Towards New Functionality in Dairy Ingredients. The Australian dairy industry plays a significant part in the nation’s economy, with almost $3 billion in export revenue in 2016-2017. Powdered dairy products extend shelf life and ease of transport, with >20% annual growth in premium products, such as milk protein concentrates and infant formula powders. This project aims to support the development of value-added dairy powders by investigating the impact of a novel high pressure processing technol ....Towards New Functionality in Dairy Ingredients. The Australian dairy industry plays a significant part in the nation’s economy, with almost $3 billion in export revenue in 2016-2017. Powdered dairy products extend shelf life and ease of transport, with >20% annual growth in premium products, such as milk protein concentrates and infant formula powders. This project aims to support the development of value-added dairy powders by investigating the impact of a novel high pressure processing technology in enhancing the properties of dairy powders and/or introducing new functionality. Successful outcomes will help expand the offering of high value dairy ingredients and thus increase the global competitiveness of Australian dairy manufacturing.Read moreRead less
A Concurrent Multiscale Model for Improved Prediction of Drying Process. This project aims to develop an innovative multiscale model for food drying, which integrates spatial and temporal nonlinear behaviours at different scales. The proposed unifying theory will capture dynamic micro level features and upscale them to macro level features through a concurrent bridging scheme. As cellular elements critically govern the drying process, the fundamental understanding captured through this theory wi ....A Concurrent Multiscale Model for Improved Prediction of Drying Process. This project aims to develop an innovative multiscale model for food drying, which integrates spatial and temporal nonlinear behaviours at different scales. The proposed unifying theory will capture dynamic micro level features and upscale them to macro level features through a concurrent bridging scheme. As cellular elements critically govern the drying process, the fundamental understanding captured through this theory will lead to more accurate prediction of drying kinetics, deformation and quality changes, and hence the development of efficient drying systems. This project will overcome a longstanding research problem and position Australia at the forefront in world drying research to reap substantial economic benefits for Australia.Read moreRead less
Biofilm responses to cold atmospheric plasma . This project is focused on understanding the interaction of cold atmospheric plasmas with biofilms, with the aim of biofilm eradication and ultimately offering an environmentally friendly alternative to current detergents and antibiotics. The research expects to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms of action for breakthrough plasma intervention technologies, which are sufficiently active to cope with the resistant nature of biofilms, yet are of low ....Biofilm responses to cold atmospheric plasma . This project is focused on understanding the interaction of cold atmospheric plasmas with biofilms, with the aim of biofilm eradication and ultimately offering an environmentally friendly alternative to current detergents and antibiotics. The research expects to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms of action for breakthrough plasma intervention technologies, which are sufficiently active to cope with the resistant nature of biofilms, yet are of low energy, do not adversely affect surface properties and critically leave no residual chemistry. This should provide significant benefits by delivering a new method to tackle the ubiquitous problem of biofilm contamination in food, water and medical areas.Read moreRead less
Miniaturised biosensors with high selectivity . This project aims to develop a technological platform for the fabrication of miniaturised and flexible sensors that enable the quantitative detection of important bioactive compounds such as fatty acids and biogenic amines. By utilising multi-enzymatic reactions in solid phase and engineering task-specific inks, chemiresistive sensors will be printed seamlessly as a whole. The sensors will respond to complex target biomolecules via a series of enzy ....Miniaturised biosensors with high selectivity . This project aims to develop a technological platform for the fabrication of miniaturised and flexible sensors that enable the quantitative detection of important bioactive compounds such as fatty acids and biogenic amines. By utilising multi-enzymatic reactions in solid phase and engineering task-specific inks, chemiresistive sensors will be printed seamlessly as a whole. The sensors will respond to complex target biomolecules via a series of enzymatic reactions through which the analyte will convert to much simpler, reactive and hence measurable molecules. This project will enable to design miniaturised sensors for point-of-care detection of biomolecules that cannot be yet evaluated by the end users.Read moreRead less
Quantifying emergence and dynamics of foodborne epidemics in Australia. The project aims to greatly improve the accuracy and scope of computational epidemiological models predicting emergence and evolution of foodborne diseases in Australia. It expects to reveal key pathways for both biological evolution of microorganisms, and their spread though food supply chains and human interactions. The intended outcomes include discovering how the most dominant strains of foodborne infection emerge and se ....Quantifying emergence and dynamics of foodborne epidemics in Australia. The project aims to greatly improve the accuracy and scope of computational epidemiological models predicting emergence and evolution of foodborne diseases in Australia. It expects to reveal key pathways for both biological evolution of microorganisms, and their spread though food supply chains and human interactions. The intended outcomes include discovering how the most dominant strains of foodborne infection emerge and self-organise in complex networks, how to predict and contain the epidemics closer to their source, and which are the most vulnerable groups and communities. This should make a significant economic and social impact, improving health of the population, while also safeguarding national and international supply chains.Read moreRead less
