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Relationships Between Diet And Gastric Motor Function In Functional Dyspepsia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$220,500.00
Summary
Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a condition characterised by abdominal symptoms without a cause that is identifiable by conventional diagnostic tests. Symptoms (eg fullness, bloating) are frequently induced by eating. 20 - 40 % of the adult population in Western countries are affected by FD, and the condition, therefore, represents a considerable financial burden to the health care system. FD affects quality of life adversely. In many people with FD, stomach contractions and the 'sensitivity' of th ....Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a condition characterised by abdominal symptoms without a cause that is identifiable by conventional diagnostic tests. Symptoms (eg fullness, bloating) are frequently induced by eating. 20 - 40 % of the adult population in Western countries are affected by FD, and the condition, therefore, represents a considerable financial burden to the health care system. FD affects quality of life adversely. In many people with FD, stomach contractions and the 'sensitivity' of the stomach are abnormal. Often, people with FD avoid fatty foods in the belief that these cause or exacerbate symptoms. There is, however, little information about the potential role of dietary habits in causing symptoms, the relationship between eating and disturbances in stomach function, and the impact of dietary changes on symptoms. Our previous studies suggest an important role for nutrients, particularly fat, in FD. We will address the hypothesis that dietary factors, particularly fat intake, have substantial implications for the pathophysiology and treatment of FD. Our studies will involve physiological (stomach emptying, appetite and food intake) and epidemiological (dietary habits, dyspeptic symptoms and quality of life-related aspects) measurements. The subjects-patients with FD will receive standardised test meals of varying nutrient composition, and we will study the effects on their stomach and on symptoms. We will also test some medications in an attempt to alleviate symptoms during and after food ingestion, particularly after fatty foods. Other studies will assess the dietary habits of patients with FD in relation to symptom occurrence and investigate the possibility that dietary intervention (reduction of fat content in the diet, exclusion of offending foods) will benefit these patients. The proposed studies will provide the most comprehensive studies to date of the relationship between symptoms in patients with FD with dietary habits and stomach function.Read moreRead less
Human ageing is characterised by reduced appetite and food intake, so that average body weight decreases after 70-75 years. This physiological anorexia predisposes to pathological weight loss and malnutrition, worsening of other illnesses, and increased mortality. This project aims to identify causes of this anorexia of ageing, with a view to developing prevention and treatment strategies. We hypothesise that (1) Satiety signals are overactive in the elderly. We will determine whether older peop ....Human ageing is characterised by reduced appetite and food intake, so that average body weight decreases after 70-75 years. This physiological anorexia predisposes to pathological weight loss and malnutrition, worsening of other illnesses, and increased mortality. This project aims to identify causes of this anorexia of ageing, with a view to developing prevention and treatment strategies. We hypothesise that (1) Satiety signals are overactive in the elderly. We will determine whether older people are more sensitive to gastric distension, which reduces appetite and food intake, by measuring perceptions (fullness, hunger, etc), gastric compliance and food intake during intragastric balloon inflation. This will also be done during nutrient infusion into the small intestine, to assess the interaction between gastric and intestinal satiety factors. The contribution of age-related slowing of gastric emptying to the anorexia of ageing will be assessed and the possibility that reduced energy intake worsens the anorexia of ageing will be examined in a nutrient supplementation study. We will have shown that the release of the satiety hormone cholecystokinin (CCK) is greater in older than young adults and that CCK administration causes a greater suppression of food intake in older people, suggesting that increased CCK activity may be a cause of the anorexia of ageing. We will pursue these findings by attempting to increase appetite and food intake in the lderly by administration of a CCK antagonist (blocker). We will also measure the satiating effects of two other probable satiety hormones, amylin and glucagon like peptide 1 in older and young people. (2) The feeding drive is reduced in the elderly Opioids stimulate feeding. In animals this effect is reduced by ageing. To determine whetther this is also so in humans, the suppressive effect of the opioid antagonist naloxone on feeding will be assessed in young and older subjects.Read moreRead less
Longitudinal Growth, Nutrition And Physical Activity In Young Children With Cerebral Palsy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$686,147.00
Summary
Cerebral palsy is the most common type of physical disability impacting on 1 in 500 children, with lifetime costs of $2m and up to 40% may have restricted growth and nutrition. We aim to follow a cohort of 240 young children with Cerebral Palsy from 18 mths to 5 years to monitor their growth, nutrition, habitual activity, body composition and relate this to comprehensive health outcomes and costs. Better knowledge of these factors will enable nutritional and medical care to be better focused.
