Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775562
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$500,000.00
Summary
The Melbourne Nanofabrication Facility. Australia is desperately short of facilities for actual fabrication, prototyping and construction of advanced micromechanical and nanoscale systems. This is impeding both academic researchers and industrial developers in the materials, optics and biotechnological industries. The proposed instrument would complete the development of Australia's newest high resolution microscopy centre and enable a wide range of users to image, measure, build and design comp ....The Melbourne Nanofabrication Facility. Australia is desperately short of facilities for actual fabrication, prototyping and construction of advanced micromechanical and nanoscale systems. This is impeding both academic researchers and industrial developers in the materials, optics and biotechnological industries. The proposed instrument would complete the development of Australia's newest high resolution microscopy centre and enable a wide range of users to image, measure, build and design complex nanostructures at the atomic level and upwards. Read moreRead less
Beyond linear source-filter theory: how does the vocal tract affect the motion of the vocal folds? The human voice lies at the very core of human culture. Yet the way in which the vocal folds ('vocal cords') vibrate is only partly understood and the way in which sound waves within the vocal tract affect this vibration is almost unknown, beyond the fact that it is sometimes important. Using new and unique non-invasive techniques, we shall conduct acoustic experiments to measure properties of the ....Beyond linear source-filter theory: how does the vocal tract affect the motion of the vocal folds? The human voice lies at the very core of human culture. Yet the way in which the vocal folds ('vocal cords') vibrate is only partly understood and the way in which sound waves within the vocal tract affect this vibration is almost unknown, beyond the fact that it is sometimes important. Using new and unique non-invasive techniques, we shall conduct acoustic experiments to measure properties of the vocal folds and their interaction with the sound they produce in the vocal tract. This knowledge will solve some of the remaining puzzles about the voice. Practical applications will include exercises in voice control (especially for singers and orators) and potential applications in clinical diagnosis techniques.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100055
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,000.00
Summary
State-of-the-art upgrade to multi-transmit multi-receive technology for research dedicated 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Projects requiring the proposed infrastructure are aligned with two National Research Priorities. The research will lead to new methods for imaging and detecting soft tissue changes, identifying developmental, cognitive and degenerative disorders, and pharmacological research. The understanding of the basis of physiological, cognitive and biochemical proces ....State-of-the-art upgrade to multi-transmit multi-receive technology for research dedicated 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Projects requiring the proposed infrastructure are aligned with two National Research Priorities. The research will lead to new methods for imaging and detecting soft tissue changes, identifying developmental, cognitive and degenerative disorders, and pharmacological research. The understanding of the basis of physiological, cognitive and biochemical processes which will be facilitated by the new equipment will contribute to the priority area Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and will underpin an array of subsequent medical research. The new equipment will extend capabilities and training in signal analysis, biomedical engineering and biomedicine, contributing to the priority area Frontier technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries.Read moreRead less
Conserving our native carnivores: the application of molecular genetics to the conservation management of quolls. Quolls, the largest native mammalian predators on mainland Australia, occupy a pivotal ecological niche. All species are declining and are threatened by a variety of interacting environmental processes. This program brings together seven wildlife agencies in a nationwide partnership for understanding and protecting quolls. We will provide new genetic data to test current populatio ....Conserving our native carnivores: the application of molecular genetics to the conservation management of quolls. Quolls, the largest native mammalian predators on mainland Australia, occupy a pivotal ecological niche. All species are declining and are threatened by a variety of interacting environmental processes. This program brings together seven wildlife agencies in a nationwide partnership for understanding and protecting quolls. We will provide new genetic data to test current population and conservation theories using four species of quolls as model taxa to inform us about past histories of populations and to measure parameters of importance to on-ground managers. Results of these projects will help guide management practices for both short- and long-term conservation of these species.Read moreRead less
Inbreeding and Amphibian Decline: from an Individual to a Global Perspective. Amphibian decline is not a phenomenon unique to overseas continents and countries. In the long line of research papers addressing this issue in the best science journals (e.g., Nature and Science), Australian frog decline has even been singled out for specific coverage. This project targets the interplay between habitat fragmentation, loss of genetic variation (inbreeding), and its effects on UV and pathogen resistance ....Inbreeding and Amphibian Decline: from an Individual to a Global Perspective. Amphibian decline is not a phenomenon unique to overseas continents and countries. In the long line of research papers addressing this issue in the best science journals (e.g., Nature and Science), Australian frog decline has even been singled out for specific coverage. This project targets the interplay between habitat fragmentation, loss of genetic variation (inbreeding), and its effects on UV and pathogen resistance in a laboratory model system. It integrates three disciplines (immunobiology, evolutionary genetics, and conservation biology) to resolve fundamental aspects of the drastic, ongoing disappearance of the most significant ecological indicator taxa known today (amphibians). Read moreRead less
