Psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying human interaction in musical contexts. Human interaction in musical groups is a culturally widespread activity that showcases the remarkable capacity for precision and creativity in interpersonal coordination. Although such activity has beneficial effects, including the facilitation of prosociality and positive therapeutic outcomes, the psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms that underpin an individual’s ability to coordinate wi ....Psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying human interaction in musical contexts. Human interaction in musical groups is a culturally widespread activity that showcases the remarkable capacity for precision and creativity in interpersonal coordination. Although such activity has beneficial effects, including the facilitation of prosociality and positive therapeutic outcomes, the psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms that underpin an individual’s ability to coordinate with others remain poorly understood. This project aims to investigate these mechanisms by examining relationships between behaviour, social factors, and brain structure and function in naturalistic and laboratory settings. This will inform the assessment and treatment of clinical conditions that affect movement timing and social interaction.Read moreRead less
Decoding the neural representation of objects in the human brain. Humans can effortlessly recognise thousands of objects in a fraction of a second. This essential capacity is an integral part of our daily lives that allows us to recognise our keys, our car, our friends and family. This project will elucidate how humans recognise objects by investigating the neural representation of objects in the brain.
Cannabis and the brain: the good, the bad and the unknown. Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug but much remains unknown about how it affects the brain. This research will examine effects on brain cells through to whole brain function in humans to determine how cannabis use may lead to impaired thinking or psychological symptoms and why cannabis might affect individuals in different ways.
The structure and function of the human spinal connectome. This project will use complex network analysis to map the interactions between the brain and body, to understand how the central nervous system controls our movements. The project will provide fundamental insights into mechanisms that coordinate activity in the human motor system, and how the breakdown of coordination may lead to movement disorders. By integrating advanced computational analyses with state-of-the-art recording techniques ....The structure and function of the human spinal connectome. This project will use complex network analysis to map the interactions between the brain and body, to understand how the central nervous system controls our movements. The project will provide fundamental insights into mechanisms that coordinate activity in the human motor system, and how the breakdown of coordination may lead to movement disorders. By integrating advanced computational analyses with state-of-the-art recording techniques, the project will generate new knowledge of the neural basis of human motor coordination. Expected outcomes may support future applications to restore motor function through brain stimulation, prosthetics and robotics design.Read moreRead less
In search of relevant things: A novel approach for image analysis. This project aims to investigate how experts’ cognitive processes may be transferred to computers for the automatic recognition of visual features. By merging computer and brain sciences, the project will characterise the way the brains of experts understand what is seen, in order to translate such a process in a new computer vision tool. This should provide significant benefits, such as automatic detection of threats or diseases ....In search of relevant things: A novel approach for image analysis. This project aims to investigate how experts’ cognitive processes may be transferred to computers for the automatic recognition of visual features. By merging computer and brain sciences, the project will characterise the way the brains of experts understand what is seen, in order to translate such a process in a new computer vision tool. This should provide significant benefits, such as automatic detection of threats or diseases in satellite and diagnostic imaging, respectively, among other applications. For the first time, the combination of how a computer analyses an image and how an expert interprets it will be used as a common language to enable machines to process visual information in a manner that mimics the way human brains do.Read moreRead less
Attention please! Selective attention and human associative learning. Selective attention allows us to pick useful pieces of information out of the mass of stimulation that we're faced with every moment. This project investigates how what we've previously learnt about the significance of events influences whether we'll pick them out as useful in future, and how this might be impaired by old age or mental disorder.
Australian coastal health watch: Improved marine primary productivity estimates using advanced Fast Repetition Rate fluorometry. Primary productivity by marine phytoplankton directly controls global climate, supports fisheries and is an indicator of marine ecosystem health. Successful management of the world’s marine ecosystems rests on improving the accuracy with which primary productivity is measured and monitored. This internationally collaborative research program will develop a new sensor-b ....Australian coastal health watch: Improved marine primary productivity estimates using advanced Fast Repetition Rate fluorometry. Primary productivity by marine phytoplankton directly controls global climate, supports fisheries and is an indicator of marine ecosystem health. Successful management of the world’s marine ecosystems rests on improving the accuracy with which primary productivity is measured and monitored. This internationally collaborative research program will develop a new sensor-based approach – fast repetition rate fluorometry – to measure different phytoplankton groups that regulate primary productivity in Australia’s complex marine environments. Application of these measurements will enable more accurate monitoring of the status of Australia’s marine systems to inform ocean resource management decisions in order to safeguard marine ecosystem heath.Read moreRead less
The dynamics of evolution: How horizontal gene transfer drives the diversification and adaptation of complex, bacterial communities. The genetic exchange between populations is a prerequisite for the long-term evolution of bacteria, however its short-term dynamics are largely unexplored. This project aims to define the temporal dynamics of gene transfer and how it shapes the genetic composition of entire bacterial communities. Using innovative DNA sequencing technologies and bioinformatics, This ....The dynamics of evolution: How horizontal gene transfer drives the diversification and adaptation of complex, bacterial communities. The genetic exchange between populations is a prerequisite for the long-term evolution of bacteria, however its short-term dynamics are largely unexplored. This project aims to define the temporal dynamics of gene transfer and how it shapes the genetic composition of entire bacterial communities. Using innovative DNA sequencing technologies and bioinformatics, This project aims to offer a significant new understanding of the short-term diversification of communities and how different evolutionary forces shape bacterial function. It will show how bacterial systems can adapt to new environmental conditions and the effect on essential ecosystem functions.Read moreRead less
Integrating ecoimmunology and population ecology to understand how tropical reptiles deal with novel challenges. Using tropical reptiles as a study system, the project will investigate the extent to which human-induced stressors, such as climate change and invasive species, affect stress levels and immunocompetence of wild animals.
Pathways to agri-food supply chains that co-benefit people and nature. This project aims to improve biodiversity outcomes of agricultural food production and consumption, and expects to generate new knowledge about impacts of interventions and shocks on the environment, human health and livelihoods in agri-food systems. This will be achieved using an interdisciplinary approach that accounts for uncertainties in links between farmers, suppliers, consumers and supply-chain outcomes. The expected o ....Pathways to agri-food supply chains that co-benefit people and nature. This project aims to improve biodiversity outcomes of agricultural food production and consumption, and expects to generate new knowledge about impacts of interventions and shocks on the environment, human health and livelihoods in agri-food systems. This will be achieved using an interdisciplinary approach that accounts for uncertainties in links between farmers, suppliers, consumers and supply-chain outcomes. The expected outcome is a value of information framework for identifying nature-friendly policies and actions with co-benefits for human well-being. Benefits include sustainability pathways with win-win outcomes for people and nature, and improved ways of meeting international commitments such as Sustainable Development Goals.Read moreRead less