The Role Of Presenilin In Metal Homeostasis And Alzheimers Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$86,335.00
Summary
Presenilin, a protein involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), may regulate copper and zinc levels. Copper and zinc are essential nutrients however a deficiency or excess can cause disease. Promising metal-altering AD drugs, are in various stages of clinical trial. I aim to characterize the interaction of Presenilin and metals using both mouse and cultured human cell models that are deficient in Presenilin. Understanding this interaction should lead to better drug design and treatment of AD.
Gastrokine 2 Promotes Gastric Homeostasis And Inhibits Bacterial Pathology
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$621,335.00
Summary
Gastrokine 2 is a small regulatory protein secreted by the stomach lining. Its function is unknown but data from our lab suggests that it may be important in maintaining stomach integrity. This project will investigate how gastrokine 2 maintains stomach function, how this can be compromised when bacterial infection is ongoing, and how we might be able to turn up gastrokine 2 expression to prevent inflammation and precancerous changes in the stomach lining.
Sustainable copper metallurgy and recycling – saving energy and resources. This project aims to develop new, powerful and sophisticated, computer-based models that can reliably predict the results of chemical reactions in complex, high temperature metal production processes. This project expects to use these models, initially applied to copper smelting systems, to enable the improved recycling of other valuable metals. These models should be able to be applied to a wide range of technologies use ....Sustainable copper metallurgy and recycling – saving energy and resources. This project aims to develop new, powerful and sophisticated, computer-based models that can reliably predict the results of chemical reactions in complex, high temperature metal production processes. This project expects to use these models, initially applied to copper smelting systems, to enable the improved recycling of other valuable metals. These models should be able to be applied to a wide range of technologies used in the metallurgical industry as most of the world’s metals are produced by these pyrometallurgical processes. This should provide significant benefits such as substantial improvements in productivity and process efficiencies, whilst at the same time delivering energy savings and improved use of valuable metal resources.Read moreRead less
The Cell Death Mechanisms That Control Regulatory T Cell Homeostasis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$583,782.00
Summary
A central question in immunology is how to prevent destructive immune responses (e.g. autoimmune disease) and initiate productive immune responses (e.g. against cancer). A major breakthrough in this area was the discovery of special immune cells, called a Regulatory T Cells. We propose to discover the genes that determine whether these cells live and die. We will use this information to control appropriate numbers and function of Regulatory T Cells to modify the immune system.
Finding Porphyry Copper with zircon trace elements & hyperspectral display. Copper mine discovery rates lag behind world needs. One way to find copper in the World’s Ring of Fire is to measure compositions of zircons which are durable minerals concentrated in stream sands and spreadout long distances below a deposit. 100s of zircon from a cup of sand constitute a sample. Zircon chemical features that indicate possible mines are mostly understood, but nature is complicated. Beyond the 26 channel ....Finding Porphyry Copper with zircon trace elements & hyperspectral display. Copper mine discovery rates lag behind world needs. One way to find copper in the World’s Ring of Fire is to measure compositions of zircons which are durable minerals concentrated in stream sands and spreadout long distances below a deposit. 100s of zircon from a cup of sand constitute a sample. Zircon chemical features that indicate possible mines are mostly understood, but nature is complicated. Beyond the 26 channels of chemical data for each grain in the 10,000s of analyses, there are 7 layers of lab imaging data that are not carried along in a convenient way. Geologists need smart computer systems to find useful relationships among the 33 channels and to discover relations within and between samples to find more mineable copper. Read moreRead less
The Role Of Copper In Ubiquitin-dependent Protein Degradation In Alzheimer's Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$588,622.00
Summary
Ubiquitin’s are small proteins that tag other proteins in a process known as “Ubiquitination”. Often this is to target them for degradation once they are no longer needed i.e. to take out the rubbish. This process is disrupted in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which may contribute to the disease. This project aims to find out if copper, an essential metal for life, is required for this process. Drugs that are designed to deliver copper to brain cells have been effective in small AD clinical trials.
