Towards The Rational Design Of Calcium Sensing Receptor Allosteric Modulators For The Treatment Of Osteoporosis And Calcium Handling Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$741,390.00
Summary
Drugs that target the human calcium sensing receptor can be too strong or too weak, resulting in side effects or lack of efficacy. This proposal thus seeks to establish whether the strength of drug activity can be rationally altered and exploited to treat different disease states by fine-tuning CaSR activity in a disease-specific manner.
Development Of Peptide-based Scaffolds For Intracellular Cancer Targets
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,479,836.00
Summary
The overall aim of this project is to develop peptide-based drugs that are able to cross cell membranes and inhibit specific targets inside cells leading to more effective, safer and cost effective drugs for cancer. One potential outcome of the project will be new drug leads to treat melanoma and leukemia that are likely to be less toxic, more potent and less likely to develop resistance than current treatments.
Structure-based Design Of Inhibitors Of PimA - A New Target For Tuberculosis Therapy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$666,246.00
Summary
Tuberculosis (TB) is a devastating disease that kills 2 million people worldwide each year and affects one-third of the entire human population. Bacterial resistance to existing antibiotics is an ever increasing problem, highlighting the need to develop new anti-TB drugs. The aim of this project is to develop specific inhibitors to target a protein that is essential for the survival of the tuberculosis bacterium.
Malaria is a major global health problem. The protein AMA1 plays a key role in the invasion of host cells by malaria parasites, and agents that inhibit this interaction prevent host cell invasion and thus represent leads for the development of anti-malarial drugs. We have identified a number of chemical scaffolds that target a key site on AMA1. In this project we will optimize these leads to generate potent ligands for this site and evaluate the efficacy of these ligands as anti-malarial agents.
The Awakening:GABA-A Receptors As Targets For Improving Motor Function
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$735,498.00
Summary
Zolpidem (Stilnox) is a “sleeping pill” that is reported "awaken" people with severe motor, memory and speech disabilities that result from stroke or other brain injury. We have identified a novel target by which zolpidem can exert these effects. This project will characterise this target and assess drug effects in models of stroke.
Activation Of The Respiratory Syncytial Virus Fusion Protein
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$582,072.00
Summary
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is the most important viral cause of respiratory tract disease in both infants and the elderly. However, there are few available options for control, whether by vaccination or therapeutic intervention. This proposal investigates the way RSV infects cells. A clearer understanding of the molecular basis of this process should provide potential targets for new drugs that can block this process and new insights for the generation of vaccine candidates.
New Positive Allosteric Modulators Of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors For Treatment Of Cognitive Impairment In ADHD
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$612,851.00
Summary
The effects of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can extend well beyond childhood. This project will target the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor family for developing new therapeutics to manage this disease.
Preventing The Evolution Of Transmissible Nitroimidazole Resistance In Mycobacterium Tuberculosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$664,463.00
Summary
Tuberculosis kills more people than any other infectious disease. Unfortunately, the drugs available to us to treat TB are losing their efficacy due to the evolution of drug resistance. A new class of drugs, nitroimidazoles, has been developed, but there is a risk that the bacterium that causes TB will develop resistance to these compounds too. We will identify resistance mutations before they occur in the wild, to help identify them and find new compounds for which resistance cannot develop.
Taking A Break For Brain Health: Interacting Effects Of Exercise Bouts With Breaks In Sitting Time On Cognitive And Cerebrovascular Function In Overweight Adults
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$775,055.00
Summary
Whether people do or do not exercise or not, there are serious health consequences – including adult-onset diabetes and heart disease – arising from the 7 to 10 hours of sitting that most Australian adults do each day. Exercise helps to delay Alzheimer's disease and other declines in brain function with ageing. This study will test whether, among overweight adults, combining exercise with breaking up prolonged sitting time can improve markers of brain health and mental functioning.
Understanding And Preventing Hepatitis C Transmission Within Sexual Partnerships
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$383,286.00
Summary
Transmission of hepatitis C among people who inject drugs occurs primarily as a result of sharing of equipment used to inject drugs, the majority of which occurs between intimate couples. However, there is little research in this area. This study will produce sophisticated and nuanced data able to capture the complexities of equipment sharing in couples and use these insights to suggest recommendations for hepatitis C prevention strategies.