How does timing affect mammalian brain development and evolution? This project aims to generate fundamental knowledge on the origin of diversity in mammalian brain circuits by studying development of marsupials and rodents. The expected outcome is to elucidate how differences in the timing, rate and sequence of development of gene expression, cell differentiation and circuit formation can relate to the origin of key evolutionary innovations in the mammalian brain. The significance of understandi ....How does timing affect mammalian brain development and evolution? This project aims to generate fundamental knowledge on the origin of diversity in mammalian brain circuits by studying development of marsupials and rodents. The expected outcome is to elucidate how differences in the timing, rate and sequence of development of gene expression, cell differentiation and circuit formation can relate to the origin of key evolutionary innovations in the mammalian brain. The significance of understanding the dynamics of developmental systems that shape complex brain traits includes establishing new developmental paradigms in evolutionary theory, generating new tools to investigate and manipulate brain gene expression in vivo, and the potential discovery of the causes of neurodevelopmental dysfunction.Read moreRead less
Situating care: Addressing obesity in disadvantaged communities . The project aims to drive an urgently needed shift from top-down interventions that focus on obesity as an individual problem of diets and exercise, to collective solutions of care generated by families for families, empowering social change at a local, community level. In collaboration with Australia’s leading designers of social innovation, this anthropology project expects to generate new knowledge about care and food practic ....Situating care: Addressing obesity in disadvantaged communities . The project aims to drive an urgently needed shift from top-down interventions that focus on obesity as an individual problem of diets and exercise, to collective solutions of care generated by families for families, empowering social change at a local, community level. In collaboration with Australia’s leading designers of social innovation, this anthropology project expects to generate new knowledge about care and food practices in disadvantaged communities, and to construct new digital, policy, and program frameworks for broader adaptation. The advances are likely to have a strong bearing on how obesity interventions, and more equitable health policy and practice, evolve in Australia and internationally. Read moreRead less
Pathways to health and wellbeing through housing: a new causal understanding of relationships, processes and interventions. Does housing make Australians healthier or less healthy, how can we target housing assistance so that it improves individual health and wellbeing? This research answers these questions, it develops new methods for understanding the complex causal relationship between housing and health, and evidence of how housing can improve health and wellbeing.
Central pathways regulating visceral pain. This project aims to investigate the neural pathways within the spinal cord and brain processing colorectal pain perception. The project aims to identify the spinal cord neurons relaying colorectal signalling into the brain and the influence of descending modulation from the brainstem upon these pathways. The outcomes will greatly benefit fundamental understanding of the central pathways processing visceral pain.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100056
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$190,000.00
Summary
An Australian Housing Condition Data Infrastructure. An Australian housing condition data infrastructure:
This project aims to develop, collect, and make available an Australian housing conditions data infrastructure. We don't know enough about the condition of Australia’s housing. In the nearly two decades since the last Australian Housing Survey, there have been significant changes in the housing system, and there researchers and policy makers are calling for a systematic, reliable and nation ....An Australian Housing Condition Data Infrastructure. An Australian housing condition data infrastructure:
This project aims to develop, collect, and make available an Australian housing conditions data infrastructure. We don't know enough about the condition of Australia’s housing. In the nearly two decades since the last Australian Housing Survey, there have been significant changes in the housing system, and there researchers and policy makers are calling for a systematic, reliable and nationally representative dataset of housing conditions. The infrastructure would provide Australia's a foundation for evidence-informed research on Australia's housing conditions. The data infrastructure would provide tools, data and protocols for Australian researchers and policy makers, and would be an accessible resource that can be built upon, adapted and applied to population groups and locations of interest.Read moreRead less
Harnessing lipid nano-assembly for next generation functional foods and pharmaceutical products. Nature assembles lipid molecules from our diet into useful structures in our gastrointestinal tract with remarkable precision and versatility. By understanding and harnessing these processes we can design new lipid-based nanomaterials leading to more effective functional foods and pharmaceutical products with reduced side effects.
