward system. Our research will show how the lateral habenula links corrective changes in behavior with coordinated changes in temperature. Understanding this link will greatly contribute to understanding the brain mechanisms that regulate our physiology during stressful situations and as part of mental illness.
The Importance Of Receptor Trafficking For Signalling Of Pain And Inflammation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$787,604.00
Summary
Inflammation and pain are normal processes that are essential for survival: inflammation fights infections and pain allows avoidance of danger. These processes are normally tightly controlled and are transient. During disease, they become dysregulated and chronic. By understanding the normal processes of inflammation and pain, and by determining how dysregulation causes disease, we aim to develop new treatments for diseases that are a major cause of human suffering.
Unravelling The Behavioural And Brain Mechanisms Of Compulsive Disorders, And New Ways To Treat Them
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$635,076.00
Summary
Disorders of compulsion, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance use disorder, are chronic, debilitating, and present a significant cost to the individual and to society. Together, these disorders affect more than 10% of the population. Moreover, 40-60% of these individuals are resistant to current treatment. The current project is aimed at improving the preclinical research underlying our understanding the behavioural and brain mechanisms of such disorders and how to treat them.