Understanding And Overcoming Cardiovascular And Diabetes Inequalities In Indigenous Australians
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$707,370.00
Summary
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders experience the highest rates of heart disease and diabetes of all Australians. The reasons for this large disparity is not yet fully understood. I propose to investigate the patterns, causes, complications and links between heart disease and diabetes in Indigenous populations to identify better ways of managing and preventing chronic disease in high risk communities.
Testosterone Intervention For The Prevention Of Diabetes Mellitus In High Risk Men: A Randomised Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$5,054,654.00
Summary
Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is increasingly common, costly and deadly. Some men at risk of T2DM have low testosterone (T) levels. Our preliminary data suggests that T treatment may prevent the development of T2DM, and improve cardiovascular and sexual function, body composition and bone density, and mood. This remains to be fully tested in a randomized placebo-controlled trial, and this project will do so in a 2-year study of T treatment compared to placebo in men at risk of T2DM participating in a l ....Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is increasingly common, costly and deadly. Some men at risk of T2DM have low testosterone (T) levels. Our preliminary data suggests that T treatment may prevent the development of T2DM, and improve cardiovascular and sexual function, body composition and bone density, and mood. This remains to be fully tested in a randomized placebo-controlled trial, and this project will do so in a 2-year study of T treatment compared to placebo in men at risk of T2DM participating in a lifestyle program.Read moreRead less
CARDIAC-ARIA : Measuring the accessibility to cardiovascular services in rural and remote Australia via applied geographical spatial technology (GIS). Despite significant improvements in the cardiovascular health of Australians, Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) continues to impose a heavy burden on Australians in terms of cost,disability and death. Recent evidence suggests that mortality from CVD increases with increasing remoteness. Rates are reported to be between 20% and 50% higher in rural areas ....CARDIAC-ARIA : Measuring the accessibility to cardiovascular services in rural and remote Australia via applied geographical spatial technology (GIS). Despite significant improvements in the cardiovascular health of Australians, Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) continues to impose a heavy burden on Australians in terms of cost,disability and death. Recent evidence suggests that mortality from CVD increases with increasing remoteness. Rates are reported to be between 20% and 50% higher in rural areas compared to major cities. This project, with its extensive use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, will rank 11,338 rural and remote population centres to identify geographical 'hotspots' where there is likely to be a mismatch between the demand for and actual provision of cardiovascular services.Read moreRead less
The origins of electroreception and nocturnality in the earliest known jawed vertebrates and their bearing on vertebrate diversification. This project aims to discover primary new data to pinpoint the timing, anatomical origins and phylogenetic significance when two key sensory systems first appeared in modern vertebrates: electroreception and specialised nocturnal vision. Such abilities today allow high diversity of vertebrates to co-exist within the same geographical range, for example on trop ....The origins of electroreception and nocturnality in the earliest known jawed vertebrates and their bearing on vertebrate diversification. This project aims to discover primary new data to pinpoint the timing, anatomical origins and phylogenetic significance when two key sensory systems first appeared in modern vertebrates: electroreception and specialised nocturnal vision. Such abilities today allow high diversity of vertebrates to co-exist within the same geographical range, for example on tropical reefs or rainforest communities, through careful temporal niche partitioning where reliance on other sensory systems takes over from vision and olfaction as the principal method of prey detection. This project aims to elucidate how the modern fish diversity was shaped by such significant early evolutionary events.Read moreRead less
Assessing Infrastructure And Contextual Factors In Relation To Cardiometabolic Outcomes In Remote Indigenous Communities: Evidence For Policy Change
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,113,005.00
Summary
Cardiometabolic diseases account for the major burden of morbidity and mortality for Indigenous populations. This study with 75 remote Indigenous communities will be the first to evaluate features of their social, built and physical environments in relation to cardiometabolic risks and diseases. Policy-relevant results will identify features of environments to be targeted to reduce chronic diseases for Indigenous peoples in remote communities.
Resolving evolutionary problems at the fish-tetrapod transition. The project aims to investigate very early Australian tetrapod trackways and conduct fieldwork to resolve the place of origin and timing of the evolution of the first tetrapods. The evolution of fishes to tetrapods was one of the key events in evolution. Studies on Northern Hemisphere fossils place an origin for the group around 380 million years ago. Australian fossils suggest a much older origin. New micro computed tomography dat ....Resolving evolutionary problems at the fish-tetrapod transition. The project aims to investigate very early Australian tetrapod trackways and conduct fieldwork to resolve the place of origin and timing of the evolution of the first tetrapods. The evolution of fishes to tetrapods was one of the key events in evolution. Studies on Northern Hemisphere fossils place an origin for the group around 380 million years ago. Australian fossils suggest a much older origin. New micro computed tomography data from Australian 3-D fossil fishes, combined with study of rare tetrapod gill arch bones, would enable us to determine the origins of tetrapod air-breathing and its ecological setting. The project may facilitate a rewriting of vertebrate evolution's most significant first step.Read moreRead less
Keystone microbes and planktonic guilds in Australia's oceans. This project aims to unveil the ocean’s hidden sentinels, “keystone microbes” that underpin precious ecosystem services, and which can be used to monitor and model changes in ocean function. Marine microbes account for 90 per cent of oceanic biomass and every litre of seawater contains ~20,000 different species, but it is not known which species control ocean health and productivity. This project intends to provide definitive evidenc ....Keystone microbes and planktonic guilds in Australia's oceans. This project aims to unveil the ocean’s hidden sentinels, “keystone microbes” that underpin precious ecosystem services, and which can be used to monitor and model changes in ocean function. Marine microbes account for 90 per cent of oceanic biomass and every litre of seawater contains ~20,000 different species, but it is not known which species control ocean health and productivity. This project intends to provide definitive evidence of these keystones’ cellular level biogeochemical and metabolic capacity. Ultimately, this knowledge is expected to predict the resilience of ocean ecosystems and their response to change. The capacity to predict their dynamics will help provide investment clarity and increase healthy outcomes from activities involving human-ocean interactions such as recreation, food production and tourism.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100181
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$650,000.00
Summary
Strengthening merit-based access and support at the new National Computing Infrastructure petascale supercomputing facility. World-leading high-performance computing is fundamental to Australia's international research success. This facility will provide access to the new National Computational Infrastructure facility by world-leading researchers from six research universities, and sustain ground-breaking work in an increasingly competitive environment.