More than $28 Million for Auckland health research
More than $28 Million for Auckland health
research
Media
Release
University of Auckland
11 June 2014
More than $28 Million for Auckland health research
Health research grants totalling more than $28 million for University of Auckland research projects, programmes, feasibility studies and work by emerging researchers, were announced by the Health Research Council of New Zealand this week.
The largest grant was for nearly $5 million to a research programme led by Professor Bill Wilson into developing new prodrugs to combat hypoxia in cancer tumour cells and for investigation into biomarker-guided drug targeting of the tumour microenvironment in radiotherapy.
The HRC 2014 funding round of University of Auckland projects included:
Professor Frank Bloomfield (Liggins
Institute) - ProViDe RCT: Does better early nutrition in
preterm babies improve development? (HRC Project
funding $1,194,159, 60 months).
Providing adequate
nutritional intakes, especially of protein, in extremely low
birth weight (ELBW, birth weight < 1,000 g) infants in early
life is extremely challenging.
Consequently, the
majority of ELBW babies have faltering postnatal growth.
Poor growth in ELBW babies is associated with adverse
neurodevelopmental outcomes.
This project proposes a
randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled multi-centre
trial of a simple, inexpensive and practical intervention to
determine whether, in ELBW babies, an extra 1 g/day of
intravenous protein in the first five days after birth will
improve survival free from neurodisability at 2 years'
corrected age.
This trial will provide the first evidence
on the long-term outcomes of increased protein intake in
ELBW babies in early life. If the intervention is
effective, it could be introduced immediately into neonatal
units at very little cost with health benefits for these
highly vulnerable babies and providing economic benefits for
New Zealand.
Professor Winston Byblow (Sport and
Exercise Science) - Individualised neuromodulation for motor
recovery after stroke (HRC Project funding
$1,179,896, 36 months).
Stroke is the leading cause of
adult disability worldwide. Inhibitory tone in the brain is
altered by stroke and dictates how plasticity and recovery
of function occur after stroke, but this varies from one
individual to the next.
The study objective is to
identify factors that predict how best to apply non-invasive
brain stimulation to modulate inhibitory tone and facilitate
motor recovery in the initial days and weeks after stroke.
To do this, advanced neuroimaging and neurophysiological
assessments will be undertaken to establish links between
inhibitory function, effects of brain stimulation on
recovery, and patient outcomes.
This project will
increase the understanding of the molecular, cellular and
neurophysiological mechanisms of recovery of motor function
in human patients after stroke, and reduce inequalities in
stroke outcomes for people who are more likely to suffer
stroke earlier and live with disability
longer.
Associate Professor Leo Cheng (ABI) -
Mechanisms of gastric dysmotility: Advances from cell to
clinic(HRC Project funding $1,189,475, 36
months).
As in the heart, an underlying electrical
activity termed the 'slow wave' regulates stomach
contractions. Stomach wave dysrhythmias (abnormalities in
the slow wave) have been associated with common and
significant diseases such as functional dyspepsia and
gastroparesis.
Post-operative complications have also
been attributed to disruption to the normal slow wave
conduction due to surgical removal of the natural slow wave
pacemaker region of the stomach.
This project has an
international, interdisciplinary team to develop and apply a
range of new generation slow wave recording methods, to
critically advance the fundamental understanding and therapy
of gastric dysrhythmias.
The team will develop new
innovative slow wave recording capabilities across multiple
platforms and integrate them with advanced signal processing
tools that will allow accurate identification of gastric
dysrhythmias. These methods will offer high-fidelity and/or
minimally-invasive slow wave recordings for translation to
improve diagnosis and therapy of these
diseases.
Dr Melanie Cheung (Anatomy and
Radiology/CBR) - Augmenting neuroplasticity in the
Huntington's disease brain (HRC Project funding
$1,189,942, 36 months)
There is evidence to suggest
Huntington’s disease (HD), (a progressive
neurodegenerative disease that results in deterioration of
movement, personality, thinking and eventually death), is at
least twice the rate in Māori than non-Māori.
We have
been working in partnership with a large Taranaki Maori HD
whanau, who after six years of building relationships, is
eager for us to begin developing treatments together.
To
date the most promising brain disease treatments harness
neuroplasticity, the brain's powerful ability to change and
adapt itself.
