The recirculation of myeloid dendritic cells. This project aims to understand dendritic cell recirculation. It will use virological tools to track dendritic cell migration, and identify key decision points. Expected outcomes include enhanced capacity in basic research and greater interdisciplinary collaboration between virology and immunology research groups. Significant benefits will include a new understanding of how G protein coupled receptor signalling and other tissue cues guide dendritic c ....The recirculation of myeloid dendritic cells. This project aims to understand dendritic cell recirculation. It will use virological tools to track dendritic cell migration, and identify key decision points. Expected outcomes include enhanced capacity in basic research and greater interdisciplinary collaboration between virology and immunology research groups. Significant benefits will include a new understanding of how G protein coupled receptor signalling and other tissue cues guide dendritic cell recirculation, and what consequences the recirculation has for immune cell function. This understanding will significantly advance our basic understanding of the immune system.Read moreRead less
Is FGF21 the master regulator of protein intake? The project plans to bring together two major, rapidly growing disciplines – nutritional geometry and metabolic signalling – to address a topic of fundamental biological significance: the regulation of protein intake. A specific capacity to regulate protein intake has been shown for organisms spanning slime moulds to humans, yet the controlling mechanisms remain elusive. The project aims to test the hypothesis that fibroblast growth factor 21, rel ....Is FGF21 the master regulator of protein intake? The project plans to bring together two major, rapidly growing disciplines – nutritional geometry and metabolic signalling – to address a topic of fundamental biological significance: the regulation of protein intake. A specific capacity to regulate protein intake has been shown for organisms spanning slime moulds to humans, yet the controlling mechanisms remain elusive. The project aims to test the hypothesis that fibroblast growth factor 21, released from the liver under low protein nutrition, is a master regulator of protein intake. Understanding the mechanisms of protein appetite may have implications for organismal biology, understanding social interactions, the structure of food webs and the health and welfare of food and companion animals and humans.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100122
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$620,000.00
Summary
Returning WA Rapid Acquisition Fluorescent Microscopy to the cutting edge. The equipment proposal aims to establish West Australia's only super-rapid-speed, high throughput confocal microscopy facility. The technology will provide researchers in biotechnology, medicine, environmental biology and agriculture with contemporary state-of-art opportunities to analyse living cells and/or large-area tissue specimens in three-dimensions with the highest possible speed and high-resolution. West Australia ....Returning WA Rapid Acquisition Fluorescent Microscopy to the cutting edge. The equipment proposal aims to establish West Australia's only super-rapid-speed, high throughput confocal microscopy facility. The technology will provide researchers in biotechnology, medicine, environmental biology and agriculture with contemporary state-of-art opportunities to analyse living cells and/or large-area tissue specimens in three-dimensions with the highest possible speed and high-resolution. West Australia hosts 1 twelve-year old historic rapid-acquisition confocal microscope that is heavily subscribed, no longer manufactured and prone to regular, prolonged, costly breakdowns. Accessing high-speed confocal systems in other states is not a viable option putting WA-based researchers at a significant disadvantage.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101096
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$395,220.00
Summary
Evolutionary Adaptation of the Chemical Language of Nutrient Acquisition Strategies in Higher Plants. The autotrophic and sessile nature of plants means that they need to respond to nutrient limitations in a finely tuned manner to grow and survive. Metabolites play an important role during these adaptations, either as direct modulators or as biochemical indicators of the pathways activated. Plants have evolved from relatively simple unicellular organisms that have a remarkable adaptability to re ....Evolutionary Adaptation of the Chemical Language of Nutrient Acquisition Strategies in Higher Plants. The autotrophic and sessile nature of plants means that they need to respond to nutrient limitations in a finely tuned manner to grow and survive. Metabolites play an important role during these adaptations, either as direct modulators or as biochemical indicators of the pathways activated. Plants have evolved from relatively simple unicellular organisms that have a remarkable adaptability to respond to their environment through metabolite-modulated quorum-sensing mechanisms. Preliminary evidence suggests that plants have either retained some of this ability or have evolved novel nutrient recognition strategies. This project will elucidate these pathways to gain new insights into nutrient acquisition in plants.Read moreRead less
Complex dynamical systems: inferring form and function of interacting biological systems. Often in biology a large number of simple parts interacting according to simple rules can result in behaviour that is rich and varied. This project aims to develop the mathematics of complex systems theory to describe how such collections of simple interacting parts can form large complicated structures, and to deduce what dynamical behaviour can result.
Systems Biology Of Asthma Development In Early Childhood
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$763,800.00
Summary
Recent studies have established that both human genetic susceptibility and viral infections during early childhood are important drivers of asthma development. It has also been noted that asthmatics’ airways are colonized with different bacteria to non-asthmatics. In this project we will examine how genetic susceptibility and interactions between bacteria and viruses in children's airways promote the development of allergy and asthma.
High-resolution multiscale modelling of pandemics: COVID-19 and beyond. The project aims to develop high-resolution computational models for pandemic mitigation and control, focussing on the novel coronavirus and its emerging variants, and leveraging demographic, genomic and epidemiological data. It expects to rigorously compare multi-scale effects of complex vaccination and social distancing strategies and quantify optimal responses under the COVID-19 induced uncertainty. The intended outcomes ....High-resolution multiscale modelling of pandemics: COVID-19 and beyond. The project aims to develop high-resolution computational models for pandemic mitigation and control, focussing on the novel coronavirus and its emerging variants, and leveraging demographic, genomic and epidemiological data. It expects to rigorously compare multi-scale effects of complex vaccination and social distancing strategies and quantify optimal responses under the COVID-19 induced uncertainty. The intended outcomes include computational models of how the most infectious viral variants emerge and spread in presence of interventions, how to predict the outbreaks, and which are the most vulnerable communities. This should make a significant economic and social impact, improving population health while maintaining a resilient economy.Read moreRead less
Understanding The Pathogenesis, Phenotypic Variation And Risk Prediction Of Childhood Asthma Using Computational Approaches
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$122,714.00
Summary
Asthma is a common respiratory illness in Australia. It is important to be able to predict who gets asthma, because those who get early treatment tend to fare better. We plan to run complex tests on data collected from hundreds of Australian children. The collected data includes genetic variations, chest infections, and differences in immune responses. From this data we hope to achieve a better understanding of the driving forces behind asthma, and to make better predictions for those at risk.
Integrative Genomics And Prediction Of Cardiovascular Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$766,820.00
Summary
Technologies that measure whole molecular systems are just beginning to reveal the complexity of living organisms and the underlying molecular networks that govern them. Cardiovascular diseases emerge out of these networks as a result of genetic and molecular perturbations. This project aims to characterize the role molecular networks play in cardiovascular disease risk as well as how they react to genetic risk factors. In doing so, it will identify potential therapeutics and personalized approa ....Technologies that measure whole molecular systems are just beginning to reveal the complexity of living organisms and the underlying molecular networks that govern them. Cardiovascular diseases emerge out of these networks as a result of genetic and molecular perturbations. This project aims to characterize the role molecular networks play in cardiovascular disease risk as well as how they react to genetic risk factors. In doing so, it will identify potential therapeutics and personalized approaches to target pathogenesis.Read moreRead less