Diversity out of a hybrid zone: the interplay of reinforcement and sexual selection in the formation of new species. How are there so many different species? Understanding how new species arise is a fundamental question because it explains current biodiversity and reveals the processes that will continue to give rise to new species in the future. An integral part of any animal species is who they choose to mate with, but how mate choice evolves to create new species remains poorly understood. He ....Diversity out of a hybrid zone: the interplay of reinforcement and sexual selection in the formation of new species. How are there so many different species? Understanding how new species arise is a fundamental question because it explains current biodiversity and reveals the processes that will continue to give rise to new species in the future. An integral part of any animal species is who they choose to mate with, but how mate choice evolves to create new species remains poorly understood. Here I will be studying the processes that affect the evolution of mate choice in an Australian rainforest frog hybrid zone. This system is uniquely suitable for providing internationally important insights into the evolutionary processes that form new species.Read moreRead less
The roles of relatedness and reproductive success in complex social systems of dolphins. Theories of the role of genetic relatedness and reproductive success in mammalian social behaviour have mostly been restricted to primates and carnivores. Coexisting alternative strategies within one population of bottlenose dolphins (Shark Bay WA) offer unprecedented opportunities for such investigations. The male alliances? complexity is unparalleled outside humans, and may require new theory. Some femal ....The roles of relatedness and reproductive success in complex social systems of dolphins. Theories of the role of genetic relatedness and reproductive success in mammalian social behaviour have mostly been restricted to primates and carnivores. Coexisting alternative strategies within one population of bottlenose dolphins (Shark Bay WA) offer unprecedented opportunities for such investigations. The male alliances? complexity is unparalleled outside humans, and may require new theory. Some female lineages show tool-use - rare outside humans, and virtually unknown in marine species. Our behavioural and genetic database has exceptional size, detail and duration for marine mammals, and is most valuable if continued while known individuals' offspring reach a stage where they can be sampled.Read moreRead less
Elucidating the mechanisms by which Scribble, Discs Large and Lethal Giant Larvae regulate epithelial polarity. Discs Large (Dlg) and Scribble are proteins that regulate cell shape by concentrating at particular regions within the cell and recruiting other proteins to that region. It is thought that the two proteins interact with each other, and with other proteins involved in protein trafficking and cell architecture, but it is not known how these events coordinate to produce a net outcome on ....Elucidating the mechanisms by which Scribble, Discs Large and Lethal Giant Larvae regulate epithelial polarity. Discs Large (Dlg) and Scribble are proteins that regulate cell shape by concentrating at particular regions within the cell and recruiting other proteins to that region. It is thought that the two proteins interact with each other, and with other proteins involved in protein trafficking and cell architecture, but it is not known how these events coordinate to produce a net outcome on cell shape. To answer these questions, the dynamic events involved in localization of Dlg, Scribble, and associated proteins will be determined, in mammalian cells and in whole organs of the vinegar fly.Read moreRead less
Zinc finger domains as scaffolds for protein engineering. While great advances have been made in pharmaceutical design and discovery, it is clear that new types of drugs are needed for the better management of a wide range of diseases (e.g. cancers, autoimmune diseases, viral infections). Many of these diseases arise from inappropriate interactions between intracellular biological macromolecules. My aim is to develop a range of novel therapeutic proteins based on naturally existing zinc-binding ....Zinc finger domains as scaffolds for protein engineering. While great advances have been made in pharmaceutical design and discovery, it is clear that new types of drugs are needed for the better management of a wide range of diseases (e.g. cancers, autoimmune diseases, viral infections). Many of these diseases arise from inappropriate interactions between intracellular biological macromolecules. My aim is to develop a range of novel therapeutic proteins based on naturally existing zinc-binding protein domains with the goal of selectively blocking these inappropriate interactions. Additionally, these engineered proteins have potential uses as biochemical tools such as to help delineate the functions of natural proteins with no known functions.Read moreRead less
Biohumanities: Philosophical, Historical, and Socio-Cultural Studies of Contemporary Bioscience. Improving understanding of the meaning and implications of contemporary bioscience, especially genetics and molecular biology, through bioliterate research in the humanities and social sciences, and conversely through better assimilation of bioscience and its significance by the humanities and social sciences. The research will be conducted in close collaboration with the Australian scientific commun ....Biohumanities: Philosophical, Historical, and Socio-Cultural Studies of Contemporary Bioscience. Improving understanding of the meaning and implications of contemporary bioscience, especially genetics and molecular biology, through bioliterate research in the humanities and social sciences, and conversely through better assimilation of bioscience and its significance by the humanities and social sciences. The research will be conducted in close collaboration with the Australian scientific community and will be disseminated back to the scientific community, to the humanities and to the Australian public. The project will bring to Australia the strengths of the applicant's existing collaborations with leading research centres in this field in the USA, UK and Canada.Read moreRead less