Aptamer-facilitated Virus Shielding (Apta?ViSh) Technology and Aptamer-facilitated AntivirusShielding (Apta-AntiviSh) Technology to extend the in vivo action of oncolytic viruses. Year One

This project aims to develop an aptamer?based technology to enhance the in?vivo survival of oncolytic viruses and thus the efficiency of virotherapy. Oncolytic viruses (OVs) can selectively replicate in tumor cells, leading to lysis of the tumor. OVs are particularly effective against metastatic cancers, which are especially difficult to treat conventionally. However, OVs can be […]

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Development of an Electrodynamic Simulation Toolbox for Nanophotonics

Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulations allow researchers to model complex devices and systems based on integrated micro/nano structures. The electrodynamic behaviour predicted by FDTD simulations match very well with the real physical systems, which significantly accelerates the development of novel devices. However, there are limitations in existing FDTD techniques to model metal nanoparticles on […]

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Regulation of T-type calcium channel activity by targeting channel trafficking – a novel approach for pain management Year two

Current therapies to manage pain either result in side effects or are insufficient and the associated medical costs and loss of work days come pose a tremendous socioeconomic burden. We recently showed that T-type channel activity is aberrantly regulated in inflammatory and neuropathic pain by the deubiquitinase USP5, and we have begun to explore this […]

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Carbonate Alteration Footprints of Hydrothermal Ore Deposits Year Two

Carbonate hosted hydrothermal ore deposits commonly develop narrow mineral alteration (i.e. visible) haloes, complicating exploration targeting. In contrast, hydrothermal modification of the country rock’s stable isotope composition usually extends far beyond visible alteration. Hence, stable isotope “mapping” is an effective tool to aid exploration for carbonate?hosted deposits. However, widespread utilization of stable isotope data has […]

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Advanced Adaptivity and Personalization in Learning Systems through Collaborative Recommendations Year Two

Learning Systems are among the most popular e-learning tools in today’s education and training. Most e-Learning systems do not take into account individual aspects of learners (e.g., their goal, experiences, existing knowledge, learning style etc.).The primary goal of the proposed research is to offer rich adaptivity by combining information from a learner’s profile (e.g. levels, […]

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Radiochemistry for the Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of Novel Bone-Targeting Peptide Hormone Derivatives Year Two

This proposed research project is about development of new bone-targeting drug called PTHPEG- BP, this new compound will overcome shortages of current clinical peptide hormone PTH, and show better treatment efficacy and lower price then the latter; several new technologies will be used on research of this PTH, such as micro Positron Emission Tomography (PET/CT), […]

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Non-Viral delivery of insulin and IL-10 to the intestine for immunotherapy for type 1 diabetes Year Two

There is increasing evidence suggesting a link exists between the gut immune system and several autoimmune diseases, including diabetes. The industrial partner of this project, enGene, has developed an effective non-viral based technology for the delivery of genes to the intestine. enGene has demonstrated the feasibility of delivering IL-10, which is an anti-inflammatory cytokine, to […]

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Investigating the biophysics and structural basis for state dependent drug blockade of persistent/late sodium current (INa(P)) in the heart using photoactivatable crosslinking unnatural amino acidsYR2

Electrical activity in the heart is controlled by the concerted activity of many proteins called ion-channels that regulate the transfer of different ions across cell membranes. Recently, researchers in biomedical science have identified that a particular component of sodium carrying ion-channel activity (called the persistent or late sodium current also known as INa(P)) played a […]

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Isolation, characterization and culture maintenance of stem cells from human hair follicle mesenchyme Year Two

Stem cells and other pluripotent cells are under active investigation for the development of new therapeutic treatments to regenerate and repair diseased and damaged tissues. Published studies indicate that some mesenchymal cells derived from adult human hair follicles exhibit stem cell properties and can form different cells types if they are given specific biological signals […]

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Social Lead Identification Year Two

Millions of people post information on social media sites about their interests, preferences, opinions etc. on a daily basis. LeadSift mines this data stream in real-time to generate incredibly accurate and targeted sales leads. Given the short text and ambiguity around a social post, it gets very difficult to accurately identify intent. This project will […]

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