NHMRC announces winners of grants for endocrinology research projects

By Michael Woodhead

9 Nov 2021

The NHMRC has announced new funding for several endocrinology-related research projects including studies into novel therapies for adrenal disease, protection of beta cells and reducing diabetes-related atherosclerosis..

The endocrinology projects are among 248 innovative research projects to receive a share of $239 million from the Ideas Grant scheme.

A/Prof David Laybutt

Associate Professor David Laybutt of the  University of NSW, Sydney, receives  $1,000,959 for a project entitled: Type 2 diabetes relief by UPR-mediated beta cell protection. “This proposal will test the novel hypothesis that an adaptive response to stress helps pancreatic ß-cells increase insulin release and protect against T2D by preventing the conversion of ß-cells to other pancreatic cell types,” he says.

Professor Lee Smith of the University of Newcastle has a grant of $733,195 to develop a novel therapy for adrenal disease based on adrenal-targeted nanobiotechnology. “Through the use of a new adrenal specific delivery technology, we aim to develop novel drug treatments and single-injection cures for adrenal disease,” the team proposes.

Associate Professor Kyle Hoehn of the University of NSW, Sydney receives $586,751 for a study targeting caloric efficiency to treat obesity-related diabetes. “We have recently discovered a new class of drug that reverses obesity and pre-diabetes in mice.  The objectives of this project are to determine whether this drug is effective in a mouse model of very severe obesity-related diabetes, and to determine if new drug coatings will improve drug exposure so that it can be taken orally once per day,” they write.

Professor Kerry-Anne Rye of the University of NSW, Sydney, receives $1,566,077 to fund research into a novel, dual-targeted therapeutic approach for reducing diabetes-accelerated atherosclerosis. The study will focus on the pro-inflammatory enzyme myeloperoxidase (MPO) to determine whether treatment with peptides that have anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory properties plus an MPO inhibitor reduces heart disease in diabetes patients.

Professor Andrew Zannettino of the University of Adelaide receives $649,347 for the development of a novel glucose lowering medication targeting mTORC1 in osteoblasts. “Our group has identified a new drug target in bone forming cells. This target becomes over-activated in obesity and decreases the ability of insulin to stimulate sugar uptake. In this proposal, we will develop a novel inhibitor and test the inhibitor in a model system of diet-induced T2DM,” his proposal states.

Associate Professor Anandwardhan Hardikar of the Univeristy of Western Sydney receives $390,167 for a project to develop microRNA nanoChip technology for predicting childhood Type 1 diabetes risk. “Current clinical tests, although useful to diagnose T1D, cannot accurately predict future T1D as they measure blood-based molecules that arise following the destruction of insulin producing cells.  Through this study, we use a novel test (like a pregnancy test) that offers the capacity to measure a different class of blood-based molecules, which can help identifying T1D progression,” the proposal states.

Professor John Wade of the University of Melbourne receives $1,098,388 for a study into the engineering of novel insulin analogues to address the difficulties in both manufacture and handling caused by rapid aggregation of insulin in solution, making storage and accurate dosing difficult. “We will develop novel modified insulins that are biologically active, long-acting, aggregate-free and which self-respond to increases in glucose levels therefore greatly improving diabetes therapy,” he writes.

Associate Professor  Leonnie Heilbronn of the University of Adelaide has a grant of $1,189,927 to fund a study that will compare caloric restriction versus time restriction of food intake. The proposal states that the study will compare the health benefits of limiting “when” vs “how much” is eaten on health in individuals at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. “The concept that marked improvements in health can be achieved by aligning food intake with circadian rhythms, without weight loss, is game changing. But we do not yet clearly understand how one performs against the other, or if both are required, in humans, since no trials have been performed.”

Dr Sih Min Tan of Monash University receives $855,470 for a project to investigate complement C5a receptor 2 as a therapeutic target for diabetic kidney disease. “We have found that the complement system, which is a normal part of the immune system, is overactivated in diabetes and leads to kidney injury. We propose studies to not only understand how complement leads to kidney disease in diabetes, but also to identify novel therapeutic targets to enable the development of new treatments for diabetic kidney disease,” the proposal states.

Other projects that have received Ideas Grant funding include:

  • Professor Leanne Delbridge, University of Melbourne: $1,006,418 – Towards optimising diabetes therapies for cardioprotection: Precision approaches for women
  • Dr Magdalene Montgomery, University of Melbourne: $1,087,328 – Development of multifaceted glucose-plus therapies – a focus on Hexosaminidase A (HEXA)
  • Professor Des Richardson, Griffith University, Queensland: $638,288 – Novel Hormone Analogues as an Innovative Endocrinological Intervention for the Anaemia of Chronic Disease
  • Dr Zhonglin Chai, Monash University, Melbourne:  $1,162,198 – Study of the structure-activity relationship of a prototype drug, CHA-061 that inhibits inflammation and fibrosis in animal models of diabetic kidney disease.
  • Dr James Burchfield, University of Sydne: $1,711,067 – Treating Cardiometabolic Disease by Targeting Mitochondrial Defects
  • Professor Allison Cowin, University of South Australia: $1,256,874 – Development of a diagnostic platform for preventative wound management for people living with diabetes.

The full list of grant winners is available via the NHMRC website.

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