Bacterial And Host Drivers Of Fulminant Community-acquired Acinetobacter Baumannii Infection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$729,315.00
Summary
This proposal aims to understand how a bacterial pathogen causes severe, life-threatening infections in people from the community in northern Australia. This severe infection particularly impacts people who drink excess alcohol or have diabetes mellitus, and importantly impacts Indigenous Australians the greatest. This work will provide, for the first time, important insights into new prevention and treatment strategies for a serious infection impacting Australians and those in our region.
Inhibition Of Haemostasis As A Novel Host-directed Therapy For Tuberculosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$528,471.00
Summary
Mycobacterium tuberculosis-induced vasculopathy is an important cause of stroke worldwide, and stroke is a common (~20%) complication of tuberculous meningitis, the most dangerous presentation of tuberculosis. Blood clotting may also speed the growth tuberculosis in the body further worsening the situation. We will use zebrafish find out if clotting can be targeted to slow the growth of mycobacteria and then translate our findings to a mouse model of pulmonary tuberculosis.
Mycobacterial Control Of The Establishment And Outcome Of Infection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$311,956.00
Summary
Tuberculosis (TB) claims almost two million lives every year. TB subverts host immunity by directing the immune cells to launch an ineffective response to infection. One such trick is to hijack control of a class of molecules called eicosanoids from the host. This project will use a validated zebrafish model of TB infection to pinpoint the mechanisms used by mycobacteria to subvert normal eicosanoid production. Findings from this work may to aid the creation of novel anti-TB therapies.