Our expertise
Driving breakthroughs in precision medicine, our innovative approaches span gene and cell therapies, phage and plasmid therapies, islet transplantation, regenerative medicine, and cutting-edge genomics.
The Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR) excels in addressing a broad spectrum of diseases, including cancer, diabetes, infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders, kidney disease, cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, and mental health challenges. With a focus on understanding the fundamentals of cell biology, WIMR collaborates with an extensive network of clinical practitioners to ensure our research drives transformative impacts in precision medicine and patient care globally.
Our novel approaches to transforming health outcomes
Cancer
- CAR T Cell Therapy: Leveraging engineered T cells to target and destroy blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma.
- Targeted Therapies: Identification of molecular drivers in cancers such as ovarian, breast, and liver cancers for personalized treatments.
- Immunotherapy:
- Cancer vaccines to stimulate anti-tumor immune responses.
- Novel immune checkpoint inhibitors to improve treatment-resistant cancers.
- Mathematical Modelling: Modeling chemotherapy resistance to design optimized drug regimens.
- Precision Diagnostics: Genomic testing and histopathology to classify cancer subtypes.
- Bioengineering Tools: Developing organoid models for drug screening.
Neurological and Mental Health Disorders
- Neuroprotective Strategies: Identifying mechanisms to prevent retinal ganglion cell death in glaucoma.
- Cognitive Remediation: Programs to improve social cognition and employment outcomes in schizophrenia.
- Wearable eHealth Devices: The unWIRED Project for managing severe mental illness using real-time data collection.
- Psychological Interventions: Mindfulness-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for PTSD and prolonged grief.
- EEG Biomarkers: Developing tools like Electroencephalographic Markers of Inner Speech (EMIS) for psychosis diagnostics.
Liver and Metabolic Health
- Fibrogene Diagnostic Tool: A non-invasive online calculator predicting liver fibrosis severity.
- Gene Editing:
- Targeting Interferon Lambda 3 (IFNL3) for personalized medicine in liver fibrosis.
- Using CRISPR-Cas9 for studying liver cancer genetics.
- Liver Regeneration Therapies:
- Vitamin D-based interventions for liver recovery.
- Stem cell-based treatments for end-stage liver disease.
Kidney Diseases
- Regenerative Medicine: BMP-7 engineered macrophages for chronic kidney disease.
- Novel Proteomic Biomarkers: Tools to predict disease progression in polycystic kidney disease.
- Machine Perfusion Technology: Reviving donor kidneys for transplantation.
- Cellular Signalling Modulation: Targeting pathways like TGF-β and Wnt/β-catenin for kidney fibrosis therapy.
- Genomics Approaches:
- Development of polygenic risk scores to predict late-stage kidney graft loss.
- Pan-organ transcriptomic atlases to identify biomarkers for kidney disease.
- Single-cell RNA sequencing to uncover molecular and cellular dynamics in kidney injury and fibrosis.
Cardiovascular Innovations
- Gene Therapy:
- Viral vectors delivering corrective genes for heart rhythm disorders.
- AAV-based therapies for myocardial repair.
- Growth Factor Delivery:
- PDGF-AB for scar mechanics improvement post-myocardial infarction.
- Tropoelastin to improve scar elasticity and heart function.
- Bioengineered Models: Testing cardiac therapeutics in small and large animal models.
Diabetes Research
- Islet Transplantation: Developing protocols for islet cell transplantation to restore insulin production in Type 1 diabetes.
- Cellular Therapies: Exploring beta-cell regeneration and immune tolerance to preserve pancreatic function.
Infectious Diseases
- Phage Therapy: Developing bacteriophage-based treatments to combat antibiotic-resistant infections.
- Plasmid Therapy: Utilizing plasmids for genetic delivery in combating bacterial infections and resistance mechanisms.
- Next-Generation Vaccines:
- mRNA vaccines for infectious diseases like hepatitis B and HIV.