A Randomised Controlled Clinical Trial Of The Effects Of EPA-rich Fish Oil In Chronic Work Stress
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$139,328.00
Summary
Chronic work stress doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease and depression and accounts for almost 30% of all Workers Compensation costs paid by the Australian Government. Our preliminary studies have shown (1) an inverse correlation between fish consumption and work stress, and (2) a pilot randomised controlled double-blind study demonstrated that fish oil had twice the rate of stress reduction than placebo. This study aims to show that fish oil ameliorates stress in a larger population.
A Biochemical, Pathological And Behavioural Study To Assess The Protective Effects Of Selenium And Vitamin E Against Mercury
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Summary
Objectives: 1. Examine the premise that the natural accumulation of methyl mercury in association with selenium and/or vitamin E in fish reduces or abolishes the potential toxicity of methyl mercury in food for mammals
Aquafin CRC - Increasing The Profitability Of Snapper Farming By Improving Hatchery Practices And Diets
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$751,817.00
Summary
This project extends previous work, which has demonstrated the feasibility of snapper farming in both marine and inland saline waters. It seeks to reduce production costs by improving fingerling survival and growth and reducing input (feed) costs.
A reliable supply of cheap, high quality, healthy fingerlings is essential for development of viable snapper farming. Currently, industry estimates the cost of production of snapper at $1.00 per fingerling. To improve profitability, there is ....This project extends previous work, which has demonstrated the feasibility of snapper farming in both marine and inland saline waters. It seeks to reduce production costs by improving fingerling survival and growth and reducing input (feed) costs.
A reliable supply of cheap, high quality, healthy fingerlings is essential for development of viable snapper farming. Currently, industry estimates the cost of production of snapper at $1.00 per fingerling. To improve profitability, there is a need to reduce the cost and improve the vigour of fingerlings and to develop cost-effective high-performance diets and feeding systems for both hatchery and grow-out. This need has been recognised through the FRDC sponsored Hatchery Feeds R & D Plan (McKinnon et al., 2000: http://www.aims.gov.au/hatchery-feeds). This project will improve hatchery methods and replace live feeds, such as brine shrimp (Artemia) whose supply and quality are unreliable, with alternative live feeds or artificial feeds. The project will also develop better strategies for combining intensive and extensive rearing methods so as to optimise fingerling survival and quality. Research will have application for other species, including tuna.
Growout diets need to produce fish with desirable marketing traits, including colour. Fish are marketed as a “healthy” product, largely because fish fat has relatively high contents of the omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids. However, while replacing fish meal and fish oil in fish diets may reduce diet cost, it will also reduce these health benefits. Minimising feed wastage through ensuring optimal pellet stability and determining the best feeding frequencies and feeding rates are critical factors in reducing pollution from fish farms. To achieve these goals, diets will be developed that satisfy but not oversupply essential nutrients and that are made from high quality, highly digestible, readily obtainable ingredients. Diets will also be designed to stimulate maximum consumption and deliver optimal feed conversion efficiency. Additional research is needed to build on successful results with snapper diet development under the current FRDC ADD Subprogram snapper diet development project. The nutrition component of the current application and the exisiting FRDC snapper diet development project will be fully integrated.
Finally, the project will seek to reduce disease-induced mortality by developing treatment methods for common parasites and establishing a foundation for immunological approaches to fish skin diseases. Objectives: 1. Improve production of snapper fingerlings by developing extensive, fertilised-pond rearing techniques for the advanced production of snapper juveniles. 2. Improve production of snapper fingerlings by developing larval feeding strategies to reduce the use of live feeds, in particular Artemia, by weaning larvae at an early age onto commercial and/or experimental artificial diets. 3. Improve production of snapper fingerlings by developing methods to reduce and/or treat the incidence of parasite infestation. 4. Improve the skin colour of farmed snapper by reducing melanisation and improving skin pigmentation. 5. Determine digestibility for, and ability of fish to utilize, new ingredients with potential for use in low-polluting snapper diets. 6. Evaluate ability of snapper to utilize carbohydrate and lipid sources for energy. 7. Determine optimum protein:energy ratio for fish grown at one favourable temperature. 8. Provide recommendations for feeding strategies to minimise overfeeding and maximise fish production. Read moreRead less
Aquaculture Nutrition Subprogram: Technical, Project Management And Review Services
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$156,100.50
Summary
The first phase of the Aquaculture Nutrition Subprogram (ANS) has demonstrated a strong need for technical inputs into the strategic direction and methodology applied to the nutrition components of both species and non-species based research programs. Without a coordinated subprogram approach to this research portfolio, the FRDC would have been unable to develop a collaborative program with the Grains Research and Development Corporation to characterise and produce vegetable protein alternative ....The first phase of the Aquaculture Nutrition Subprogram (ANS) has demonstrated a strong need for technical inputs into the strategic direction and methodology applied to the nutrition components of both species and non-species based research programs. Without a coordinated subprogram approach to this research portfolio, the FRDC would have been unable to develop a collaborative program with the Grains Research and Development Corporation to characterise and produce vegetable protein alternatives to fish meal, nor would it have been able to standardize the methodologies and research approach for aquaculture nutrition in Australia with involvement from all relevant scientists. The subprogram is also addressing “market failure” in the areas of training and communication in the field of aquaculture nutrition, with a firm emphasis on empowering end-users of aquafeeds with basic nutritional and feed processing knowledge. The ANS needs to be maintained in a similar format to the first phase in order to capitalize on many of the initiatives that were implemented during the first 3 years of the project, but with less emphasis on the facilitation and maintenance on a core of research projects.