This research project brings together
Taranaki Māori whanau, HD scientists and clinicians from
the Centre for Brain Research (Auckland University) and
Brain Plasticity Institute (San Francisco) to develop
computer-based brain exercises that augment neuroplasticity
in the brains of people with Huntington’s disease to
ultimately slow the course of the disease.
Methods will
include Kaupapa Māori approaches to brain imaging,
neuropsychology and clinical care (neurology, psychiatry and
nursing).
Professor Phillip Crosier (Molecular
Medicine and Pathology)- Uncovering mechanisms and
inhibitors of tumour-induced lymphangiogenesis (HRC
Project funding $1,199,342, 36 months).
Cancer is now the
most common cause of death in New Zealand. Mortality is
frequently caused by the secondary spread of tumour cells
(metastasis) to distant organs in the body via the lymphatic
vasculature.
One of the first steps in lymphatic-mediated
metastasis is the growth of lymphatic vessels
(lymphangiogenesis) towards and within the primary tumour; a
process that could be targeted by drugs and form a new
approach to cancer treatment.
Many of the signalling
pathways that underlie lymphangiogenesis remain unknown and
require identification to progress this work.
This
project team will use a zebrafish model of lymphangiogenesis
to identify new genes and pathways that regulate lymphatic
vessel growth. They will also conduct a chemical screen to
identify anti-lymphatic compounds that inhibit
tumour-induced lymphatic vessels in zebrafish and in
mammalian models.
This work will form an important first
step in developing therapies to prevent or limit
lymphatic-mediated metastasis.
Professor Caroline
Crowther (Liggins Institute) - Optimal glycaemic targets for
gestational diabetes: The randomised trial TARGET
(HRC Project funding $1,198,858, 36
months).
Gestational diabetes (GDM) is a significant
health problem affecting one in every 12 pregnant women or
over 5,200 women in New Zealand annually. GDM has a major,
negative impact on maternal and perinatal health with
lifelong consequences. It is unclear what intensity of
glycaemic control during GDM treatment is best for mother
and infant.
The TARGET randomised Trial will evaluate the
implementation of tighter treatment targets for blood sugar
control compared with current less stringent targets in
women with GDM.
Researchers will compare the risk of the
infant being born large for gestational age, which is
strongly associated with significant early life and later
health problems.
Other relevant outcomes will be
assessed. This unique trial will allow for the sequential
implementation of the new, nationally recommended tighter
treatment targets for women with GDM and, for the first
time, establish if there are true benefits, without harm, to
tighter treatment targets.
Professor Caroline
Crowther (Liggins Institute) - Gestational diabetes trial of
detection thresholds: Impact on health and costs
(HRC project funding $1,199,330, 36
months).
Gestational diabetes (GDM) is a significant
health problem affecting one in every 12 pregnant women or
over 5,200 women in New Zealand annually.
GDM has a
major, negative impact on maternal and perinatal health with
lifelong consequences. There is no consensus as to the
degree of high blood glucose needed for the diagnosis of GDM
or when treatment will be beneficial, due to a lack of high
quality evidence.
Our unique, randomised trial compares
important health outcomes for mothers and babies of treating
women with GDM by the current criteria used in New Zealand
with newly proposed criteria, that use a lower threshold and
will diagnose more women as having GDM.
Our results will
show which diagnostic criteria is best for the health of
mothers and babies and which is more cost-effective, and so
provide the necessary information to guide clinical practice
and policy in New Zealand, with global
relevance.
Professor Caroline Crowther (Liggins
Institute) - Antenatal magnesium sulphate: Mechanisms of
fetal neuroprotection (HRC Project funding
$1,199,011, 48 months).
Children who survive preterm
birth face life-long health problems and increased
educational needs, often related to abnormalities of brain
development around the time of birth.
Magnesium sulphate
given to women immediately prior to preterm birth at or
before 30 weeks' gestation protects the fetal brain, so
fewer babies die or develop cerebral palsy. It is not known
exactly how magnesium exerts this benefit.
The MagNUM
Study, a nested study within a multicentre randomised trial
of antenatal magnesium sulphate prior to preterm birth at 30
to 34 weeks' gestation, will assess the possible mechanism
of effect of magnesium treatment, by a MRI scan of the
baby's brain at term equivalent age.
