The Molecular Basis Of Bacterial Infectious Diseases
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$16,230,996.00
Summary
Bacterial infectious diseases are a serious threat to human health, accounting for over 10 million deaths each year. This multidisciplinary collaborative team is investigating the complex interactions between major disease-causing bacteria and their human hosts, in order to determine how they cause disease. These studies will make a major contribution to fundamental knowledge in this field. This information is also essential for the development of cheaper and more effective vaccines, as well as ....Bacterial infectious diseases are a serious threat to human health, accounting for over 10 million deaths each year. This multidisciplinary collaborative team is investigating the complex interactions between major disease-causing bacteria and their human hosts, in order to determine how they cause disease. These studies will make a major contribution to fundamental knowledge in this field. This information is also essential for the development of cheaper and more effective vaccines, as well as novel drugs. These are urgently needed to reduce death and illness due to bacterial infectious diseases in the 21st century. 11Read moreRead less
Functional Genomics Of Malaria Liver Infection And Transmission
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$470,144.00
Summary
Chemotherapy is the front line defense against malaria but resistance is emerging. The WHO has advised that new drugs should target parasite stages that perpetuate the transmission of malaria to break the cycle of infection. We have identified proteins that are essential for the two transmissive stages of the most deadly parasite to infect their hosts. We will determine the precise function of these proteins and the mechanisms they govern. This may guide the development of new interventions.
The Children’s Attention Project: A Community-based Longitudinal Study Of Children With ADHD And Non-ADHD Controls
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$888,833.00
Summary
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects 7% of Australian children. Little is known about the long-term mental health, academic and social outcomes for these children and the factors that influence outcomes are unclear. This will be the first Australian study to follow primary-school age children with and without diagnosed ADHD over time. It will provide an improved understanding of the impact of ADHD on children and their families and highlight potential avenues for intervention.
Antibiotic resistance is a looming public health crisis. New antibiotics with new mechanisms of action are desperately needed. The long-term goal of this research is to develop new drugs that disarm bacteria to overcome the problem of antibiotic resistance.
ROLE OF RIP KINASES & IAPs IN MUCOSAL IMMUNE DEFENCE
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$631,168.00
Summary
Pathogenic bacteria are master manipulators of the inflammatory signalling pathways designed to thwart them. Understanding how they do this will allow us to develop drugs that limit their ability to infect. We have shown that pathogenic bacteria inject a protein called EspL into human cells to promote the destruction of a family of human proteins, called RIP Kinases (RIPK), that co-ordinate the inflammatory response and aim now to discover how EspL causes RIPK degradation and thereby promotes in ....Pathogenic bacteria are master manipulators of the inflammatory signalling pathways designed to thwart them. Understanding how they do this will allow us to develop drugs that limit their ability to infect. We have shown that pathogenic bacteria inject a protein called EspL into human cells to promote the destruction of a family of human proteins, called RIP Kinases (RIPK), that co-ordinate the inflammatory response and aim now to discover how EspL causes RIPK degradation and thereby promotes infection.Read moreRead less
Infectious diseases plague mankind; with infections responsible for approximately 20% of all deaths worldwide. New strategies are urgently needed and we have positioned our research to address questions around how to forestall bacterial pathogens in the initial phases of invasion of human tissues and provide full understanding of the key molecules on the surfaces of bacterial cells. This fundamental knowledge is crucial to new drugs, vaccines and infection-resistant medical devices.
The Contribution Of Home Language Exposure To Intergenerational Transmission Of Inequality
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,281,706.00
Summary
The amount of language stimulation from parent to child could be the key driver behind intergenerational inequality. Children learn language through social interaction and this study will significantly enhance our current understanding of exposure to language in the child's home environment. The study will demonstrate how inequalities in the early years have far reaching consequences for later health and development.
This program will investigate the strategies used by pathogenic bacteria to cause human diseases. The research will focus on how bacteria initiate infections, how they invade, cause cell and tissue damage and respond to their human host. It will also examine how the host’s innate immune system interacts with these bacteria. The results will provide new insights into host-pathogen interactions and reveal new targets for the development of novel antibacterial drugs and vaccines.
Healthy infant and young child diets from sustainable first-food systems. Breastfeeding, breastmilk and other first foods consumed during infancy and early childhood, are currently neglected in food systems research and policy action, despite their importance to establishing life-long dietary preferences, health and sustainability. This project addresses this gap, by developing a novel 'first-food systems' conceptual framework, describing global, regional and national changes in infant and young ....Healthy infant and young child diets from sustainable first-food systems. Breastfeeding, breastmilk and other first foods consumed during infancy and early childhood, are currently neglected in food systems research and policy action, despite their importance to establishing life-long dietary preferences, health and sustainability. This project addresses this gap, by developing a novel 'first-food systems' conceptual framework, describing global, regional and national changes in infant and young child diets, and generating end-user knowledge to generate political commitment for early-life nutrition. This research will deliver economic, social and environmental benefits for Australia and international communities, by helping to reduce the ill-health and environmental harms linked with unhealthy early-life diets.Read moreRead less
Aboriginal Families Study: 5-6 Year Follow-up Of An Intergenerational Birth Cohort
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,676,056.00
Summary
This study will extend follow-up mothers and children in an existing cohort of 344 women who gave birth to an Aboriginal baby in South Australia between July 2011 and June 2013. The study will investigate the health of mothers and children, as the children in the study start school. The study will provide important information about the contribution of early life experiences to health and developmental trajectories of children, and the complex interplay of maternal and child health.