The need for on-going research into aquaculture nutrition and the need to maintain or enhance the technical standard and direction of this research is emphasized by the fact that Australian aquaculture industries still have a heavy reliance on imported nutrition technologies, feeds and ingredients for the supply of nutrients to target species. This includes feed manufacturing technologies, ingredients such as bait fish, fish meals, crustacean meals and fish oils, and complete feeds such as those utilised by the prawn industry. Not only does this create issues in relation to imported disease risks, continuity of supply and cost, but it means that many local products are being under utilised. Given the broad range of issues associated with the provision of aquaculture diets, the real cost of aquaculture diets in Australia will only be reduced through the delivery of well-targetted, strategic research. The infancy of the Australian aquaculture industries also means that a coordinated research approach is required to maximise the outcomes from research investment in the area.
Objectives: 1. Provide expert guidance and direction for aquaculture nutrition research in Australia through maintenance of a strategic plan, provision of technical reviews and inputs into project development. 2. Identify nutrition research priorities that are not being addressed through existing portfolios and initiate research projects in this area. 3. Promote capacity building and human capital development through the provision of training and resources in aquaculture nutrition and aquafeed manufacturing. 4. Develop risk management strategies as required for various aquaculture sectors in relation to nutrition to assist the research priority setting process. 5. Act as an identifiable point of contact for aquaculture nutrition research in Australia and improve the aquaculture nutrition skills base on Australia. 6. Improve communication of nutrition research outcomes and current nutrition research between scientists, aquaculturalists, ingredient suppliers and feed manufacturers utilising annual workshops, facilitated planning meetings and conferences. Read moreRead less
Orexins As Neuroendocrine Integrators Between Nutrition And Reproduction Control Systems
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$332,036.00
Summary
Studies on humans and a range of animal species have shown that the effects of nutrition on reproduction are mediated at least partly by changes in the secretion of gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) and thus gonadotrophins. A number of metabolic signals must also be involved but those tested to date (glucose, insulin, leptin) do not seem to play major roles. Two exciting new candidates are orexin-A and orexin-B, a recently discovered pair of peptides that stimulate feeding behaviour. They a ....Studies on humans and a range of animal species have shown that the effects of nutrition on reproduction are mediated at least partly by changes in the secretion of gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) and thus gonadotrophins. A number of metabolic signals must also be involved but those tested to date (glucose, insulin, leptin) do not seem to play major roles. Two exciting new candidates are orexin-A and orexin-B, a recently discovered pair of peptides that stimulate feeding behaviour. They are synthesized in the brain and, in rodents, they either stimulate or inhibit gonadotrophin secretion, depending on the presence of sex steroids. In this project, we will investigate the roles of the orexins as integrators of signals about gonadal activity, nutrition and body condition, all of which affect the activity of the reproductive control centres in the brain. We will use the mature male sheep because it shows clear and repeatable reproductive responses to changes in nutrition. We will locate the orexin-producing cells and the cells that respond to the orexins, and show how orexin production is affected by diet. We will also study the ways in which the orexins affect, and are affected by, the hormone systems that control reproduction and metabolism. Finally, we will try to find out why there are two orexins by looking at how their actions differ. Ultimately, the orexin system might explain the brain processes that are behind many of the reproductive problems that are associated with metabolic disorders, such as appetite loss, excessive exercise, undernutrition, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and insulin-dependent diabetes.Read moreRead less
Defining The Optimal Nutrition In Pregnancy And Early Life To Prevent Childhood Obesity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$428,900.00
Summary
Obesity threatens to reduce the length and quality of life of future generations and prevention is a priority. There is now good evidence that the risk a person has of becoming obese is related to the nutritional environment they experience before birth and in early infancy. My research aims to identify nutritional strategies which can be applied safely during pregnancy and infancy to help reduce body fat mass in children and improve their long term health outcomes.