Cracking the code of snails to elucidate parasite disease transmission. In Australia, a disease caused by liver flukes causes major economic losses to livestock production. The role of Australian pond snails as intermediate hosts for this parasite is poorly understood. This project aims to explore the phylogeography, biology and genomics of these snails. It expects to create novel molecular resources for important snail species and verify their roles as key vectors of flatworm parasites. The cur ....Cracking the code of snails to elucidate parasite disease transmission. In Australia, a disease caused by liver flukes causes major economic losses to livestock production. The role of Australian pond snails as intermediate hosts for this parasite is poorly understood. This project aims to explore the phylogeography, biology and genomics of these snails. It expects to create novel molecular resources for important snail species and verify their roles as key vectors of flatworm parasites. The curation of genomic and transcriptomic data sets, and elucidation of snail–parasite interactions will underpin the development of environmental diagnostic tests and deliver a new generation of intervention strategies to reduce the burden of liver fluke disease through the control of their snail intermediate hosts.Read moreRead less
Innovation in agricultural sector Green House Gas abatement in NSW. This project aims to develop a land sector greenhouse gas abatement, food production and environmental economics model for NSW. We expect to identify innovation in carbon payment policy and brokerage business models to achieve agricultural GHG abatement, while simultaneously improving sustainability. Expected outcomes include evaluation of the innovations of expert landholders, related businesses and governments to find ways to ....Innovation in agricultural sector Green House Gas abatement in NSW. This project aims to develop a land sector greenhouse gas abatement, food production and environmental economics model for NSW. We expect to identify innovation in carbon payment policy and brokerage business models to achieve agricultural GHG abatement, while simultaneously improving sustainability. Expected outcomes include evaluation of the innovations of expert landholders, related businesses and governments to find ways to influence land use decisions. This should provide significant benefits to landholders, governments involved in land management and the public through increased productivity, profitability, biodiversity and ecosystem health in the context of future climate, agricultural commodity and carbon market uncertainties.Read moreRead less
Non-urban water governance: rethinking compliance and enforcement. This project aims to critically evaluate the practices and strategies of non-urban water compliance and enforcement in Australia and internationally, to identify and develop innovations for water governance. New law and policy knowledge is expected from its fusion of empirical data and regulatory theory. The project expects to advance applied regulatory theory by identifying improvements in compliance and enforcement to help solv ....Non-urban water governance: rethinking compliance and enforcement. This project aims to critically evaluate the practices and strategies of non-urban water compliance and enforcement in Australia and internationally, to identify and develop innovations for water governance. New law and policy knowledge is expected from its fusion of empirical data and regulatory theory. The project expects to advance applied regulatory theory by identifying improvements in compliance and enforcement to help solve environmental issues. It will also lead to policy reforms for delivering more effective, efficient and politically-acceptable compliance outcomes for non-urban water management that will benefit water regulators and the sustainability and productivity of Australia's agricultural industry.Read moreRead less
Disaster risk reduction practices that leave nobody behind. This project aims to answer critical questions about how to assist people with disabilities (PWD) in disasters, what their support needs are and how they might help themselves to better prepare for disasters. Significance includes coupling a person-centred emergency preparedness tool with cross-sectoral processes to collect and use data about the support needs of PWD in emergencies, increase cross-sector communication and collaboration ....Disaster risk reduction practices that leave nobody behind. This project aims to answer critical questions about how to assist people with disabilities (PWD) in disasters, what their support needs are and how they might help themselves to better prepare for disasters. Significance includes coupling a person-centred emergency preparedness tool with cross-sectoral processes to collect and use data about the support needs of PWD in emergencies, increase cross-sector communication and collaboration between emergency managers and community services, and improve equitable access for PWD to community-level disaster risk reduction (DRR). The expected outcome will be the co-design of effective mechanisms that state & federal decision makers can use to scale-up disability-inclusive DRR across Australia.Read moreRead less
