Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0566602
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$87,933.00
Summary
Development of a collaborative online environment and workbench for the investigation of protein folding. The investigation of protein folding – one the most important unsolved biological problems, is generating large amounts of complex data. This proposal aims to develop a highly collaborative content management system and interactive data mining tools that will allow the open exchange and analysis of protein folding data. A chief goal of this proposal is, by creating a rich informatics envir ....Development of a collaborative online environment and workbench for the investigation of protein folding. The investigation of protein folding – one the most important unsolved biological problems, is generating large amounts of complex data. This proposal aims to develop a highly collaborative content management system and interactive data mining tools that will allow the open exchange and analysis of protein folding data. A chief goal of this proposal is, by creating a rich informatics environment, to foster the exchange of ideas and rapid dissemination of new data across the international array of groups working in parallel on various aspects of the folding problem.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0567460
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$85,000.00
Summary
Development of a collaborative environment for high throughput biology discovery pipelines. Modern biological science involves the parallel high-throughput investigation of many hundreds of different experimental targets. Traditional approaches for recording, analysing, mining and cross comparing experimental data are inadequate for conducting high throughput experiments. This proposal aims to develop new algorithms in the high throughput arena that will revolutionize biological discovery.
A modelling challenge: bridging the gap between molecular and neuronal networks. We will develop innovative frameworks, which unify small-scale molecular activity with electrical signals in branches of brain cells. This research aims to enhance our understanding how molecular scale phenomena influence brain disease, via studying the model dynamics using cutting-edge techniques on a supercomputer. The socio-economic benefits to Australia include: (i) Enhancing Australia's international reputation ....A modelling challenge: bridging the gap between molecular and neuronal networks. We will develop innovative frameworks, which unify small-scale molecular activity with electrical signals in branches of brain cells. This research aims to enhance our understanding how molecular scale phenomena influence brain disease, via studying the model dynamics using cutting-edge techniques on a supercomputer. The socio-economic benefits to Australia include: (i) Enhancing Australia's international reputation for cutting-edge multidisciplinary research; (ii) international collaborations will be strengthened; (iii) outcomes will potentially lead to commercialisation opportunities; (iv) results will ultimately lay the foundations to explore the cellular and molecular origin of brain disorders.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775679
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$700,000.00
Summary
Advanced Microscopy Infrastructure for use in Frontier Technologies. This proposal seeks to establish key microscopy facilities to support the research projects from leading researchers from four major Universities. The new facilities build on the close collaborative links between the partner organisations and the request is for specialised equipment that is complementary to that available at, for example, the Australian Synchrotron. The new facilities will enhance progress in the the important ....Advanced Microscopy Infrastructure for use in Frontier Technologies. This proposal seeks to establish key microscopy facilities to support the research projects from leading researchers from four major Universities. The new facilities build on the close collaborative links between the partner organisations and the request is for specialised equipment that is complementary to that available at, for example, the Australian Synchrotron. The new facilities will enhance progress in the the important areas of nanotechnology, biotechnology and advanced materials to the benefit of the community and will play a crucial role in training the next generation of researchers to drive these critical areas of science and technology.Read moreRead less
A functional genomic approach for understanding metal ion adaptation in marine cyanobacteria. Unicellular marine cyanobacteria constitute 20-40% of total marine chlorophyll biomass and carbon fixation, and hence significantly impact the global carbon cycle and are very relevant to combating global warming. This research will reveal some of the major mechanisms by which marine cyanobacteria have adapted to metal levels in coastal and oligotrophic environments. Thus these results will help us und ....A functional genomic approach for understanding metal ion adaptation in marine cyanobacteria. Unicellular marine cyanobacteria constitute 20-40% of total marine chlorophyll biomass and carbon fixation, and hence significantly impact the global carbon cycle and are very relevant to combating global warming. This research will reveal some of the major mechanisms by which marine cyanobacteria have adapted to metal levels in coastal and oligotrophic environments. Thus these results will help us understand the distribution and diversity of these organisms in relation to global primary productivity. They will also lead to the development of more robust biomarkers for metal stress and pollution in coastal environments.Read moreRead less
