Thrombotic and embolic events such as heart attack and stroke remain the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in Australia and worldwide. This is, in part, due to a major limitation of current antiplatelet therapy involving the occurrence of bleeding complications which prevents the use of higher drug concentrations. There is a pressing need to develop new anti-thrombotic therapies that are able to selectively target thrombosis but don't disturb normal blood clotting. Thrombosis causes large clots that restrict blood vessels and create complex disturbances in blood flow. Scientists in the Atherothrombosis and Vascular Laboratory have observed that these disturbances activate blood components.
In this proposed study, the group will use vessels-on-a-chip, or human vessel mimics, to study the effects of thrombosis and provide a mechanistic insight into this novel process. This is an essential step in developing an avenue of anti-thrombotic therapy that specifically targets thrombosis and does not interfere with normal haemostasis and blood flow.
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To support or find out more about this proposed project, please call us on 1800 827 040.