Connectomes arising: linking structure and function in neocortical wiring. The cerebral cortex underpins human cognition, yet exactly how it becomes connected is unknown due to a lack of live developmental assays. We overcome this using prematurely born marsupials, which allow to study cortical development from embryo-like stages with remarkable resolution. This project will study how neural activity arises as the first connections are formed, and link functional and structural networks across d ....Connectomes arising: linking structure and function in neocortical wiring. The cerebral cortex underpins human cognition, yet exactly how it becomes connected is unknown due to a lack of live developmental assays. We overcome this using prematurely born marsupials, which allow to study cortical development from embryo-like stages with remarkable resolution. This project will study how neural activity arises as the first connections are formed, and link functional and structural networks across development in vivo. Experimental manipulations of activity, and computational models will discover developmental rules for precise wiring of cortical connections. Benefits include new methods to study cortical development, and outlining electrical, molecular and neuroanatomical signatures of early mammalian brain formation.Read moreRead less
Molecular mechanisms that regulate the kinetics of neurotransmitter release. Information processing in the human brain plays important roles in normal behaviour and cognition, most of which require rapid and precisely timed neurotransmitter release. However, the molecular mechanisms that control the speed and timing of this release remain largely unclear. This research project will use a novel mix of electrophysiology, electron microscopy, genetics, biochemistry, and imaging to investigate how t ....Molecular mechanisms that regulate the kinetics of neurotransmitter release. Information processing in the human brain plays important roles in normal behaviour and cognition, most of which require rapid and precisely timed neurotransmitter release. However, the molecular mechanisms that control the speed and timing of this release remain largely unclear. This research project will use a novel mix of electrophysiology, electron microscopy, genetics, biochemistry, and imaging to investigate how the speed of neurotransmitter release is controlled by the most important synaptic protein UNC-13 and its binding partners. This project expects to generate significant knowledge in the area of synaptic transmission. The outcomes will deepen our understanding of neuronal communication and information processing in the brain.Read moreRead less
Brain states and their roles in evasive behaviour. Using cutting-edge custom microscopy, neuroinformatics, and optogenetics in the larval zebrafish model, this project aims to describe the neurons, circuits, and networks that govern brain states. These brain states, by altering sensory-response relationships, allow animals to tune their behaviour to their circumstances, and the small transparent brains of zebrafish offer the possibility to observe activity across all neurons in the brain while t ....Brain states and their roles in evasive behaviour. Using cutting-edge custom microscopy, neuroinformatics, and optogenetics in the larval zebrafish model, this project aims to describe the neurons, circuits, and networks that govern brain states. These brain states, by altering sensory-response relationships, allow animals to tune their behaviour to their circumstances, and the small transparent brains of zebrafish offer the possibility to observe activity across all neurons in the brain while these processes occur in real time. Benefits would include knowledge gained about this fundamental property of the brain, further refinement of technologies in microscopy and biophyisics, and the training of Australia’s next generation of optical physicists, neuroscientists, and mathematicians. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100352
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$388,487.00
Summary
Reconstructing evolutionary history of termite collective nest construction. This project aims to ask and answer fundamental questions about how complex animal collective behaviour has evolved in the history of life. It combines the quantification of termite building behaviour and nest structures using a state-of-the-art video tracking technique with the latest molecular phylogenetics. This project expects to provide the first comprehensive information on termite collective building in a phyloge ....Reconstructing evolutionary history of termite collective nest construction. This project aims to ask and answer fundamental questions about how complex animal collective behaviour has evolved in the history of life. It combines the quantification of termite building behaviour and nest structures using a state-of-the-art video tracking technique with the latest molecular phylogenetics. This project expects to provide the first comprehensive information on termite collective building in a phylogenetic framework, which will be a showcase study of future studies on the evolution of complex phenotypes and resolve a debate over termite social evolution. Furthermore, it provides new knowledge of Australian native termite fauna as economically destructive pest insects.Read moreRead less
Exploring protease inhibitors in placental development and maturation. The placenta is essential for reproduction in many diverse species. This project aims to elucidate fundamental contributions of protease inhibitors and the proteases they target to placental development and maturation. It is expected to generate new knowledge around whether SPINTS play a fundamental role in disparate animals that independently derived a placenta, suggesting convergent genetic evolution. The project is expect ....Exploring protease inhibitors in placental development and maturation. The placenta is essential for reproduction in many diverse species. This project aims to elucidate fundamental contributions of protease inhibitors and the proteases they target to placental development and maturation. It is expected to generate new knowledge around whether SPINTS play a fundamental role in disparate animals that independently derived a placenta, suggesting convergent genetic evolution. The project is expected to result in disciplinary collaboration, produce novel models, and promote future projects in many species. The project should result in significant benefits toward advancing knowledge in reproductive biology, have economic and commercial benefits, and further enhance Australia's outstanding reputation in the field.Read moreRead less
Quiet sleep is for repair, active sleep is for learning. Sleep is thought to achieve many different functions, from brain waste clearance to regulating emotions and perception. Understanding sleep functions in animal models has been difficult because sleep has been typically reduced to a single state. Our discovery of distinct sleep stages in the fruit fly provides a powerful way to study how different conserved sleep functions are regulated. This project will use new strategies for manipulating ....Quiet sleep is for repair, active sleep is for learning. Sleep is thought to achieve many different functions, from brain waste clearance to regulating emotions and perception. Understanding sleep functions in animal models has been difficult because sleep has been typically reduced to a single state. Our discovery of distinct sleep stages in the fruit fly provides a powerful way to study how different conserved sleep functions are regulated. This project will use new strategies for manipulating sleep stages in flies to understand their respective physiology and functions. We will test our hypothesis that different categories of sleep functions have been segregated by evolution into different stages: a quiet stage concerned primarily with brain repair and an active stage important for learning.
