Development of carbohydrate-based drug delivery systems. Chronic skin disorders affect 5% of the population. Treatment is challenging and long term because these disorders are chronic and unpredictable. Currently the most potent therapies for psoriasis are administered systemically. Long term usage of these therapies causes side effects such as kidney or liver damage. This proposal describes a new approach to the topical treatment of psoriasis where potent drugs are linked to a hyaluronan sca ....Development of carbohydrate-based drug delivery systems. Chronic skin disorders affect 5% of the population. Treatment is challenging and long term because these disorders are chronic and unpredictable. Currently the most potent therapies for psoriasis are administered systemically. Long term usage of these therapies causes side effects such as kidney or liver damage. This proposal describes a new approach to the topical treatment of psoriasis where potent drugs are linked to a hyaluronan scaffold molecule and are directly applied to the diseased tissue. Advantages of this approach include targeted drug delivery mediated by hyaluronan receptor processes and potential amelioration of the observed drug toxicities.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100668
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$422,574.00
Summary
Cysteamine dioxygenases: novel oxygen sensors implicated in hypoxia? This project aims to characterise and manipulate a novel oxygen sensing system, the cysteamine dioxygenases, to help understand how mammalian cells respond to low oxygen concentrations, a condition known as hypoxia. A number of the world’s most destructive diseases can impair oxygen delivery, altering biochemical landscapes. By understanding how cells respond to fluctuations in oxygen, the project expects to develop effective m ....Cysteamine dioxygenases: novel oxygen sensors implicated in hypoxia? This project aims to characterise and manipulate a novel oxygen sensing system, the cysteamine dioxygenases, to help understand how mammalian cells respond to low oxygen concentrations, a condition known as hypoxia. A number of the world’s most destructive diseases can impair oxygen delivery, altering biochemical landscapes. By understanding how cells respond to fluctuations in oxygen, the project expects to develop effective methods to treat these detrimental conditions. Characterisation of the cysteamine dioxygenases could establish a novel mechanism by which cells monitor changes in oxygen, assisting in understanding hypoxia and disease. The project will also enable new cysteine initiating substrates to be identified, allowing the full impact of this regulatory process to be appreciated in mammals.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453832
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$550,910.00
Summary
New directions in biomolecular mass spectrometry. The combined UoW/ANU mass spectrometry facility supports a range of research projects in high priority areas including proteomics, mechanisms of aging, anticancer drugs and pathogenicity. The facility has several key deficiencies: 1) the ability to study very high molecular weight biomolecular complexes, 2) the ability to study ion-molecule interactions that have implications in mechanisms of chemistry in nature, and 3) researchers at ANU lack es ....New directions in biomolecular mass spectrometry. The combined UoW/ANU mass spectrometry facility supports a range of research projects in high priority areas including proteomics, mechanisms of aging, anticancer drugs and pathogenicity. The facility has several key deficiencies: 1) the ability to study very high molecular weight biomolecular complexes, 2) the ability to study ion-molecule interactions that have implications in mechanisms of chemistry in nature, and 3) researchers at ANU lack essential walk-up access to high sensitivity protein sequence analysis (MS/MS). The placement of resources that address these deficiencies in one geographical region and collaboration between these institutions will produce a research interaction unique in Australia.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100226
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$424,000.00
Summary
Advanced molecular discovery and characterisation facility. Natural product drug discovery in Australia requires access to high throughput functional assays to guide the separation and of novel bioactives with therapeutic potential. By establishing the advanced molecular discovery and characterisation facility in an academic environment across two institutions, research programs in early drug lead discovery and characterisation will be accelerated. It will provide unique capabilities not curren ....Advanced molecular discovery and characterisation facility. Natural product drug discovery in Australia requires access to high throughput functional assays to guide the separation and of novel bioactives with therapeutic potential. By establishing the advanced molecular discovery and characterisation facility in an academic environment across two institutions, research programs in early drug lead discovery and characterisation will be accelerated. It will provide unique capabilities not currently available in Australia, and help Australian researchers remain internationally competitive in breakthrough science and frontier technologies. The research enabled by this facility will lead to development of new drug candidates by the emerging Australian biotechnology industry.Read moreRead less
