Research Opportunities - New South Wales
John Hunter Hospital
Renal Transplantation
Basic Science:
Early prediction and evaluation
- reperfusion injury
- acute rejection
- chronic allograft nephropathy using molecular techniques for b6-integrin and metalloproteinases in tissue and urine
Clinical Studies
- steroid withdrawal in stable renal transplants
- the use of IV gancyclovir prophylaxis in prevention of CMV disease
- the use of Mycophenolate in attenuating chronic graft insufficiency
- epidemiology of cancer in renal transplant recipients
- subclinical acute rejection on routine protocol biopsies
- national survey of early post transplant management practices
- nutritional protocols in renal transplantation
Clinical Nephrology
- immunopathology and treatment of glomerulonephritis
- renovascular hypertension
- patient education
Contact:
Dr Paul Trevillian
Ph: +61 2 4921 4333
Fax: +61 2 4921 4339
Email: trendy@ozemail.com.au
Clinical Nephrology
- effect of angiotensin II blockade on renal function with mechanisms of action in renal failure
- role of dietary protein in transplant renal function
Hypertension
- self/home blood pressure V 24 hour ambulatory blood pressure
- effects of diverse pharmaceutical agents in essential hypertension
- diagnosis and treatment of renovascular hypertension
- patient education
Contact:
Drs Shane Carney and Al Gillies
Ph: +61 2 4921 4333
Fax: +61 2 4921 4339
Email: agillies@ozemail.com.au
Liverpool Hospital
Transplantation Immunology
Basic research:
- mechanisms of transplantation tolerance
- role of cytokines and interleukins in tolerance and rejection
- molecular biology of cytokines
- mechanisms of rejection
Glomerulonephritis
Animal model research into:
- role of CD8+ T cells as mediators of glomerular injury
- role of cytokines, especially Th2 in induction of tolerance in nephritis
Contact:
Professor Bruce Hall
Ph: +61 2 9828 4172
Fax: +61 2 9828 4970
Email: b.hall@unsw.edu.au
Clinical Research:
- cytokines in human glomerular injury
- erythropoietin studies
- hypertension in diabetes
- CAPD with infection complication
- renal bone disease
- lipids in renal disease
- diabetes outcomes
- haemodialysis and CAPD practice
Contact:
Dr Michael Suranyi
Ph: +61 2 9828 3708
Fax: +61 2 9828 3718
Email: Michael.Suranyi@swsahs.nsw.gov.au
Prince Of Wales Hospital
Basic Science:
Glomerulonephritis
- intracellular complement behaviour and proximal tubular cell function
- inter-compartmental signalling between complement activation products and chemokines within the kidney
- studies of metalloprotinases and their auto-inhibitors in disorders of the mesangium
Complement Biology
- the development of therapeutic complement inhibitors for use in human subjects with immune disease
- studies of the relevance of complement biology to adipocyte function
Contact:
Associate Professor John A Charlesworth
Ph: +61 2 9382 4480
Fax: +61 2 9382 4409
Email: j.charlesworth@unsw.edu.au
Clinical Research:
- trials of therapy in sytemic vasculitis
- differential gene expression by peripheral and visceral human fat cells
- studies of intra-renal complement production in patients with heavy proteinuria
Contact:
Assoc. Professor John A. Charlesworth
Ph: 61 +2 9382 4480
Fax: +61 9382 4409
Email:j.charlesworth@unsw.edu.au
Professor Bruce Pussell
Ph: 61 +2 9382 4418
Fax: +61 2 9382 4409
Email: b.pussell@unsw.edu.au
The Children's Hospital At Westmead
Clinical Research
Primary studies;
- A computer assisted decision support system for diagnosing bacterial infections in febrile children
- A randomised placebo controlled trial of antibiotics for the prevention of urinary tract infection in children (PRIVENT)
- Urinary tract infection and daytime wetting in school children
- Perceptions of paediatricians, general practitioners and parents perceptions of the participation of children's participation in randomised controlled trials
- Antecedents of renal disease in Aboriginal children in NSW (ARDAC)
- The assessment of risk factors for failure of treatment with enuresis alarms/desmopressin in children with nocturnal enuresis: Before-After study
- The number, quality and coverage of randomised controlled trials in nephrology
- Malignancy and immunosuppression in end stage renal failure
Systematic Reviews;
- Interleukin 2 receptor antagonists for renal transplant recipients
- Tacrolimus for renal transplant recipients
- Sirolimus and everolimus for kidney transplant inhibitors
- Anti-proliferative agents for kidney transplant recipients
- Haemoglobin and haematocrit targets for the anaemia of chronic kidney diseases.
- Immunosuppressive and cytotoxic agents for IgA nephropathy
- Antihypertensive agents for preventing diabetic kidney disease
- Antihypertensive agents to delay the progression of diabetic kidney diseases
- Non-immunosuppressive agents for IgA nephropathy
- Interventions for malnutrition in chronic kidney failure
- Interventions for bone disease in chronic kidney failure
- Interventions to prevent peritonitis and exit-site infection in peritoneal dialysis
- Interventions for daytime wetting
- Risk factors for urinary tract infection - systematic review of epidemiological studies
- Recruitment strategies for randomised controlled trials
- Urinalysis and microscopy for diagnosis of UTI in children
- Renal artery sonography Ultrasound for diagnosing renal artery stenosis in hypertensive patients
- Interventions for preventing cytomegalovirus disease in solid organ transplants
- Treatment for renal vasculitis and Goodpasture's disease
- Interventions for primary vesicoureteric reflux
Other Programs
- Cochrane Renal Group of Cochrane Collaboration
- Caring for Australians with Renal Insufficiency (CARI) guidelines
Please Note: There are a limited number of PhD and Clinical Epidemiology scholarships available. Please contact A/Prof Jonathan Craig via email jonc@health.usyd.edu.au for further information or phone Miranda Cheung on (02) 9351-5994.