Evolution of Mind: The representational capacities of gibbons (H. syndactylus) and the common ancestor of humans and apes. This research is the first systematic investigation into the mental capacity of gibbons. These apes are one of our closest genetic relatives. Results of the research will inform human-animal comparisons and investigations into the evolution of the human mind. More appropriate enrichment measures for captive apes could be developed as a result. It is hoped that this work will ....Evolution of Mind: The representational capacities of gibbons (H. syndactylus) and the common ancestor of humans and apes. This research is the first systematic investigation into the mental capacity of gibbons. These apes are one of our closest genetic relatives. Results of the research will inform human-animal comparisons and investigations into the evolution of the human mind. More appropriate enrichment measures for captive apes could be developed as a result. It is hoped that this work will also lead to new collaborations with Indonesia, home of many gibbon species. The proposed research continues Australia's outstanding tradition of excellence in basic research. Read moreRead less
The prediction of sleep/wake behaviour based on physiological and social factors. The prevalence of shiftwork has increased in Australia over the last few decades. Shiftworkers obtain less sleep, have greater difficulty maintaining good relationships, have poorer health, and are more likely to be injured at work than others. Using the largest dataset of its kind, we will substantially contribute to understanding the relationships between work hours, sleep, performance and safety. Ultimately, the ....The prediction of sleep/wake behaviour based on physiological and social factors. The prevalence of shiftwork has increased in Australia over the last few decades. Shiftworkers obtain less sleep, have greater difficulty maintaining good relationships, have poorer health, and are more likely to be injured at work than others. Using the largest dataset of its kind, we will substantially contribute to understanding the relationships between work hours, sleep, performance and safety. Ultimately, the project will answer a question critical to workplace safety - how much time off between shifts is needed to be alert and safe at work? The project will also produce tools to help industry design fatigue-friendly rosters, improving the safety, productivity and general well-being of shiftworkers in Australia and overseas.Read moreRead less
Disulfide Bonds and Protein Folding. This work will advance our understanding of protein folding, which has important implications in biotechnology, impacting on commercial production of recombinant proteins (for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications) and on 1000s of research laboratories worldwide that use recombinant technologies. This research could also contribute to medicine (new treatments for diseases of protein misfolding like Alzheimer's), and to membrane protein structural biology ....Disulfide Bonds and Protein Folding. This work will advance our understanding of protein folding, which has important implications in biotechnology, impacting on commercial production of recombinant proteins (for pharmaceutical and biomedical applications) and on 1000s of research laboratories worldwide that use recombinant technologies. This research could also contribute to medicine (new treatments for diseases of protein misfolding like Alzheimer's), and to membrane protein structural biology. This work could yield economic benefits in the long-term through patentable outcomes and will benefit the community by producing high impact research papers, providing training to Australians and forging links with renowned international scientists.Read moreRead less
A rational approach to a high-resolution structure of the multidrug transporter EmrE. Membrane proteins form only 0.3% of the available protein structures in the protein data bank (PDB), yet 30% of the proteins in the human genome and 50% of human drug targets are membrane proteins. Multidrug transporters are membrane proteins responsible for antibiotic resistance in humans. A high-resolution structure of a multidrug resistance protein, together with comprehensive biochemical characterization, w ....A rational approach to a high-resolution structure of the multidrug transporter EmrE. Membrane proteins form only 0.3% of the available protein structures in the protein data bank (PDB), yet 30% of the proteins in the human genome and 50% of human drug targets are membrane proteins. Multidrug transporters are membrane proteins responsible for antibiotic resistance in humans. A high-resolution structure of a multidrug resistance protein, together with comprehensive biochemical characterization, would enable a detailed understanding of how these protein functions. Potentially it could also aid in the development of specific inhibitors that would prevent EmrE (and perhaps other similar proteins) from carry out its harmful mission. Read moreRead less
Elucidating structure and function of activation-associated secreted proteins (ASPs) in blood-feeding hookworms – toward new methods of control. The national/community benefits are: (1) to develop a long-term, high quality scientific and technological program contributing to national objectives, including the maintenance of a strong capability in basic research, the development of new scientific concepts and the enhancement of international collaborative links; (2) to strengthen the links betwee ....Elucidating structure and function of activation-associated secreted proteins (ASPs) in blood-feeding hookworms – toward new methods of control. The national/community benefits are: (1) to develop a long-term, high quality scientific and technological program contributing to national objectives, including the maintenance of a strong capability in basic research, the development of new scientific concepts and the enhancement of international collaborative links; (2) to strengthen the links between basic and applied research; (3) to develop excellence in research by promoting collaborative research, resulting in a more efficient use of resources in a national and international context; (4) to enhance the skills-base in biology and biotechnology; (5) to substantially increase global visibility through quality research, leading to an increased investment in Australian science.Read moreRead less