This project will
assess whether magnesium reduces brain injury, particularly
in brain regions that control movement, learning and
behaviour, and relate these changes in brain structure to
later development.
Professor Peter Davis (Compass)
- Life-course predictors of mortality inequalities
(HRC Project funding $1,091,258, 36
months).
Life-course socio-economic influences on
mortality have different implications for intervention but
have not been established in the New Zealand context. The
team will analyse mortality records linked with the historic
longitudinal census dataset (linked records across the
1981-2006 Censuses) to fulfil four research aims:
• To
test which life-course hypotheses best explain associations
between socio-economic status and mortality: accumulation,
sensitive period, social mobility, or instability?
• To
test whether social and cultural capital protects against
socio-economic risk.
• To assess ethnic disparities in
mortality and test whether these are explained by the
greater experiences of long-term harsh and unstable
environments among some ethnic groups (e.g., Māori,
Pacific).
• To test life-course hypotheses among
siblings discordant on socio-economic risk, and among
siblings discordant for social and cultural capital (thus
controlling for family background factors).
This research
will be both methodologically innovative (e.g., discordant
sib-pair analyses), and important for the understanding of
ethnic inequalities in New Zealand.
Professor Paul
Donaldson (Optometry and Vision Science) - Delivering lens
anti-oxidants: A strategy to develop anti-cataract therapies
(HRC Project funding $1,198,171, 36 months).
The
goal of this research is to reduce the incidence of cataract
by developing effective strategies to delay its onset,
thereby alleviating the need for surgical
intervention.
Since age related nuclear (ARN) cataract is
associated with oxidative damage, the use of antioxidant
supplements has been advocated as a therapeutic approach to
slow cataract progression. However, the efficacy of
antioxidant supplements is unproven, due to a lack of
knowledge on how antioxidants accumulate in the lens
nucleus, the region of the lens specifically affected in ARN
cataract.
To address this, researchers will study how the
levels of the natural lens antioxidant glutathione and
nutrients required to maintain it in its reduced state are
delivered, accumulated and utilised in the nucleus of normal
and cataractous lenses.
This will allow targeted
strategies to restore and enhance the natural defence
systems of the lens to be developed, thereby affording
increased protection against ARN cataract.
Dr
Natasha Grimsey (Pharmacology) - Characterising cannabinoid
receptor 2 polymorphisms implicated in mental illness
(HRC funded Project $149,732, 36 months).
Mental
illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder and
schizophrenia affect around 16% of New Zealanders and are
difficult to diagnose and treat effectively. Continued
research is required to better understand these disorders
and develop new medicines. Individuals with small
alterations in their DNA, called polymorphisms, can produce
different versions of the same protein which might work
differently. A few specific versions of Cannabinoid
Receptor 2 (CB2), one of the proteins that mediates the
effects of cannabis, are more common in patients suffering
from mental illness than in the general population. These
may play a role in disease cause or progression. In this
research we plan to investigate what is different about the
function of these versions of CB2 at a cellular level. This
will include studying cells donated by patients with
schizophrenia. This information will provide insight into
the causes of mental illness and may assist with designing
new therapies.
Professor Alistair Gunn
(Physiology) - Protecting brain development after clinically
silent infection before birth (HRC Project funding
$1,151,828, 36 months).
Premature babies have a high risk
of neurodevelopmental disability and there is no effective
treatment. Although multiple factors are involved,
disability is closely linked to infection and inflammation
around the time of birth.
In this study, we will first
test in preterm fetal sheep whether exposure to a clinically
silent dose of a key part of bacterial cell walls for just
five days will impair growth of the branches (dendrites)
that connect brain cells together, and so reduce the growth
and function of the brain.
Researchers will then test
whether blocking one of the key inflammatory pathways in the
brain will help restore normal maturation of brain cells and
brain activity, and determine the window of opportunity for
treatment.
This new knowledge will help us understand how
cognitive deficits develop in preterm infants, and provide a
new way of protecting normal brain development.
Dr
Joanna James (Obstetrics and Gynaecology) - Growing better
placentas for healthy babies (HRC funded Emerging
Researcher First Grant $139,550, 36 months)
In pregnancy
disorders such as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) a
poorly functioning placenta is a major component of the
disease process. Placentae from IUGR pregnancies often have
poor vascular development, which limits their ability to
absorb nutrients from the maternal blood.