Improving payments for ecosystem services efficacy. This project aims to improve the cost-effectiveness of payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs in settings where deforestation risk is high. The project introduces a field experiment in Uganda in order to determine effective methods for monitoring compliance and setting payment levels. The project intends to examine whether program impacts are undermined by displacement of deforestation and if there are poverty reduction trade-offs inher ....Improving payments for ecosystem services efficacy. This project aims to improve the cost-effectiveness of payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs in settings where deforestation risk is high. The project introduces a field experiment in Uganda in order to determine effective methods for monitoring compliance and setting payment levels. The project intends to examine whether program impacts are undermined by displacement of deforestation and if there are poverty reduction trade-offs inherent in program design. The project expects to establish the costs of foregone production from land enrolled in the program, which are largely unknown. The findings will support efforts to create low cost technologies to solve conservation challenges and assist with the efficient allocation of scarce resources for environmental protection in both Australian and international contexts.Read moreRead less
Novel role of RNA methylation in neuronal homeostasis. This proposal is aimed at understanding the RNA signalling that takes place in neuronal homeostatic response. The crucial role of neuronal homeostasis for normal brain function is evidenced throughout the nervous system; however, the precise underlying mechanisms are still not well understood. The proposed research will utilise high-throughput sequencing approaches coupled with biochemical, molecular and cell biological assays to provide mec ....Novel role of RNA methylation in neuronal homeostasis. This proposal is aimed at understanding the RNA signalling that takes place in neuronal homeostatic response. The crucial role of neuronal homeostasis for normal brain function is evidenced throughout the nervous system; however, the precise underlying mechanisms are still not well understood. The proposed research will utilise high-throughput sequencing approaches coupled with biochemical, molecular and cell biological assays to provide mechanistic insights into the molecular processes that control neuronal homeostatic responses. This will elucidate how neural plasticity and network stability are maintained, a process that is critical for our understanding of sensory processing, learning and memory throughout life.Read moreRead less
Understanding glycopolymer interactions with the extracellular matrix. This project aims to advance knowledge of the biochemical and biophysical structure of the endothelial glycocalyx, a dynamic cell surface extracellular matrix rich in proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans. It will be the first to explore how charged glycopolymers interact with this dynamic interface with the goal to develop a model of the glycocalyx lifecycle. This project is expected to enable the transfer of skills, knowledg ....Understanding glycopolymer interactions with the extracellular matrix. This project aims to advance knowledge of the biochemical and biophysical structure of the endothelial glycocalyx, a dynamic cell surface extracellular matrix rich in proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans. It will be the first to explore how charged glycopolymers interact with this dynamic interface with the goal to develop a model of the glycocalyx lifecycle. This project is expected to enable the transfer of skills, knowledge and ideas as well as advanced research and industrial training for young scientists. Knowledge derived from this project is expected to enable future innovation in molecules with tailored interactions with the glycocalyx with significant benefits for researchers, manufacturers and end users. Read moreRead less
Regulation of lung immune-epithelial networks sensing environmental change. This study aims to uncover how lung epithelial cells engage with immune cells and determine their cellular and molecular wiring to ensure homeostatic maintenance and essential repair processes of lung tissues. Maintenance of lung epithelial-immune networks is essential to maintain normal lung tissue structure and function, and to induce immune responses to protect against microbial challenges or inhaled potentially toxic ....Regulation of lung immune-epithelial networks sensing environmental change. This study aims to uncover how lung epithelial cells engage with immune cells and determine their cellular and molecular wiring to ensure homeostatic maintenance and essential repair processes of lung tissues. Maintenance of lung epithelial-immune networks is essential to maintain normal lung tissue structure and function, and to induce immune responses to protect against microbial challenges or inhaled potentially toxic substances. Understanding this molecular program of epithelial-immune cell-mediated sensing/repair will be essential to understand how tissue-repair processes can be driven in the lung, an organ critical for respiration and thus life.Read moreRead less