Maintaining bone strength in the elderly: the role of exercise and calcium fortified foods. There are currently no effective pharmacological agents for maintaining or increasing bone density during ageing available to older men with low bone strength. We aim to measure the effect on bone density and strength of older men who eat food products enhanced with calcium and vitamin D and undertake regular exercise. The results of this research will make an important contribution to knowledge about the ....Maintaining bone strength in the elderly: the role of exercise and calcium fortified foods. There are currently no effective pharmacological agents for maintaining or increasing bone density during ageing available to older men with low bone strength. We aim to measure the effect on bone density and strength of older men who eat food products enhanced with calcium and vitamin D and undertake regular exercise. The results of this research will make an important contribution to knowledge about the influence of diet and exercise on bone health. This research is also important for the food industry to ensure that the development of innovative food products is based on strong evidence.
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Computational Scaffold Optimisation for Tissue Engineering. Due to exceptional potential, tissue engineering has attracted over US$4.5 billion research and development investment and another US$2.6 billion market capital since 1990. It is important to cement Australia's position in such a highly competitive field. This project aims to develop a novel technology for scaffold-based tissue engineering, which would help Australia lead in the relevant area and increase its competitiveness in the futu ....Computational Scaffold Optimisation for Tissue Engineering. Due to exceptional potential, tissue engineering has attracted over US$4.5 billion research and development investment and another US$2.6 billion market capital since 1990. It is important to cement Australia's position in such a highly competitive field. This project aims to develop a novel technology for scaffold-based tissue engineering, which would help Australia lead in the relevant area and increase its competitiveness in the future global market of biomaterials, tissue products, biomedical software and instruments. An enormous socio-economic benefit to Australia would be a significant improvement in the clinical success rate for our ageing population. Read moreRead less
Understanding Tendon Response to Sport and Exercise: Implications for Optimising Training, Injury Prevention and Accelerated Rehabilitation. This research will use frontier technologies to establish the effect of physical activity on tendon adaptation and injury. It will address National Research Priorities and lead to contemporary evidence-based physical activity practices to optimise health and fitness, prevent injury, and expedite rehabilitation after injury. Given the significant national in ....Understanding Tendon Response to Sport and Exercise: Implications for Optimising Training, Injury Prevention and Accelerated Rehabilitation. This research will use frontier technologies to establish the effect of physical activity on tendon adaptation and injury. It will address National Research Priorities and lead to contemporary evidence-based physical activity practices to optimise health and fitness, prevent injury, and expedite rehabilitation after injury. Given the significant national investment in sport, the rise in obesity, and the immense cost of sedentary behaviour and sport-related injuries, this research will have applications for enhancing physical activity recommendations that maintain health for all Australians. It will enhance Australia's leading position in international sport and sport science research and have beneficial applications for occupational health.Read moreRead less
Engineering cartilage homeostasis in health and disease. Arthritis is a common, painful and often debilitating disease affecting 16% of the Australian population and costing this community $11 billion every year. It is not well understood why cartilage degenerates into joint disease, nor how it may be reversed - partly due to the large number of mechanisms involved. This project aims to overcome this complexity by developing a computational model of cartilage that can integrate the various mech ....Engineering cartilage homeostasis in health and disease. Arthritis is a common, painful and often debilitating disease affecting 16% of the Australian population and costing this community $11 billion every year. It is not well understood why cartilage degenerates into joint disease, nor how it may be reversed - partly due to the large number of mechanisms involved. This project aims to overcome this complexity by developing a computational model of cartilage that can integrate the various mechanisms of cartilage degradation. New experiments will be used to validate the model and test predictions. The model developed will provide fundamental insights into what is required for the maintenance of healthy cartilage, and what happens in injury-induced degradation of cartilage.Read moreRead less
Assessing Bone Quality and Health: Experimental imaging, structural characterisation, and mechanical modelling of bone in 3D. Age-related bone fractures due to osteoporosis impose a significant social and economic problem on our increasingly aging population. The assessment of bone quality is important in the diagnosis of age related bone fragility and for studying the efficacy of therapeutic intervens. In this proposal a unique interdisciplinary group with expertise in bone and mineral research ....Assessing Bone Quality and Health: Experimental imaging, structural characterisation, and mechanical modelling of bone in 3D. Age-related bone fractures due to osteoporosis impose a significant social and economic problem on our increasingly aging population. The assessment of bone quality is important in the diagnosis of age related bone fragility and for studying the efficacy of therapeutic intervens. In this proposal a unique interdisciplinary group with expertise in bone and mineral research, experimental 3D imaging and the characterisation and modelling of complex materials will tackle the problem of assessing bone quality and health. The proposed research will greatly improve our assessment of the mechanical competence of bone.Read moreRead less
Coherent optical tissue biopsy and analysis targeting muscle pathology. This international, interdisciplinary collaborative research should change the way structures in tissues are characterised with broad impact on health, biotechnology, and the meat industry. Specific benefits include: a large reduction in the time/effort required for the ubiquitous process of histology of muscle and other tissue sections and samples; a large reduction in the number of animals required in experimentation and ....Coherent optical tissue biopsy and analysis targeting muscle pathology. This international, interdisciplinary collaborative research should change the way structures in tissues are characterised with broad impact on health, biotechnology, and the meat industry. Specific benefits include: a large reduction in the time/effort required for the ubiquitous process of histology of muscle and other tissue sections and samples; a large reduction in the number of animals required in experimentation and the possibility of time sequential studies of the same animal; and in muscular dystrophy in humans, a new capability in the direct assessment of muscle tissue and the disease treatment and progression. This suite of advances should generate intellectual property of major commercial importance.Read moreRead less
Neuromuscular adaptations to training, cross training and passive physical interventions: A neurophysiological approach to understanding human performance and musculoskeletal injury. The expected national benefit arising from this research is three fold: (i) developing knowledge of approaches taken to improve exercise performance across the spectrum of novice to elite levels of participation, (ii) improved understanding of the physiological basis for widely applied interventions used to facilita ....Neuromuscular adaptations to training, cross training and passive physical interventions: A neurophysiological approach to understanding human performance and musculoskeletal injury. The expected national benefit arising from this research is three fold: (i) developing knowledge of approaches taken to improve exercise performance across the spectrum of novice to elite levels of participation, (ii) improved understanding of the physiological basis for widely applied interventions used to facilitate exercise, performance, as well as injury prevention and rehabilitation, and (iii) increasing the pool of world-class researchers who will make a substantial difference to the health and wellbeing of the community through one post-doctoral and two doctoral programs. This project will cement existing tertiary-industry sector collaboration, which will ensure long-standing benefits to the community.Read moreRead less