Adult and embryonic stem cells have enormous therapeutic potential. Haemopoietic stem cells have been the most intensely studied and widely used in a therapeutic setting, yet we have only a patchy knowledge of the genes required for their proliferation and survival. I will use classical genetic screens in the mouse to identify genes that regulate stem cell behaviour. I will analyse two existing mutant mouse strains with reduced numbers of haemopoietic stem cells, and execute a novel genetic scre ....Adult and embryonic stem cells have enormous therapeutic potential. Haemopoietic stem cells have been the most intensely studied and widely used in a therapeutic setting, yet we have only a patchy knowledge of the genes required for their proliferation and survival. I will use classical genetic screens in the mouse to identify genes that regulate stem cell behaviour. I will analyse two existing mutant mouse strains with reduced numbers of haemopoietic stem cells, and execute a novel genetic screen utilising mice with a defect in the self-renewal of adult haemopoietic and neural stem cells, to find mice with a recovered stem cell compartment.Read moreRead less
This research program entitled Stem cells from the testis is designed to use cutting edge molecular and cellular biology techniques to isolate adult stem cells from the testis. These stem cells will be expanded in cell culture and tested for therapeutic activity in mouse models of infertility, leukaemia and kidney failure. The knowledge and techniques developed in the mouse system may help unlock the potential of human cell based therapies for these and other degenerative diseases.
Understanding The Role Of Cell Death In Blood Vessel Regression And Regrowth
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$468,059.00
Summary
Blood vessels are essential to distribute oxygen and nutrients throughout our bodies, and as such, disruptions to normal blood vessel behaviour can have significant impacts on health. This research is aimed at understanding how blood vessel networks can regrow after damage in order to maintain healthy blood supply to a tissue. This work will be particularly relevant to diseases where blood vessel loss or inappropriate blood vessel growth occur.
Decoding The Transcriptional Program Of Vessel Growth In Health And Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$463,652.00
Summary
Lymphatic vessels are essential to maintain fluid balance in most tissues of the human body. Further the lymphatic vasculature plays a central role during cancer and contributes to tumour metastasis. Despite this integral function in health and disease little is known about the molecular programs that coordinate gene expression to build a functional vasculature. This research project will address this gap in our knowledge and will open up new therapeutic avenues for lymphatic vascular disorders
Exposing The Mechanisms Underlying Mammalian Meiotic Onset
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$536,563.00
Summary
Germ cells must undergo a special form of cell division, meiosis, before they can form oocytes in females or sperm in males. We want to know, in detail, how meiosis is triggered in germ cells and what the first steps are in meiotic progression. This information will help us understand the causative factors in infertility (1 in 6 couples of reproductive age are infertile), control fertility (develop new contraceptives) and avoid testicular cancer (the most common tumour type in young men).
Deciphering The Transcriptional Program That Instructs Lymphatic Endothelial Cell Fate.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$541,950.00
Summary
Lymphatic vessels are essential to maintain fluid balance in most tissues of the human body. Further the lymphatic vasculature plays a central role during cancer and contributes to tumour metastasis. Despite this integral function in health and disease little is known about the molecular programs that coordinate gene expression to build a functional vasculature. This research project will address this gap in our knowledge and will open up new therapeutic avenues for lymphatic vascular disorders
Systemic Approaches Of Muscle Stem Cell Quiescence And Differentiation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$532,883.00
Summary
In the repair of injured muscles, after physical exercise, as part of the ageing process, and in muscle disorders, activated muscle stem cells proliferate and differentiate to replace affected tissues. The aim of this project is to apply systemic, genome-wide approaches to identify the gene networks involved in the balance between the differentiation or the self-renewing state of muscle stem cells.
Molecular Mechanisms That Generate And Activate Muscle Stem Cells During Growth And Disease.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$596,086.00
Summary
This study aims answer long standing questions in the field of muscle stem cells. Understanding how stem cell-driven muscle repair occurs has profound implications for our understanding of the pathology and treatment of muscle disease. Muscular dystrophies and myopathies are amongst the largest group of inherited disorders to afflict the human condition. It is our hope that the results of this research will lead to a better understanding of how treatments, stem cell based or otherwise, could be ....This study aims answer long standing questions in the field of muscle stem cells. Understanding how stem cell-driven muscle repair occurs has profound implications for our understanding of the pathology and treatment of muscle disease. Muscular dystrophies and myopathies are amongst the largest group of inherited disorders to afflict the human condition. It is our hope that the results of this research will lead to a better understanding of how treatments, stem cell based or otherwise, could be employed to correct such disorders.Read moreRead less
Role Of The LIM-only Protein LMO4 In Lung Development And Lung Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$490,395.00
Summary
Lung cancer is the leading cause of death in cancer patients in Australia. Although treatments have improved in the past 10 years, new therapeutic strategies are eagerly awaited. Deregulation of molecules driving development of normal tissue is often observed in cancer. Our aim is to identify key regulators of lung development and lung repair after injury. We aim to evaluate the role of these molecules in the initiation and progression of lung cancer to identify new targets for therapies.
Role Of The Histone Variant H3.3 In Germ Cell Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$581,223.00
Summary
Over their life cycle, germ cells are unique in undergoing a large scale reformatting of their gene or DNA control systems, required for their own development, and for the development of the fertilized egg. We think that the protein ïhistone H3.3Í is crucial to this reformatting process. We will test this possibility by determining how much H3.3 is present in germ cells. Also, we will make mice which lack this protein in germ cells to see if this affects the reformatting process.