Inflammation
Increasingly found to play crucial roles in the development of most major diseases, including Alzheimer’s, heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases, diabetes, and tuberculosis.
Why inflammation is the key
Our belief is that understanding inflammation is the key to unlocking a new era of treatments and cures for many of the deadliest and prominent diseases effecting humanity. The Centenary Institute is at the forefront of this life-saving medical research. We are driven to understand the role of inflammation and the immune system and how these together drives disease processes.
As a fundamental mechanism by which the body’s immune system reacts to injury, inflammation is critical in resolving infection or trauma. However, it also underlies a number of prevalent acute and chronic conditions, such as allergies and autoimmune diseases, and drives the initiation and progression of cancer and cardiovascular disease.
By placing inflammation research at the centre of our goals of understanding, we are seeking ways to heal inflammatory conditions (autoimmunity, allergy), cancer and cardiovascular diseases. We continue to study the chief cellular components of inflammation, the white blood cells and the lining of blood vessels and how they react to injury. Our research has defined new mechanisms and devised new drug candidates.
Our research programs and laboratories investigating inflammation and disease
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Centenary UTS Centre for Inflammation
Inflammation is increasingly being found to play crucial roles in the development of many major diseases, including Alzheimer’s, heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases, diabetes, tuberculosis and COVID-19.
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Alcoholic Liver Disease Program
The Alcoholic Liver Disease research program includes studies on genetics of alcoholic cirrhosis and molecular mechanisms underlying liver disease. By identifying biomarkers for alcohol use and liver injury, we utilise transcriptomics, lipid and miRNA profiling to find treatment targets and pathways. -
Liver Enzymes in Metabolism and Inflammation Program
The ongoing increase in all forms of liver disease is a large burden for our healthcare system. Especially the 350% increase in liver cancer in the last 30 years. Much of this increase is attributed to metabolic disease, often in conjunction with diabetes. Our focus in liver disease research is understanding the roles of a key enzyme family in progressive liver damage and cancer. -
Liver Injury and Cancer Program
Our work is devoted to understanding pathways at the cellular and molecular levels that drive liver injury and cancer. These pathways may then be identified as targets to modulate these processes or be used for diagnosis and staging of liver disease and cancer. -
Tuberculosis Research Program
Worldwide, Tuberculosis (TB) is the 13th leading cause of death and the second leading infectious killer after COVID-19. -
Vascular Biology Program
The Vascular Biology program seeks to understand the ageing process on the function of blood vessels and the impact on the development of disease. Ultimately the work may help us “age better”.
Achievements
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New vaccine research aims to conquer TB
The Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney, together with collaborators, have been awarded an AU$19 million contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), to develop the next generation of tuberculosis (TB) vaccines. -
New nasal vaccine strategy could improve COVID-19 protection
Researchers from the Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney have developed a new nasal vaccination strategy that induces potent lung immunity and protection against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. -
Discovery could open door to new COPD treatment
Research led by the Centenary Institute, the University of Technology Sydney and Ghent University Hospital, Belgium has identified a new therapeutic approach for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – the targeting and inhibition of a protein called RIPK1.