The Coupling of Plasticity, Microstructure and Phase Transformations in the Design of Novel Magnesium Alloys for the Automotive Industry. The desire to reduce the weight of automobiles due to legislative requirements on fuel emissions and to reduce overall fuel consumption is the driving force behind research into the development of new Mg-based alloys to replace the heavier steel and Al-alloy components in automobiles. Given the enormous worldwide transportation market and the environmental and ....The Coupling of Plasticity, Microstructure and Phase Transformations in the Design of Novel Magnesium Alloys for the Automotive Industry. The desire to reduce the weight of automobiles due to legislative requirements on fuel emissions and to reduce overall fuel consumption is the driving force behind research into the development of new Mg-based alloys to replace the heavier steel and Al-alloy components in automobiles. Given the enormous worldwide transportation market and the environmental and legislative motivation for reducing fuel emissions, the development of new Mg-based alloys capable of meeting this demand from automotive manufacturers represents both a potentially large economic advantage to the country of development as well as helping to address the environmental concern about fuel emissions.Read moreRead less
To study the genetic alterations that give rise to cancer. In particular, exploring how too little death of cells can lead to a tumour. If too few cells in a tissue die, a tumour may develop there. The team is exploring how the cell death process is normally controlled. They plan to characterise the molecules inside cells that determine whether a cell lives or dies and hope that better understanding of those molecules will help to explain how tumours arise. It could also lead to new drugs that c ....To study the genetic alterations that give rise to cancer. In particular, exploring how too little death of cells can lead to a tumour. If too few cells in a tissue die, a tumour may develop there. The team is exploring how the cell death process is normally controlled. They plan to characterise the molecules inside cells that determine whether a cell lives or dies and hope that better understanding of those molecules will help to explain how tumours arise. It could also lead to new drugs that can kill tumour cells more effectively by directly triggering the normal death switch of the cell.Read moreRead less
The global consequences of subduction zone congestion. This project will use a combination of 3D geodynamic modelling, plate kinematic reconstruction and geological and geophysical synthesis to determine how congested subduction zones influence plate kinematics, subduction dynamics and tectonic evolution at orogen and global scales. The project aims to deliver a transformation change in understanding the links between congested subduction, mantle flow, trench migration, crustal growth, transitio ....The global consequences of subduction zone congestion. This project will use a combination of 3D geodynamic modelling, plate kinematic reconstruction and geological and geophysical synthesis to determine how congested subduction zones influence plate kinematics, subduction dynamics and tectonic evolution at orogen and global scales. The project aims to deliver a transformation change in understanding the links between congested subduction, mantle flow, trench migration, crustal growth, transitions between stable convergent margin configurations and deformation in the overriding plates of subduction zones. Determining these relationships is significant because it will provide dynamic context to interpret the geological record of ancient convergent margins, which host a large percentage of Earth's metal resources.Read moreRead less
The early tectonic evolution of the Curnamona Province. This project aims to test the hypothesis that the Curnamona Province preserves evidence for an extension-related structural geology architecture. This will allow a comparison of the basin evolution, crustal architecture and mechanisms of basin development between the Curnamona Province and well-understood basins of the Mount Isa Inlier. The project is expected to add value to pre-existing databases, and deliver a plate tectonic and str ....The early tectonic evolution of the Curnamona Province. This project aims to test the hypothesis that the Curnamona Province preserves evidence for an extension-related structural geology architecture. This will allow a comparison of the basin evolution, crustal architecture and mechanisms of basin development between the Curnamona Province and well-understood basins of the Mount Isa Inlier. The project is expected to add value to pre-existing databases, and deliver a plate tectonic and structural framework to interpret basin evolution and constrain geochronology/geochemical analysis, and develop a three-dimesional crustal architecture. The results will provide new constraints on the evolution of the Australian plate, and how the Australian crust has evolved.Read moreRead less