Understanding and Addressing Informal Voting in Victoria. Victoria's informal vote rate is high and rising. In order to combat the problem of hundreds of thousands of 'lost votes' at Victorian state and local government elections we must first understand it. This collaboration with the Victorian Electoral Commission addresses the problem at both state and local levels over 3 election periods using 4 distinct studies. We combine experimental data, aggregate-level data and individual-level data to ....Understanding and Addressing Informal Voting in Victoria. Victoria's informal vote rate is high and rising. In order to combat the problem of hundreds of thousands of 'lost votes' at Victorian state and local government elections we must first understand it. This collaboration with the Victorian Electoral Commission addresses the problem at both state and local levels over 3 election periods using 4 distinct studies. We combine experimental data, aggregate-level data and individual-level data to provide a thorough and multi-dimensional picture of informal voting. We will then propose remedies to be trialled and assessed. Taken together, our studies will represent the first multi-dimensional analysis of informality to be conducted in any Western democracy.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100151
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$431,891.00
Summary
Institutional abortion stigma as a barrier to equitable access. This project aims to understand how ingrained institutional abortion stigma produces barriers to access. Despite progressive law reform, access to abortion in Australia remains uneven and discriminates against the most marginal women. Institutions of law, government, medical training and health care significantly influence access to abortion. The nature and extent of this influence is under-researched and poorly understood. The proj ....Institutional abortion stigma as a barrier to equitable access. This project aims to understand how ingrained institutional abortion stigma produces barriers to access. Despite progressive law reform, access to abortion in Australia remains uneven and discriminates against the most marginal women. Institutions of law, government, medical training and health care significantly influence access to abortion. The nature and extent of this influence is under-researched and poorly understood. The project expects to identify and begin enacting the institutional-level change required for more equitable access to reproductive health care. The anticipated benefits include developing tools to optimise abortion access and, in so doing, helping to meet a goal repeatedly highlighted by State and Federal governments.Read moreRead less
Epigenetics and Indigenous Australia. This project aims to investigate how epigenetics is being received by Indigenous Australians, and to identify the potential risks and opportunities that narratives of biosocial damage entail. Epigenetics is a rapidly evolving science concerned with how life experiences, such as trauma or stress, can modify DNA and be passed on to negatively affect children's (and possibly grandchildren's) health and development. This project will offer an understanding of th ....Epigenetics and Indigenous Australia. This project aims to investigate how epigenetics is being received by Indigenous Australians, and to identify the potential risks and opportunities that narratives of biosocial damage entail. Epigenetics is a rapidly evolving science concerned with how life experiences, such as trauma or stress, can modify DNA and be passed on to negatively affect children's (and possibly grandchildren's) health and development. This project will offer an understanding of the relationships between Indigenous health and epigenetics that will help Indigenous researchers, policymakers, and government bodies make well-informed decisions about the application and direction of this new science. The research will make a significant contribution to understanding how the interplay of biology, race, and society unfold at the intersection of different knowledge systems and at the forefront of technological progress.Read moreRead less
Complex nano-systems for highly selective imaging and targeting of cells. The aim of the project is to design multi-functional nanoparticles that can be tracked by multiple bio-imaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography imaging. The nanoparticles are designed to be targetable to specific cell populations and capable of delivering drugs. The project plans to concentrate the MRI-active gadolinium into nanoparticles to generate enhanced images, and ....Complex nano-systems for highly selective imaging and targeting of cells. The aim of the project is to design multi-functional nanoparticles that can be tracked by multiple bio-imaging techniques, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography imaging. The nanoparticles are designed to be targetable to specific cell populations and capable of delivering drugs. The project plans to concentrate the MRI-active gadolinium into nanoparticles to generate enhanced images, and to combine this with other imaging modalities to facilitate tracking and sensitivity. Expected outcomes would enable a new approach to extremely accurate and sensitive imaging of tumours to enable the imaging of much smaller tumours than currently possible. This would allow early therapeutic intervention. The nanoparticles are also designed to deliver a therapeutic payload to specific locations, avoiding systemic delivery of toxic anticancer drugs.Read moreRead less