While IUGR
affects 8-14 per cent of pregnancies, we currently have no
effective treatment for this disorder. Mesenchymal stem
cells (MSCs) have shown exciting therapeutic promise in
regenerating a range of tissue types, in part by stimulating
blood vessel development.
This research aims to determine
whether MSCs could be a viable treatment for IUGR by
determining 1) whether IUGR is associated with differences
in placental MSC function, 2) whether transplanted MSCs can
survive in placental tissue, and 3) how MSCs may contribute
to successful placental vascular development.
This will
allow us to determine whether MSCs could be successfully
transplanted or targeted therapeutically to fix failing
placentae from the inside out.
Associate Professor
Andrew Jull (Nursing) - Low dose aspirin for venous leg
ulcers: A randomised trial(HRC funded $1,199,722,
36 months).
Leg ulcers are a common, costly and
debilitating condition and the burden will increase as the
population ages. Venous leg ulcers (VLU) are the most common
leg ulcer, can be painful, and limit work, lifestyles and
activity, especially in older patients.
There are few
effective treatments - compression therapy (tight bandaging
or stockings) helps healing, but about half the people with
a VLU remain unhealed even after 12 weeks of treatment.
Research suggests taking aspirin as well as using
compression may speed up healing for VLU, but the current
evidence is not enough to change clinical
practice.
Researchers will conduct a randomised
controlled trial to test whether using low dose aspirin
really does speed up healing. If aspirin does speed up
healing, it is an inexpensive treatment that could quickly
be put into clinical practice.
Professor Ross
Lawrenson (Waikato Clinical School) - How to improve
outcomes for women with breast cancer in New Zealand
(HRC funded $1,175,663, 36 months).
New Zealand
has the seventh highest mortality rate from breast cancer
(BC) in the world. Māori and Pacific women fare even
worse.
Data on 12,500 women with BC (including 1200 Maori
and 850 Pacific women) from the Waikato and Auckland Breast
Cancer Registries will be used to explore the differences in
characteristics of women with BC, their access to care and
quality of treatment comparing Māori, Pacific and
non-Māori/non-Pacific.
Researchers will examine the
impact these differences have on BC survival and recurrence.
Based on the findings they will pilot improved and targeted
care coordination for a group of women with newly diagnosed
BC.
Working with local breast cancer care co-ordinators,
the strategy will be to address key issues such as patient
understanding, timeliness and adequacy of treatment,
adherence to medication, and appropriate tailoring of
treatment to specific sub types of breast cancer such as
HER-2 positive.
Dr Simon Malpas (ABI) - Improving
hydrocephalus management through an implantable device
(HRC funded $1,188,597, 36 months).
Imagine you
are the parent of a child with water on the brain
(hydrocephalus). A shunt catheter was surgically placed to
divert excess fluid from the brain to the stomach.
This
means that instead of being a fatal condition, the child can
lead a normal life…with one proviso; that the shunt
continues to work. Unfortunately 50 per cent of shunts will
fail within two years.
The symptoms of early shunt
failure are often very similar to a simple headache or
non-related infection which necessitates many costly CT or
MRI scans to resolve.
Now a team of engineers and
neurosurgeons at the University of Auckland want to remove
that stress, reduce cost and radiation exposure and the
likelihood of missing shunt malfunction by developing a tiny
implant which will sense and wirelessly transmit the
pressure and temperature inside a person's brain and the
flow of fluid through the shunt.
Dr Rinki Murphy
(Medicine) - Factors affecting gut micro biota establishment
and function during infancy (HRC funded $150,000,
12 months).
Types of gut microbiota (microorganisms
living in our gut) and their function is thought to be
important for enhancing health and
wellbeing.
Understanding early life determinants of gut
micro biota colonisation, and the extent to which this is
modified by exposure to probiotics while in the womb and
after birth is important for developing more effective gut
micro biota targeted therapies to promote resilience to many
inflammatory and metabolic diseases.
Researchers propose
a detailed study of the gut micro biota composition and
function using longitudinal faecal samples collected from
infants within a randomised controlled trial of probiotics
given to mothers (during pregnancy and breastfeeding) and
their infants.
