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The effects of trophic agents on the auditory nervous system
Co-Supervisor: Professor Stephen O’Leary
Cochlear implants restore hearing by direct electrical stimulation of the auditory (hearing) nerves. The success of the implant is therefore dependent upon the integrity and function of these nerves. In a healthy ear, the auditory nerve is normally maintained by the release of nerve growth factors from hair cells, but when these are lost in deafness, there is severe degradation of the auditory nerve with time. However, the application of nerve growth factors to the deafened cochlea arrests hearing nerve degeneration and is potentially of major importance to cochlear implantation.
This NHMRC funded project examines how biological interventions with nerve growth factors can affect the structure of the auditory nerve and its response to cochlear implant stimulation. We are particularly interested in working out how longer periods of deafness and neurotrophin treatment and varying dosages of neurotrophins affect these outcomes in the hope that they may be understood prior to clinical application of nerve growth factors.
 View project details
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The generation of glial cells and neurons in sympathetic ganglia
Sympathetic neurons are descended from pluripotent stem cells that also give rise to the glial cells in the same ganglia. No one knows how the same cell in the same place can give rise to two such different types of cell. View project details
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The Genetics of Parkinsons disease
| Florey Neuroscience Institutes |
Alpha synuclein is generally accepted to be an important molecule in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's Disease (PD). The gene for alpha synuclein is SNCA and multiplications of SNCA leads to both increased expression of alpha synuclein and early onset and more severe disease. We have found that alpha synuclein is elevated in about half the people with PD and these people also have more severe disease. In this project we wish to find variations in the PARK genes that may relate to the expression of alpha synuclein. View project details
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The Impact of the Neurotrophins on Modulating Myelination
| Florey Neuroscience Institutes |
Co-supervisors: Dr. Junhua Xiao and Prof. Trevor Kilpatrick
Demyelinating diseases have a devastating human impact. There is currently an incomplete understanding of the factors that initiate, promote and maintain the interactions between neurons and glial cells that are vital for myelination. This laboratory is acutely interested in analysing and increasing our understanding of some of the factors that regulate the myelinating program and dissecting their primary mechanism of action. View project details
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The impacts on care-givers of caring for a child with an ABI
The aim of this thesis is to explore the research question, what are the impacts of caring for a child with an ABI on care-givers, three years post injury? The goal of this study is to highlight the unique experiences of care givers at a time when they are not receiving tertiary level care and to posit recommendations for social work programs in tertiary settings to consider in preparing families for discharge. View project details
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