Discovery of bioactive natural substances from uncultured bacteria and their production using photosynthetic reactor technology. The range and rate of natural product discovery is the limiting factor in developing new therapies for cancer and infectious disease. This research will enable the discovery of new drugs, coupled to their production in a photosynthetic expression system. This represents a truly “green” and sustainable technology for the pharmaceutical industry.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100029
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$700,000.00
Summary
High Resolution PET-CT for Small Animal Molecular and Anatomical Imaging. This project will integrate a next generation small animal PET-CT instrument into the Sydney Imaging multi-modality imaging ecosystem. PET-CT enables the investigation of molecular function and anatomical structure in complex living organisms. This platform will enable research as diverse as the development and in-vivo characterisation of new chemical probes and nanoparticles that bind to specific protein targets in the bo ....High Resolution PET-CT for Small Animal Molecular and Anatomical Imaging. This project will integrate a next generation small animal PET-CT instrument into the Sydney Imaging multi-modality imaging ecosystem. PET-CT enables the investigation of molecular function and anatomical structure in complex living organisms. This platform will enable research as diverse as the development and in-vivo characterisation of new chemical probes and nanoparticles that bind to specific protein targets in the body, investigating mechanisms of brain plasticity in predictive learning, understanding the molecular pathways involved in neurodegeneration and cancer, developing novel methods for multi-modal image analysis, and developing and validating new radiation detectors for the next generation of imaging technology.Read moreRead less
Towards an influenza virus glycan interaction map (Glycointeractome). This project will use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to map carbohydrate interaction used by the virus to cause infection and spread. This information will provide new direction in anti-influenza drug discovery.
Understanding the cardioprotective effects of flavonols. Heart attack and stroke are a major cause of death and disablement in Australia. Current therapies do not treat the underlying causes of these diseases. In this project we will investigate a promising new drug treatment for these diseases and will determine how this poorly understood drug acts to reduce damage to the heart. This project will lead to new treatments for cardiovascular diseases and will enhance our understanding of the causes ....Understanding the cardioprotective effects of flavonols. Heart attack and stroke are a major cause of death and disablement in Australia. Current therapies do not treat the underlying causes of these diseases. In this project we will investigate a promising new drug treatment for these diseases and will determine how this poorly understood drug acts to reduce damage to the heart. This project will lead to new treatments for cardiovascular diseases and will enhance our understanding of the causes of these disease states.Read moreRead less
Targeting DNA with Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry. The interaction of molecules with DNA, the molecule that controls genetic information, is fundamental to drug design, diagnosis of disease and the environment. Chemists usually synthesise these molecules in the laboratory. We will use an innovative new approach to producing molecules that interact with DNA, that as fast and efficient and mirrors the processes used by Nature to make natural products. This research may lead to the design of new ....Targeting DNA with Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry. The interaction of molecules with DNA, the molecule that controls genetic information, is fundamental to drug design, diagnosis of disease and the environment. Chemists usually synthesise these molecules in the laboratory. We will use an innovative new approach to producing molecules that interact with DNA, that as fast and efficient and mirrors the processes used by Nature to make natural products. This research may lead to the design of new therapeutics, diagnostics and applications that will benefit the Australian community, and will provide excellent training of researchers in skills required for employment in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical fields.Read moreRead less
Structure-activity relationships in the development of new bioactive isoflavonoids. This project aims to develop new chemical substances based on the structure of a group of naturally occuring compounds called isoflavones. Biological activity related to chronic inflammatory (eg arthritis) and heart disease will be examined in cells and animal models. This information will be used to design compounds with enhanced activity. The eventual aim is to develop potential therapeutic agents to treat chr ....Structure-activity relationships in the development of new bioactive isoflavonoids. This project aims to develop new chemical substances based on the structure of a group of naturally occuring compounds called isoflavones. Biological activity related to chronic inflammatory (eg arthritis) and heart disease will be examined in cells and animal models. This information will be used to design compounds with enhanced activity. The eventual aim is to develop potential therapeutic agents to treat chronic inflammatory and cardiovascular disease.Read moreRead less