Drug addiction is a major health and medical problem in Australia. It is a chronically relapsing condition for which there are few effective treatments. This project identifies novel circuits within the brain which are responsible for inhibiting drug taking. It will provide new knowledge on how we may able to prevent relapse to drug taking and so promote and maintain long -term abstinence.
The brain plays a major role in the overconsumption of high fat/high sugar foods and this contributes to obesity but it receives little attention when it comes to developing novel treatments. My lab showed that a FDA-approved smoking cessation medication, that is a nicotinic receptor modulator, decreased the overconsumption of sugar. This project aims are to identify which nicotinic receptors and brain circuits are involved in the overconsumption of sucrose to improve treatments for obesity.
Novel Pathways Toward Improving Relapse Prediction In Schizophrenia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
Relapse is a devastating problem in schizophrenia and our ability to predict when it occurs is still relatively poor. This project seeks to investigate a new method of tracking relapse by measuring speech and symptom changes across time. This novel design is supported by advanced data modelling methods to provide sensitive predictive ability. This project has the potential to significantly improve relapse prediction in schizophrenia and so support and increase beneficial outcomes for patients
Microenvironmentally Induced Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cell Quiescence And Chemotherapy Evasion
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$672,885.00
Summary
Although almost all patients with ALL achieve a remission, a proportion of children and the majority of adults relapse following treatment. Relapse occurs as a result of a small number of malignant cells that survive chemotherapy. We have identified a population of quiescent cells that could represent this population. We believe this population is defined by its location in the bone marrow. This project will characterize this population and determine whether it is protected from chemotherapy.
Repurposing An Alzheimer’s Trial Drug To Block Relapse In Cocaine Addiction Models
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,050,601.00
Summary
Repeated exposure to drugs of abuse, such as cocaine, alters the reward circuitry of the brain. Enduring changes in the connections between neurons underlie addiction-related behavioural patterns, drug craving and the propensity for relapse after drug withdrawal. The pre-clinical research in this proposal aims to test whether blocking the function of a particular brain protein in mice can prevent relapse in two different paradigms that model cocaine addiction in humans.
Preventing Relapse Of Major Depressive Disorder In Youth: RCT Of A Novel Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Online Social Therapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,713,093.00
Summary
Youth depression is a serious illness that will afflict one in four young people. Despite the initial effectiveness of modern treatments, 52% to 85% of young people with depression will suffer repeated depressive episodes. The recurrence of youth depression makes it the greatest cause of disability during youth worldwide. The aim of this project is to assess the effectiveness of a novel mindfulness-based cognitive online social media intervention in preventing relapse in youth depression.
Understanding The Impacts Of Vaporised Nicotine Products On Smoking In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,603,159.00
Summary
Vaporised nicotine products (e.g., e-cigarettes) are widely used in Australia, even though possession of the nicotine fluid without a permit is an offence. They are primarily used by smokers as a means of quitting. However, there is concern about their potential attractiveness and uptake by non-smokers. The aim is to identify how these products might be used to both maximise smoking cessation and minimise nicotine use, especially smoking uptake by non-smokers.
An RCT Of Cannabinoid Replacement Therapy (Sativex®) For The Management Of Treatment-resistant Cannabis Dependent Patients
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$788,133.00
Summary
This project is the first-ever outpatient RCT to test if the pharmaceutical cannabinoid Sativex can safely and cost-effectively deliver better treatment outcomes for patients seeking treatment for chronic cannabis dependence. Sativex is a mouth spray with equal parts THC and cannabidiol, and appears to have a safer pharmacological profile than illicit cannabis or synthetic THC alone. Thus Sativex may lead to lower rates of psychiatric adverse events and increased cannabis abstinence rates.
Understanding The Biological Mechanisms Involved In Treatment Free Remission Of Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
Most patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia achieve excellent responses to therapy but need therapy for life. We have pioneered the concept that some patients can cease their therapy and not relapse (treatment free remission –TFR). By studying the immune system, the leukaemic stem cells and the bone marrow environment, we will determine why TFR is possible for some, but not all patients. This holds the key to improving the rate of TFR, thus moving the CML goal from disease control to cure.