Computational fracture analysis of structures and materials. This project aims to develop a computer simulation technique to address the safety of engineering structures. A novel numerical framework based on the scaled boundary finite element method will be developed to model the fracture process critical to assessing structural integrity. The expected outcomes of this project include an innovative technology for numerical simulation and improved capabilities to generate high-fidelity predictio ....Computational fracture analysis of structures and materials. This project aims to develop a computer simulation technique to address the safety of engineering structures. A novel numerical framework based on the scaled boundary finite element method will be developed to model the fracture process critical to assessing structural integrity. The expected outcomes of this project include an innovative technology for numerical simulation and improved capabilities to generate high-fidelity predictions of structural safety at minimum human efforts. The fully automatic and robust numerical tool developed in this project will help engineers and government authorities to perform safe and cost-effective design and management of engineering structures that are vital to modern economies.Read moreRead less
Predatory protists: natural weapons for soil-borne pathogen control. This project aims to understand the mechanistic interactions of predatory protists and fungal pathogens and develop innovative biotechnologies using the protists to suppress soil-borne pathogens. By directly preying on fungal pathogens or activating plant-beneficial bacteria to combat them, the soil predatory protists will be identified, cultivated and utilised to improve disease management. Expected outcomes of this project wi ....Predatory protists: natural weapons for soil-borne pathogen control. This project aims to understand the mechanistic interactions of predatory protists and fungal pathogens and develop innovative biotechnologies using the protists to suppress soil-borne pathogens. By directly preying on fungal pathogens or activating plant-beneficial bacteria to combat them, the soil predatory protists will be identified, cultivated and utilised to improve disease management. Expected outcomes of this project will include a mechanistic understanding of the contribution of protists to pathogen suppression and an innovative, protist-based disease management tool. The novel technologies developed in this project have potentials to benefit Australian agriculture and land management.Read moreRead less
Biosynthetic Hooks for an Enigmatic Marine Toxin. This project aims to characterise the genetic basis for the production of tetrodotoxin; a potent neurotoxin of ecological and biomedical significance. We hypothesise that tetrodotoxin is produced by microorganisms and transferred via the food web to fish, molluscs and other marine animals. Our integrated genomic and synthetic biology approach, targeting key biosynthesis genes, will reveal pathways for the production of tetrodotoxin and other pote ....Biosynthetic Hooks for an Enigmatic Marine Toxin. This project aims to characterise the genetic basis for the production of tetrodotoxin; a potent neurotoxin of ecological and biomedical significance. We hypothesise that tetrodotoxin is produced by microorganisms and transferred via the food web to fish, molluscs and other marine animals. Our integrated genomic and synthetic biology approach, targeting key biosynthesis genes, will reveal pathways for the production of tetrodotoxin and other potentially valuable compounds. In addition to providing unprecedented insight into the ecology and biosynthesis of this enigmatic toxin, the data generated will enable improved management of seafood safety and provide a foundation for the future development of novel neuroactive compounds.Read moreRead less
Understanding algal bloom microbiome function to improve seafood safety. Current phytoplankton ecological theory is derived primarily from lab cultures, but in nature phytoplankton have unique microbiomes that support their growth and ongoing ocean primary production. This project aims to establish the structure and function of these natural microbiomes, and how they contribute to seafood poisoning caused by bacteria and algal biotoxins. Using advanced flow cytometry with single-cell microbial ....Understanding algal bloom microbiome function to improve seafood safety. Current phytoplankton ecological theory is derived primarily from lab cultures, but in nature phytoplankton have unique microbiomes that support their growth and ongoing ocean primary production. This project aims to establish the structure and function of these natural microbiomes, and how they contribute to seafood poisoning caused by bacteria and algal biotoxins. Using advanced flow cytometry with single-cell microbial profiling, we will sample nano-scale plankton microbiomes and synthetic microbiome phylogenomics to the link between microbiomes and seafood poisoning outbreaks. The outcomes will underpin enhanced predictive modelling of seafood risk to ensure the safety and export security of Australia's $2 billion seafood industry.Read moreRead less
Non-differentiable Energy Minimisation For Modelling Fractured Porous Media. This project is aimed at advancing theoretical, computational and experimental bases for the fracturing of geomaterials, and providing scientists and engineers with much needed predictive tools for quantitative assessment of the responses. By incorporating previously neglected aspects such as energy minimisation, advanced constitutive modelling, and non-planar interacting fracture growth, confidence in the design and pl ....Non-differentiable Energy Minimisation For Modelling Fractured Porous Media. This project is aimed at advancing theoretical, computational and experimental bases for the fracturing of geomaterials, and providing scientists and engineers with much needed predictive tools for quantitative assessment of the responses. By incorporating previously neglected aspects such as energy minimisation, advanced constitutive modelling, and non-planar interacting fracture growth, confidence in the design and planning of engineering processes in fractured porous media will be increased to the point that costly over/under designs are avoided. Through the use of the tools developed, it will be possible to detect weaknesses in the design, assess the impact and implement effective measures to improve performance.Read moreRead less