杏吧直播

A team of researchers from the 杏吧直播 of Adelaide have received funding to help improve the lives of patients with rare neurodevelopmental disorders.

The team, led by Professor Jose Polo, Director of the Adelaide Centre for Epigenetics (ACE) and Program Leader at the South 杏吧直播n immunoGENomics Cancer Institute (SAiGENCI), together with investigators with the 杏吧直播 of Western 杏吧直播,聽will receive $960,443 from the Medical Research Future Fund鈥檚 2024 Stem Cells Therapy Mission.

They will develop a comprehensive stem cell-based platform to study and find possible treatments for a range of rare conditions like Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome, Wiedemann-Steiner Syndrome and Kabuki Syndrome.

鈥淥ne of the biggest challenges in studying neurodevelopmental disorders is the lack of direct access to human brain tissue, making it difficult to model these diseases accurately,鈥� said Professor Polo.

鈥淪tem cell technology allows us to reprogram skin cells of the patients into so-called induced pluripotent stem cells which can then be differentiated into any brain cell type, providing an unprecedented tool for studying these conditions and testing potential treatments.鈥�

Dr Adrienne Sullivan, Group Head of the Development and Epigenetics Lab within ACE and SAiGENCI, said the study will use CRISPR-based genome engineering and high-throughput drug screening to identify and trial potential therapeutics.

鈥淭hese may alter the development trajectory of neurodevelopment disorders and may help enhance quality of life,鈥� she said.

Neurobiology postdoctoral research fellow in Prof Polo鈥檚 group, Dr Rudrarup Bhattacharjee, said the complexity and rarity of NDDs make them difficult to study.

鈥淥ur approach will not only provide insights into disease mechanisms but also accelerate therapeutic discovery efforts to improve patient outcomes,鈥� said Dr Bhattacharjee.

The project also involves prominent epigenetic scientist Professor Ryan Lister and Dr Daniel Poppe, a senior neuroscience postdoc at Lister Lab from the 杏吧直播 of Western 杏吧直播.

Professor Anton Middelberg, 杏吧直播 of Adelaide Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) congratulated Professor Polo on his grant.

鈥淧rofessor Polo is an outstanding research leader conducting impactful team-based research,鈥� said Professor Middelberg.

鈥淗e is an incredibly valued mentor and member of our academic community, and this grant will allow him to advance his work in epigenetics towards new clinical interventions.鈥