Understanding the link between reading impairments and emotional problems. This Project aims to understand why children with reading impairments are at increased risk for emotional problems. By integrating the statistical power of large-scale longitudinal studies with the causal testing power of intervention case studies, it seeks to fast-track the development of a comprehensive evidence-based theory of the mechanisms linking reading impairments and emotional problems. The outcomes will pave the ....Understanding the link between reading impairments and emotional problems. This Project aims to understand why children with reading impairments are at increased risk for emotional problems. By integrating the statistical power of large-scale longitudinal studies with the causal testing power of intervention case studies, it seeks to fast-track the development of a comprehensive evidence-based theory of the mechanisms linking reading impairments and emotional problems. The outcomes will pave the way for future diagnosis and treatment of concomitant reading and emotional difficulties in children. These outcomes improve our capacity to reduce the incidence of two common problems that limit the life success of Australian children - poor literacy and poor emotional health.Read moreRead less
Evaluative learning: do all roads lead to Rome? This project aims to enhance understanding of how likes and dislikes are acquired and changed across a range of different settings. Evaluative learning, the acquisition and change of likes and dislikes, is ubiquitous and occurs in situations that range from trivial to traumatic. However, it is unknown whether evaluative learning in these different situations is mediated by a single or distinct learning mechanisms. Answering this question is critica ....Evaluative learning: do all roads lead to Rome? This project aims to enhance understanding of how likes and dislikes are acquired and changed across a range of different settings. Evaluative learning, the acquisition and change of likes and dislikes, is ubiquitous and occurs in situations that range from trivial to traumatic. However, it is unknown whether evaluative learning in these different situations is mediated by a single or distinct learning mechanisms. Answering this question is critically important for emotion science and the design of effective interventions for anxiety disorders and public health campaigns. The expected outcomes from this project will provide significant benefits, such as creating new knowledge to assist in applied areas ranging from the design of public health messages to the treatment for anxiety.Read moreRead less
A novel precision-engineered microfluidic chip for wear particle research. This project aims to develop 1- novel protocols to generate clinically-relevant wear particles from spinal implants in-vitro and 2- a technological framework for the fabrication of a novel microfluidic 3D spinal implant-on-a-chip with tailored mechanical, material and biological properties. This will provide a cost-effective tool, currently unavailable, that allows investigation into the impact of wear particles on health ....A novel precision-engineered microfluidic chip for wear particle research. This project aims to develop 1- novel protocols to generate clinically-relevant wear particles from spinal implants in-vitro and 2- a technological framework for the fabrication of a novel microfluidic 3D spinal implant-on-a-chip with tailored mechanical, material and biological properties. This will provide a cost-effective tool, currently unavailable, that allows investigation into the impact of wear particles on healthy spinal disc cells. We expect our technological framework to become an invaluable tool for biomedical engineers, biologists, and bio-engineers to work together and generate clinically relevant in-vitro data that supports optimisation for spinal implant design, fabrication, and safety. Read moreRead less
Advancing the visualisation and quantification of nephrons with MRI. . This project aims to characterise key components of nephrons, the glomeruli and tubules, using magnetic resonance imaging without contrast agents, in combination with Deep Learning and super-resolution techniques. Nephrons, the basic functional unit of the kidney, are critical to the maintenance of the body’s homeostasis. Their number and architecture are critical determinants of kidney function. The expected outcomes are inn ....Advancing the visualisation and quantification of nephrons with MRI. . This project aims to characterise key components of nephrons, the glomeruli and tubules, using magnetic resonance imaging without contrast agents, in combination with Deep Learning and super-resolution techniques. Nephrons, the basic functional unit of the kidney, are critical to the maintenance of the body’s homeostasis. Their number and architecture are critical determinants of kidney function. The expected outcomes are innovative semi-automated nephron visualisation and quantitation tools that enable efficient renal phenotyping. Techniques tailored to widely accessible preclinical research scanners are expected to accelerate research into genetic and environmental factors affecting kidney microstructure in embryonic and post-natal life.Read moreRead less