Treating fibrosis and inflammation to prevent end-organ damage in diabetes

Summary The Renal and Cardiovascular Translational Research group is focused on developing novel compounds for the treatment of pathological inflammation and fibrosis in diabetic and non-diabetic kidney, heart and eye disease. Our projects adopt a “bench to bedside” approach where we evaluate the efficacy of novel therapies on structural and functional aspects of heart, kidney, liver and eye disease using well characterised animal models that mimic the complications seen in humans.

Project Details

Diabetes is associated microvascular complications which lead to diabetic nephropathy, cardiomyopathy and retinopathy. Inflammation and scar tissue formation (fibrosis) contribute to the decline in organ function in both diabetic and non-diabetic disease. At present there is no effective treatment for pathological fibrosis. The Renal and Cardiovascular Translational Research group is focused on developing novel compounds for the treatment of pathological inflammation and fibrosis in diabetic and non-diabetic kidney, heart and eye disease. Our projects adopt a “bench to bedside” approach where we evaluate the efficacy of novel therapies on structural and functional aspects of heart, kidney, liver and eye disease using well characterised animal models that mimic the complications seen in humans. We can then assess the underlying mechanism of action of these compounds using specialised molecular, histopathological and imaging techniques, complemented with cell culture systems. As a team, we have contributed to the discovery of several anti-fibrotic compounds that inhibit the progression of diabetic and non-diabetic kidney disease and these compounds have been advanced into clinical trials in humans. We have a number of projects suitable for Honours or PhD students available to outstanding and enthusiastic students interested with a particular interest in pre-clinical drug development.