Prior to embarking on this study,
researchers want to undertake a feasibility study to ensure
that the faecal DNA samples are of acceptable quality,
estimate technical variability in gut micro biota
sequencing, establish biological variability in faecal micro
biota function and establish scalable, integrative,
computational analysis methods.
Associate
Professor Adam Patterson (ACSRC) - Colonising tumour
necrosis with Clostridium sporogenes for precision therapy
(HRC funded $1,186,308, 36 months).
Most solid
cancers contain regions of necrotic (dead) tissue. The
extent of necrosis is associated with poor survival, most
likely because it reflects aggressive tumour outgrowth and
inflammation.
The harmless anaerobic bacteria Clostridium
sporogenes, upon injection as spores, will germinate and
thrive in these necrotic regions, providing cancer-specific
colonisation.
Through an international collaboration we
have "armed" C.sporogenes with a chemotherapy-activating
gene that enables the bacteria to be imaged by positron
emission tomography.
Researchers will characterise the
interaction of armed clostridium plus 'masked'
chemotherapies developed in our laboratories.
They will
validate the relationship between tumour necrosis and
anti-tumour efficacy and also design next generation
'masked' agents that release inhibitors of DNA repair and
investigate their ability to enhance radiation therapy in
combination with armed C.sporogenes. This will, for the
first time, exploit necrosis in solid cancers, turning this
pathological feature associated with treatment failure into
a target for precision therapy.
Dr Helen
Petousis-Harris (SOPH) - Effectiveness of maternal pertussis
booster in pregnancy - outcomes in infants
(Partnership Programme Funders HRC and Ministry of
Health. $104,142, 12 months).
Whooping cough is a
difficult disease to control and is particularly serious in
infants, especially those too young to vaccinate. This
research investigates the effectiveness of providing
pregnant women a dose of whooping cough vaccine to prevent
or lessen the disease in their infants.
Transfer of
antibodies through the placenta in pregnancy is expected to
offer some passive protection until the infant is protected
by childhood immunisation starting at six weeks of
age.
The study will firstly use data for all births
between 2011-2013, all infants who were diagnosed with
whooping cough and whether or not their mothers received the
vaccine in pregnancy.
Secondly, it will take a small
blood sample from a subgroup of infants at several time
points to see how well they respond to their own
vaccinations.
Knowledge from this research will help
inform the New Zealand immunisation programme and better
control of whooping cough.
Dr Helen
Petousis-Harris (SOPH) - Feasibility study of human
papillomavirus (HPV) infection, awareness and vaccine
acceptability in men (HRC funded $149,588, 12
months).
As well as causing cervical cancer in women,
human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated with other cancers
including cancers of the mouth, throat, penis and anus in
men, with a particularly high incidence among men who have
sex with men (MSM).
Many issues relating to HPV and
vaccination in males are poorly understood in the New
Zealand context.
The objective of this feasibility study
is to estimate HPV prevalence, awareness, and vaccine
acceptability among three subpopulations of interest: HIV
positive MSM, other MSM, and heterosexual
males.
Participants will be recruited from primary health
care and outpatient settings in Auckland via screening and
sequential sampling with quotas, because sexual orientation
data is not routinely collected.
The estimates of HPV
prevalence and response rates will inform the design (sample
size, duration) of a larger study to measure baseline HPV
prevalence and monitor vaccine impact among these
populations in the absence of alternative surveillance
sources
Dr Anthony Phillips - Re-thinking the
cross talk between bacteria and host cells (HRC
funded Explorer Grant $150,000, 24 months).
The
successful interaction between bacteria and their host
during infection is complex. A range of signals mediated by
protein, peptide and small molecule effectors are
well-recognised mechanisms for bacterial manipulation of the
host.
In this study we are proposing a new type of
molecular communication system based on combinations of
nucleotides (building blocks of DNA and RNA) that act as
signals being released by bacteria to alter the way the host
cell nucleus and associated machinery make
proteins.
Researchers will screen profiles of the
nucleotide based molecules released from bacteria for
combinations that we will then show can alter human cells.
It offers two major outputs.
The first is a new paradigm
in biology related to nucleotide communication between
bacteria and host. Secondly it promises to provide the basis
for developing a completely new class of anti-infective
directed at disrupting this novel bacteria-to-host
signalling pathway.
Professor Sally Poppitt
(Nutrition) - Seeking new insights and new routes to
diabetes prevention: PREVIEW New Zealand (HRD
Project funded $1,120,603, 36 months).