- Adjuvant studies using human lymph node explants to test immune activation.
- Immunoinformatics:
- Developing T-cell epitope-based vaccines for diseases like COVID-19 and HIV.
- Viral inhibition assays to assess therapeutic efficacy.
- Antiviral Therapies:
- Small-molecule inhibitors targeting viral replication in hepatitis and HIV.
- Novel zinc-mediated antiviral strategies.
Immunology and Autoimmune Disorders
- Treg-Based Therapies: Antigen-specific regulatory T cells (Tregs) to prevent transplant rejection and autoimmune diseases like lupus.
- Dendritic Cell Vaccines: Harnessing tolerogenic dendritic cells to prevent acute kidney injury and inflammatory bowel disease.
- High-Parameter Flow Cytometry: Tools to profile immune responses in diseases like lupus and Crohn’s disease.
Respiratory Diseases
- Novel Inhalation Therapies: Targeting airway remodelling in asthma and COPD.
- Anti-Fibrotic Approaches: Using biologics to reduce lung scarring in pulmonary fibrosis.
Ophthalmology
- Anti-Angiogenic Eye Drops: Novel glycoproteins to prevent abnormal blood vessel growth in diseases like macular degeneration.
- Corneal Glues: Innovative bioadhesives to seal perforated corneas.
- AI-Driven Diagnostics: Deep learning algorithms for optical coherence tomography (OCT) image analysis.
HIV/AIDS
- Cure Strategies:
- Identifying viral reservoirs and their genetic makeup to develop eradication therapies.
- Immunoinformatics Analysis Pipeline (IMAP) for creating HIV-targeting mRNA vaccines.
- Latency Reversal Agents: Strategies to activate latent HIV for immune clearance.
Vaccines and Adjuvants
- Lymph Node Explant Model: Testing vaccine efficacy in human lymphoid tissues.
- Multiple Dose Optimization: Improved immune response protocols for chronic conditions like chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
The diseases and conditions we research
At WIMR, we are driven by the pressing health needs of the diverse populations we serve and those cared for by our clinician-scientist networks. Guided by clinical priorities, we accelerate ideas from the lab to the clinic, ensuring discoveries are swiftly translated into better care for a wide range of diseases and conditions, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders, and neurological conditions. With close ties to Westmead Hospital and our vibrant research hub, we are uniquely positioned to turn possibilities into practice, improving patient outcomes and enhancing quality of life.
Cancer
- Leukemia
- Lymphoma
- Breast cancer
- Liver cancer
- Ovarian cancer
- Melanoma
- Skin cancer
Infectious Diseases
- HIV/AIDS
- Hepatitis B and C
- COVID-19
- Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections
Metabolic and Liver Diseases
- Fatty liver disease (including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease)
- Liver fibrosis
- Cirrhosis
- Diabetes (Type 1 & Type 2)
- Obesity-related liver conditions
Opthamology
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Retinal vascular diseases
- Corneal diseases and injuries
- Glaucoma
Kidney Diseases
- Polycystic kidney disease
- Chronic kidney disease
- Acute kidney injury
- Renal fibrosis
Neurological and Mental Health Disorders
- Schizophrenia
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Prolonged Grief Disorder
- Eating disorders
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Glaucoma
- Psychosis
Autoimmune and Inflammatory Disorders
- Multiple sclerosis
- Lupus
- Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis)
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Amyloidosis
Cardiovascular & Respiratory Diseases
- Heart rhythm disorders
- Heart failure
- Myocardial infarction recovery
- Hypertension
- Asthma
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Pulmonary fibrosis
Blood and Immune Disorders
- Immunodeficiencies
- Autoimmune diseases (various)
- Graft-versus-host disease
- Hematological malignancies
Explore our research centres
Westmead Institute for Medical Research is turning medical discoveries into breakthroughs. Our specialist research centres save lives and deliver hope for millions of people.
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