Identifying genes that influence clinical course and susceptibility in multiple sclerosis. This project aims to identify the genetic basis of multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common neurologic disease in young Australian adults. MS urgently needs research to identify predisposition, aid early diagnosis and provide bona fide molecular targets for new therapies. This will benefit people with MS and those susceptible to it. Crucial new knowledge identified will benefit other major areas of MS rese ....Identifying genes that influence clinical course and susceptibility in multiple sclerosis. This project aims to identify the genetic basis of multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common neurologic disease in young Australian adults. MS urgently needs research to identify predisposition, aid early diagnosis and provide bona fide molecular targets for new therapies. This will benefit people with MS and those susceptible to it. Crucial new knowledge identified will benefit other major areas of MS research including epidemiology, immunology and neurobiology. Collaboration of 8 major Australian institutions is also important for this project and future studies. The team will have access to a new national MS GeneBank (platform) with samples from 2240 patients that should generate findings important to world-wide MS genetic knowledge.Read moreRead less
Neural circuit control of effort under stress . This Project aims to investigate how the ‘decision’ to persist in exerting effort to obtain a reward is encoded in the the brain and affected by stress. This work will generate new knowledge on the neural mechanisms through which stress modifies neural activity to control decision making processes underpinning adaptive behaviours essential for survival. The expected outcomes of this work include enhanced capacity at the interface of behavioural a ....Neural circuit control of effort under stress . This Project aims to investigate how the ‘decision’ to persist in exerting effort to obtain a reward is encoded in the the brain and affected by stress. This work will generate new knowledge on the neural mechanisms through which stress modifies neural activity to control decision making processes underpinning adaptive behaviours essential for survival. The expected outcomes of this work include enhanced capacity at the interface of behavioural and computational neuroscience, that will in turn provide significant benefits through greater insight into brain functions essential for survival, with long ranging implications for performance optimisation and brain-inspired computing. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668246
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,000.00
Summary
Advanced Cell Labelling and Imaging Facility. Understanding the genetic regulation of cellular processes such as migration, differentiation and growth is an important frontier technology with significant biomedical potential. The Australian community is facing an increasing need to provide solutions for a variety of human diseases and disorders, including birth defects, nervous system injury and stroke, and ageing-related conditions. The proposed facility will allow researchers to test in vivo g ....Advanced Cell Labelling and Imaging Facility. Understanding the genetic regulation of cellular processes such as migration, differentiation and growth is an important frontier technology with significant biomedical potential. The Australian community is facing an increasing need to provide solutions for a variety of human diseases and disorders, including birth defects, nervous system injury and stroke, and ageing-related conditions. The proposed facility will allow researchers to test in vivo gene/pharmaceutical therapies as well as to better understand the genetic regulation of normal cellular processes. Read moreRead less
Investigating the role of the innate immune complement system in the abnormal development of the central nervous system. Past research has discovered a surprising link between the immune system, dietary folate deficiency and the development of the embryonic brain. This project will investigate the immune system in the developing brain, in order to understand the causes of developmental defects such as neural tube defects, and the role dietary folate plays in this process.
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR120300015
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$16,000,000.00
Summary
The Science of Learning Research Centre. In this innovative new Centre, researchers in education, neuroscience and cognitive psychology will work together with teachers to understand the learning process. This collaboration will establish new criteria to assess the impact of different types of learning and strategies to inform teaching practices of benefit to all Australians.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100121
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$384,671.00
Summary
Genomic library infrastructure for ancient environmental samples. This project aims to enable automated genome recovery from diverse environmental samples, without contamination risk. For more than 100 years, environmental scientists have studied diverse organism / environment interactions using a variety of conceptual and technical tools. Recently, studies of ancient and historical DNA have come to complement these tools and to occupy a significant place in environmental studies conducted over ....Genomic library infrastructure for ancient environmental samples. This project aims to enable automated genome recovery from diverse environmental samples, without contamination risk. For more than 100 years, environmental scientists have studied diverse organism / environment interactions using a variety of conceptual and technical tools. Recently, studies of ancient and historical DNA have come to complement these tools and to occupy a significant place in environmental studies conducted over serial time. The project’s addition to the existing dual Ancient DNA complex facility at Griffith University will comprise two liquid handling workstations, each being housed in separate, self-contained, ancient DNA laboratories. The new facility will enable many researchers to have unprecedented access to an ancient DNA facility and a high level of technical support.Read moreRead less
The roles of stress and immunocompetence in biological invasions. Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity worldwide; and within Australia, cane toads are widely viewed as one of the biggest such problems. Building on recent studies that reveal weakened immune systems in invasion-front toads, this project will provide a comprehensive understanding of immune responses in cane toads and native frogs, with the aim of exploiting the toads' immunocompromised state to develop new and more ....The roles of stress and immunocompetence in biological invasions. Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity worldwide; and within Australia, cane toads are widely viewed as one of the biggest such problems. Building on recent studies that reveal weakened immune systems in invasion-front toads, this project will provide a comprehensive understanding of immune responses in cane toads and native frogs, with the aim of exploiting the toads' immunocompromised state to develop new and more effective control measures. The project will develop a new paradigm about the roles of stress and immunity in biological invasion, applicable to the control of other invasive species and to understanding processes at work when environmental changes force species to shift their ranges.Read moreRead less
Development of a multivariate physiologic state space analysis framework for characterising functional properties of the cardiovascular system. Pathologies of the cardiovascular system arising from heart diseases make a major contribution to morbidity and mortality in the Australian community. This project will provide new diagnostic modalities based on advanced noninvasive bioinstrumentation, signal processing and model-based analytical methods to identify early signs of developing disease or t ....Development of a multivariate physiologic state space analysis framework for characterising functional properties of the cardiovascular system. Pathologies of the cardiovascular system arising from heart diseases make a major contribution to morbidity and mortality in the Australian community. This project will provide new diagnostic modalities based on advanced noninvasive bioinstrumentation, signal processing and model-based analytical methods to identify early signs of developing disease or the acute exacerbation of existing disease. The impact of these new technologies on the early diagnosis and improved triaging of patients in emergency departments is potentially profound and could result in improved healthcare outcomes for the patients and reduced admissions to hospital as well as the development of a substantial international market.Read moreRead less
The Australian naturalistic driving study: innovation in road safety research and policy. A revolutionary new approach, the naturalistic driving study, will investigate what people actually do when they drive, in normal and safety-critical situations. It will provide Australia with answers to some intractable, high priority, road safety problems that cannot be answered using current methods, thereby saving hundreds of lives.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100050
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$570,000.00
Summary
Integrated facility for recording driver and road user behaviour. The integrated facility will be used to record and analyse data on driver and road user behaviour, in normal and safety-critical situations, for thousands of Australian drivers. The data yielded will be used to develop new and improved countermeasures for reducing road deaths and serious injuries on Australian roads.