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Heat regulation by the fibre types in muscle. Mammals maintain a constant core body temperature by generating heat in resting muscles in response to changes in the environmental temperatures. This project aims to show how the fibre types that make up skeletal muscles regulate heat generation against other muscle function, to maintain core body temperature and the normal movement and posture of the mammal. Project outcomes include defining, for the first time, how heat generation in the muscles o ....Heat regulation by the fibre types in muscle. Mammals maintain a constant core body temperature by generating heat in resting muscles in response to changes in the environmental temperatures. This project aims to show how the fibre types that make up skeletal muscles regulate heat generation against other muscle function, to maintain core body temperature and the normal movement and posture of the mammal. Project outcomes include defining, for the first time, how heat generation in the muscles of the body is regulated. This should provide critical knowledge of mammalian evolution and ways to manipulate metabolism, which may provide ways to assist with achieving a desired meat quality and yield in beef and other commercially important animals.Read moreRead less
Interrogating the extremes of skeletal muscle plasticity in vertebrates. This project aims to interrogate how muscles adapt to growth and endurance stimuli at different stages of life, relevant to addressing challenges facing the world’s ageing population. Using innovative gene technologies and molecular physiology in zebrafish and mice, this project will answer important, unresolved questions in muscle biology. The project will generate knowledge needed to develop interventions to improve quali ....Interrogating the extremes of skeletal muscle plasticity in vertebrates. This project aims to interrogate how muscles adapt to growth and endurance stimuli at different stages of life, relevant to addressing challenges facing the world’s ageing population. Using innovative gene technologies and molecular physiology in zebrafish and mice, this project will answer important, unresolved questions in muscle biology. The project will generate knowledge needed to develop interventions to improve quality of life for older Australians and address the physical realities of an ageing workforce. Benefits extend to enhancing workplace safety and productivity, improving farming efficiencies for livestock and aquaculture industries, and training emerging leaders in the biological sciences.Read moreRead less
Action selection in insects: how a microbrain knows what to do. Identifying what to do demands integrating sensory information with our current physiological state and memory of past experience to select the best possible action. This is the action selection problem. Our project aims to discover how tiny insect brains solve this fundamental problem. The project combines neural recordings from animals exploring virtual reality, behavioural analyses and computational modelling. The expected outco ....Action selection in insects: how a microbrain knows what to do. Identifying what to do demands integrating sensory information with our current physiological state and memory of past experience to select the best possible action. This is the action selection problem. Our project aims to discover how tiny insect brains solve this fundamental problem. The project combines neural recordings from animals exploring virtual reality, behavioural analyses and computational modelling. The expected outcome is a new understanding of the brain as an effective behavioural control system. This will benefit systems and comparative neuroscience. Our findings may also inspire solutions for robotic systems that must operate autonomously in remote and challenging environments such as disaster relief or exploration.Read moreRead less
Size matters, but at what cost? Role of male sex hormones in the placenta. This project aims to understand molecular pathways regulated by male sex hormones in the placenta that may contribute to sex-specific fetal growth and survival outcomes in response to reduced oxygen and/or glucose. Through this project, we expect to generate new knowledge of the mechanisms that drive sex-specific placental molecular function using interdisciplinary approaches. The application of this advanced understandin ....Size matters, but at what cost? Role of male sex hormones in the placenta. This project aims to understand molecular pathways regulated by male sex hormones in the placenta that may contribute to sex-specific fetal growth and survival outcomes in response to reduced oxygen and/or glucose. Through this project, we expect to generate new knowledge of the mechanisms that drive sex-specific placental molecular function using interdisciplinary approaches. The application of this advanced understanding of the sex-specific regulation of placental molecular function and fetal growth may be targeted in future studies to improve fetal growth outcomes in placental mammals such as livestock, domestic pets, and humans.Read moreRead less