Royal North Shore Hospital
The Role of Cytokines and the Mechanisms of Intracellular Signalling in the Tubulointerstitium
Diabetic nephropathy:
- the role of hyperglycaemia in the regulation of human proximal tubular growth and sodium-hydrogen exchange activity by insulinlike growth factor-1
- the regulation of sodium-hydrogen exchange (NHE) activity by insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in an invitro model of diabetes mellitus
- the interaction between hypoxia and hyperglycaemia in renal injury
- the effects of agiotensin II in an invitro model of diabetic nephropathy
- cloning of the human NHE-4 transporter in proximal tubular cells
Clinical Research:
- intraperitoneal; amino acids in malnutrition in CAPD
- the rational Start of Dialysis and Nutritional Intervention
Contact:
Associate Professor Carol Pollock
Ph: +61 2 9926 7126
Fax: +61 2 9436 3719
Email: carpol@med.usyd.edu.au
Pathogenesis of Pre-eclampsia
- interactions between invading placental cytotrophoblasts and uterine endothelium
- maternal endothelial cell dysfunction
- function of peripheral blood monocytes in normal and pre-eclamptic human pregnancies
Clinical Research:
- assessment of renal function (including glomerular, proximal and distal tubular) in women with a wide variety of renal problems
- assessment of maternal and foetal outcome of pregnancies in women treated for acute hypertension and other disorders in the late antepartum period
- development of appropriate management protocols for women with various medical disorders in pregnancy
Contact:
Professor Eileen Gallery
Ph: +61 2 9926 8948
Fax: +61 2 9436 3719
Email: eileeng@med.usyd.edu.au
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
Tubular Physiology
- the physiological importance of urea transport mechanisms in the renal tubule
Contact:
Dr Adrian Gillin
Ph: +61 2 9515 7650
Fax: +61 2 9515 6250
Email: agillin@renal.rpa.cs.nsw.gov.au
Chronic Rejection in Renal Transplantation
- the pathogenesis of chronic renal graft rejection in humans
Contact:
Dr Josette Eris
Ph: +61 2 9515 6600
Fax: +61 2 9515 6250
Email: jeris@renal.rpa.cs.nsw.gov.au
Hypertension in Pregnancy
- investigation of the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia
Contact:
Dr Annemarie Hennessy
Ph: +61 2 9515 7653
Fax: +61 2 9515 6250
Email: ahennese@renal.rpa.cs.nsw.gov.au
1. Basic research into acute rejection - focus on macrophages
2. Clinical research into long-term allograft survival
3. Epidemiology of early renal disease
Current team includes 2 scientists, one PhD fellow, two transplant fellows and several active collaborators in clinical and basic studies. Positions are available for suitable PhD candidates and research fellows.
Contact:
Dr Steve Chadban
Phone (02) 9515 6600
Fax: (02) 9515 6250
Email: steve.chadban@email.cs.nsw.gov.au
St George Hospital
- hypertension and renal disease in pregnancy - clinical and physiology studies
- clinical studies of blood pressure measurement and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, including white coat hypertension
Contact:
Professor Mark Brown
Ph: +61 2 9350 2622
Fax: + 61 2 9553 8192
Email: mbrown@unsw.edu.au
- mechanisms of steroid mediated hypertension
- nutrition, energy expenditure and body composition in pre-dialysis chronic renal failure
- hypertension and vascular disease in chronic renal failure
Contact:
A/Professor John Kelly
Ph: +61 2 9350 2290
Fax: +61 2 9553 8192
Email: j.kelly@unsw.edu.au
- mechanisms of steroid-induced hypertension
- vascular reactivity in women with previous pre-eclampsia
- cardiovascular risk factors in women with previous pre-eclampsia
Contact:
Dr George Mangos
Ph: +61 2 9350 2019
Fax: + 61 2 9350 3998
Email: g.mangos@unsw.edu.au
Westmead Hospital
Basic Research - Renal Transplant Immunology
- Study of the cognate and innate immune mechanisms involved in cellular xenograft rejection.
- Study of the mechanisms involved in the induction and maintenance of graft tolerance.
Clinical Research:
- Renal-pancreas transplantation
- Immunosuppression therapy for renal and renal -pancreas transplantation.
Contact:
Associate Professor Philip O'Connell
Ph: +61 2 9845 6962
Fax: +61 2 9633 9351
Email: philip_oconnell@wsahs.nsw.gov.au
Clinical Research:
- Chronic allograft nephropathy
- Renal function after transplantation
- Diabetic complications after pancreas transplantation
- Subclinical rejection
Contact:
Dr Brian Nankivell
Ph: +61 2 9845 6962
Fax: +61 2 9633 9351
Email: brian_nankivell@wsahs.nsw.gov.au
Basic Research - Progressive Tubulo-interstitial injury
- The role of proteinuria
- Tubular cell injury
- Tubular cell cytokine production, including signal transduction pathways and transcriptional regulation.
- Interstitial inflammatory cells
- Co-stimulation
- Novel treatment strategies, including DNA vaccination
Clinical Research:
- Dialysis delivery
- Dialysis-related complications
- Pre-endstage care
Contact:
Professor David Harris
Ph: +61 2 9845 6962
Fax: +61 2 9633 9351
Email: dch@medicine.usyd.edu.au
Clinical Research:
- Renal osteodystrophy
- Post transplant osteoporosis
Contact:
Dr Grahame Elder
Ph: +61 2 9845 6962
Fax: +61 2 9633 9351
Email: g.elder@garvan.unsw.edu.au
