Prof Harrison awarded NHMRC Investigator Grant

Congratulations to ENDIA Study Investigator, Professor Len Harrison from the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, on obtaining a highly competitive NHMRC Investigator Grant: “Environment-gene interactions in the development of type 1 diabetes”

The increase in autoimmune and allergic diseases is attributed to the environment, which can change the microorganisms (microbiome) in our body and modify our DNA and how our genes work. This grant aims to identify changes in the microbiome and the DNA of immune cells in children at risk for type 1 diabetes (T1D) followed from birth through the ENDIA Study. This will illuminate how the environment impacts our genes to promote T1D, and other childhood immune diseases, and may identify new markers of risk and means of prevention.