There is growing
concern about the diabetes epidemic and the health of New
Zealanders. While many therapies treat diabetes, far more
important is prevention.
We are participating in a large
scale, long-term global program, PREVIEW: Prevention of
Diabetes through Lifestyle Intervention in Europe, New
Zealand and Australia; recruiting two and a half thousand
(2,500) overweight adults and children known to be at high
risk.
The study will test whether a higher protein diet
is more successful for weight loss and diabetes prevention
than current international best practice of a higher
carbohydrate diet, and also the additional effect of
moderate/higher exercise.
This will be the first large
international study to follow participants long-term to
discover who develops diabetes and who does not, what are
the most important risk factors, and how can they best be
modified through diet and exercise.
This is a landmark
study which will inform international diabetes
recommendations.
Professor Peter Shepherd
(Molecular Medicine and Pathology) - Regulating hormone
secretion via dynamic modulation of beta-catenin levels
(HRC funded $1,187,711, 36 months).
Type-2
diabetes mellitus is reaching epidemic proportions.
Relatively little is known about the exact mechanisms by
which the disease develops. One key step leading to
development of type-2 diabetes is that cells lose the
ability to release insulin in response to glucose but the
reason for this is unknown, although recent genetic studies
have provided clues.
One of the most prominent genetic
risk factors is in the TCF7L2 gene but it is not known how
this leads to diabetes. Our recent work has identified a
novel way by which glucose controls insulin release by
regulating a protein called catenin.
This has led
researchers to develop a highly novel hypothesis as to how
the TCF7L2 gene defects might affect insulin secretion.
They will use cell based and transgenic animal studies
to test this hypothesis and believe this will solve an
important missing link in understanding how type-2 diabetes
develops.
Associate Professor Cathy Stinear
(Medicine/CBR) - Accelerating recovery after stroke with
neuromodulation: A feasibility study (HRC funded
project $149,950, 12 months).
Stroke is a leading cause
of adult disability. The ability to live independently after
stroke depends on the recovery of motor function. This
research will investigate whether trans cranial direct
current stimulation (tDCS) can increase the rate and extent
of motor recovery after stroke.
TDCS is a safe, painless
and non-invasive way to increase the activity of the stroke
side of the brain. Previous studies have shown that applying
tDCS during physiotherapy can enhance the benefits of
therapy. However, little is known about its effects with
patients at the sub-acute stage.
This feasibility study
will evaluate patient and therapist acceptance of tDCS, and
estimate effect size and recruitment rate. If feasible, tDCS
will be integrated with rehabilitation after stroke in a
multi-centre, double-blind, randomised controlled
trial.
This research has the potential to improve the
recovery of motor function and independence for the
approximately 6,000 New Zealanders who experience stroke
each year.
Professor Boyd Swinburn (Epidemiology
and Biostatistics) - Food environments in New Zealand:
Policies and impacts on health and equity (HRC
funded $1,162,422, 36 months).
An International Network
for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) has been
established to monitor and benchmark food environments
globally and support actions to reduce obesity, NCDs and
their related inequalities. INFORMAS will be fully
implemented in New Zealand as the first national survey of
the healthiness of food environments and the degree of
implementation of the policies that influence them.
In
addition, for four key modules (food prices, provision,
promotion and retail), 'environmental equity' indicators
will be developed to assess progress towards reducing
diet-related health inequalities.
New Zealand food
environments will be compared with those of other countries
as a first step towards global benchmarking of food
environments and their related policies.
Effective policy
responses will be identified to improve the healthiness of
food environments, and this baseline INFORMAS database will
ensure that the impact of future food and nutrition policies
can be evaluated.
Dr Ruth The (Nursing) -
Transforming ways of living and ageing (HRC
Feasibility study funded, $149,303, 12
months).
Maintaining function and quality of life (QOL)
are preferred over longevity. Combinations of healthy
lifestyle behaviours benefit QOL and function however
physical activity is low and nutrition risk high in older
people.
This study examines the feasibility of a large
trial testing the effectiveness of nutrition and physical
activity to improve QOL and function. This feasibility
randomised trial tests two synergistic components;
nutrition, Senior Chef, and physical activity and green
prescription, and facilitates participation for both Maori
aged 60+ and non-Maori 75+ through primary care and
community organisations.
