Exploring solutions to our greatest health challenges
IHMRI affiliated researchers at the University of Wollongong and the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District are actively working on a diverse range of projects to find solutions to our greatest health challenges.
The list below details projects that are currently supported by major funding bodies, such the National Health and Medical Research Council, grants on the Australian Competitive Grant register, as well as other smaller schemes.
Click on the project name for more details. The research projects are in alphabetical order. You can also search for particular phrases or topics by using the search function at the top of the page.
For a more simplified, non-scientific description of the work of IHMRI researchers, visit What we research.
Cannabidiol (CBD): A novel therapeutic for Alzheimer’s disease?
We found that CBD can prevent and reverse memory deficits in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) mice. This project aims to provide convincing preclinical evidence for the benefits of CBD for human AD therapy and to define mechanisms involved.
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Cannabidiol may protect the brain against the harmful effects of marijuana
This project will be the first comprehensive examination of the key question – can CBD protect against marijuana-related brain and psychosocial harms?
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Creation and Repair of Postreplicative DNA Gaps
An integrated strategy to attain an in-depth understanding of gap formation and repair, aimed at providing new avenues to slow tumor growth and bacterial antibiotic resistance.
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Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma: defining prognostic markers of metastasis
Professor Marie Ranson and Associate Professor Bruce Ashford were awarded this three year NHMRC Ideas Grant along with project partners, Associate Professor Ruta Gupta from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Associate Professor N Gopalakrishna Iyer from the National Cancer Centre in Singapore.
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Developing insight into the molecular origins of familial and sporadic frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
We aim to discover gene variants that cause, predispose, or modify onset and progression of inherited and sporadic frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and validate and study our discoveries in new cell and animal models of these disorders.
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Development of radiation detectors to better understand ion interactions
Distinguished Professor Anatoly Rozenfeld, Professor Michael Lerch and Associate Professor Marco Petasecca were awarded this seven-year ARC Discovery Project in 2016.
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Discovering novel drug lead compounds for inflammatory bowel disease from Australian Aboriginal tropical medicinal plants
This project aims to discover novel drug leads from Aboriginal medicinal plants, which are currently used for treating inflammatory conditions by the Mbabaram community of the Atherton Tablelands.
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Do novel diets reshape wildlife microbiomes and resilience to stressors?
Dr Bethany Hoye was awarded this grant for two years to investigate how bacteria can assist wildlife in adapting to the accelerating threat of environmental change. Using an innovative, interdisciplinary approach this project expects to identify interactions between environmental change and the diet, microbial communities and stress resilience of wildlife, using the threatened Grey-headed flying fox as a model system.
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Does Omega-3 Supplementation Attenuate Aggressive Behaviour: A Multi-Centre Randomised Controlled Trial of a Broadly Disseminable Strategy
Professor Barbara Meyer, Professor Alison Jones and Associate Professor Mitch Byrne are working on this six-year NHMRC Partnership Grant awarded in 2016 with researchers from the University of South Australia, the University of Newcastle and the University of NSW.
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Efficacy of a 3-month aerobic exercise regime for restoring ‘brain health’ in heavy cannabis users
This study will build on extensive work to date and, for the first time, investigate whether a specific form of exercise will cause accelerated and beneficial changes in i) the brain and ii) the daily lives of heavy cannabis users.
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