Clinical And Genetic Modifiers In The Progression To Cirrhosis In Hemochromatosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$68,539.00
Summary
Haemochromatosis is a disease related to a common genetic abnormality leading to progressive iron accumulation in tissues with the potential for liver fibrosis and eventually scarring of the liver. It has been noted that not all patients with haemochromatosis develop scarring of the liver and it is possible that this variation could be due to differences in lifestyle or health factors or alternatively due to genetic variability between patients. The study aims to investigate this further.
Accelerated Telomere Length Attrition Rate In Diabetes And Its Cellular Mechanism
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$38,381.00
Summary
I am a PhD in Medicine-University of Sydney. My research focus is about telomere dynamic, its mechanism and correlation between telomere length and diabetes attributes. I will compare telomere length between different diabetes groups & examine telomere regulation in cell culture/animal model to compliment my clinical data. The hypothesis: accelerated telomere shortening may co-segregate with diabetes complications and by preserving telomere we could potentially prevent adverse effect of diabetes
A New Virus Causing Acute Gastroenteritis In Humans
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$575,374.00
Summary
Diarrhoea is very common, especially in children but a cause is often not found. Believing there must be undiscovered viruses responsible, we developed a new method to look for them, and discovered one, which we have named adelavirus, in 17% of children with diarrhoea presenting to the WCH, Adelaide, over a 3 month period. 55% were hospitalised. This project proposes to investigate how widespread adelavirus infection is in the community and investigate how a vaccine might be developed.
The Use Of Minimal Residual Disease Detection To Improve Treatment Outcome In Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$316,650.00
Summary
Leukaemia is the most common childhood cancer, representing approximately 35% of all cases. Despite intensive therapy, the disease frequently recurs in the bone marrow and although children are classified into good and poor prognosis groups at diagnosis based on a number of criteria, relapses nevertheless occur in both groups. Available evidence suggests that early detection of poor treatment response in the otherwise good prognosis group, and the implementation of alternative therapy when the c ....Leukaemia is the most common childhood cancer, representing approximately 35% of all cases. Despite intensive therapy, the disease frequently recurs in the bone marrow and although children are classified into good and poor prognosis groups at diagnosis based on a number of criteria, relapses nevertheless occur in both groups. Available evidence suggests that early detection of poor treatment response in the otherwise good prognosis group, and the implementation of alternative therapy when the cancer burden is at a low level, has a high likelihood of improving patient survival. The failure to respond well to treatment is assessed by a novel molecular genetic technique developed in our laboratory that can detect and quantitate very low levels of residual leukaemia with great sensitivity and specificity. The major goal of this project is to conduct a clinical trial in which this testing procedure is used at an early stage of treatment, and patients who have a bad result on this test, will be given more intensive treatment to see if this improves survival rates. In addition, the project is also directed towards investigating a range of genes known to have a role in drug detoxification. A number of naturally occurring variations exist for these drug metabolising genes and there is evidence suggesting that specific variations or patterns may influence a cancer's response to treatment. We will therefore examine the genetic patterns present in a large cohort of leukaemias and correlate these patterns with response to treatment. It is anticipated that these studies will help define the most appropriate treatment strategies for children with leukaemia. This project therefore has major implications for the therapeutic management of children with leukaemia and has the potential of contributing directly to the improved survival of this most common of childhood cancers.Read moreRead less
The Use Of Minimal Residual Disease Detection To Improve Treatment Outcome In Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$374,625.00
Summary
Leukaemia is the most common childhood cancer, representing approximately 35% of all cases. Despite intensive therapy, the disease frequently recurs in the bone marrow and although children are classified into good and poor prognosis groups at diagnosis based on a number of criteria, relapses nevertheless occur in both groups. Evidence obtained by ourselves and others, suggests that early detection of poor treatment response in the otherwise good prognosis group, and the implementation of altern ....Leukaemia is the most common childhood cancer, representing approximately 35% of all cases. Despite intensive therapy, the disease frequently recurs in the bone marrow and although children are classified into good and poor prognosis groups at diagnosis based on a number of criteria, relapses nevertheless occur in both groups. Evidence obtained by ourselves and others, suggests that early detection of poor treatment response in the otherwise good prognosis group, and the implementation of alternative therapy when the cancer burden is at a low level, has a high likelihood of improving patient survival. In this regard, we have recently developed a novel molecular genetic technique that can detect and quantitate very low levels of residual leukaemia with great sensitivity and specificity. This technique is ideally suited for use in the routine clinical setting, and as a result of this development, we have now established a clinical trial (ANZCCSG Study VIII) in which patients who have a bad result on this test, will be given more intensive treatment to see if this improves survival rates. A number of research questions will also be addressed in this trial including whether the level of residual leukaemia at the end of therapy is able to predict future relapse that would otherwise not be suspected. It is anticipated that the clinical trial will help define the most appropriate treatment strategies for children with leukaemia. This project, which is at the forefront of such studies worldwide, has major implications for the therapeutic management of children with leukaemia and has the potential of contributing directly to the improved survival of this most common of childhood cancers.Read moreRead less