Those at high risk of losing
independence will be enrolled, change in food eaten and
physical activity undertaken will be measured and compared
between the intervention and control group over 2
months.
If this study is successful a large trial will
test the sustainability and effectiveness in improving QOL
and function, and thus impact on reducing health services
and prolonging healthy life expectancy.
Dr John
Thompson (Paediatrics) - Quality of care and outcomes in
children with cleft lip and/or palate
(HRC
project funded 48 months, $1,005,314)
This study has two
main objectives in relation to cleft lip and palate (CLP).
Firstly it will investigate the health care delivery
pathways from the time of diagnosis to the primary surgery
for children with a cleft lip and/or palate and their
families.
This will ensure that CLP patients are
receiving health delivery to the standard expected and
required. Secondly it will provide the first consistently
collected outcome data in relation to cleft lip and palate
in New Zealand, including surgical outcomes, speech, dental
care and importantly quality of life.
This data will be
compared to a parallel study in Australia, as well as to
data from the UK to determine how cleft lip and palate
patients in New Zealand fare compared to their
contemporaries worldwide. This will allow any deficiencies
to be identified and processes put in place to ensure
improved outcomes in the future.
Dr Ehsan Vaghefi
(Optometry and Vision Science) - Digital design of therapies
to combat age related nuclear cataracts (HRC funded
Emerging Researcher first grant, $141,000, 36
months).
Age-Related Nuclear (ARN) cataract is associated
with oxidative damage to the lens core and is initiated by
an age-dependent deterioration of the lens transport system.
In the absence of a blood supply, this system maintains lens
homeostasis by delivering nutrients and antioxidants to its
core.
In this application, they will facilitate efforts
to develop anti-cataract therapies by continuing the
development of a 3D computer model of lens structure and
function that can predict the effects of aging on the
individual components of this lens transport system.
To
complement this modelling approach, MRI will be used to
non-invasively measure water diffusion rates in human
lenses.
By feeding these values back into the model, it
will be possible to determine how lens functionality changes
with age, an important first step in the development of
therapeutic strategies to combat ARN cataract by up
regulating the delivery of protective antioxidants to the
core of older lenses.
Dr Siouxie Wiles (Molecular
Medicine and Pathology) - Evolution in action: A novel model
for studying pathogen adaptation in vivo (HRC
funded Explorer Grant $150,000, 24 months).
We are locked
in an arms race with opponents who are capable of evolving
faster than we can. These microbes place a huge burden on
the New Zealand health system; a staggering one in four
overnight hospital admissions are infection-related. So how
do infectious microbes adapt to live and cause disease in
their hosts? And what factors influence this arms
race?
Researchers will investigate these questions using
a bacterium that naturally infects laboratory mice. The
knowledge gained from this study will transform the field of
pathogen evolution from one which relies on anecdote and
observation, to an experimental science in which the
consequences of genetic change of both pathogen and host may
be precisely defined and tested.
Such an understanding
will allow the evolution of infectious microbes to be
anticipated and should highlight new 'chinks' in our
opponents’ armour. In the fight against an ever changing
foe, forewarned is forearmed.
Professor William
Wilson (ACSRC) - Biomarker-guided drug targeting of the
tumour microenvironment in radiotherapy
(HRC
funded programme $4,918,968, 60 months)
The inefficient
blood supply within tumours gives rise to severe hypoxia and
extracellular acidity.
This abnormal microenvironment
drives growth and spread of tumours, and their resistance to
chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Our primary objective is
to develop new prodrugs that selectively target anticancer
drugs (cytotoxins, DNA repair inhibitors) to these
refractory cells.
The programme focuses on head and neck
squamous cell cancer (HNSCC), the sixth most common human
malignancy and the tumour type with the most compelling
evidence that hypoxia limits standard-of-care
chemoradiotherapy.
We will develop three chemical classes
of prodrugs using preclinical models of HNSCC including 3D
cell cultures and tumour xenografts derived from individual
cancer patients. A central aspect of the Programme is
co-development of predictive biomarkers, using genomic and
proteomic tools, to identify patients who will benefit from
these prodrugs.
Our longer term objective is to support
first-in-human clinical trials in New Zealand in HNSCC and
other cancer
indications
ENDS