Neural noise in human cognitive ageing and reserve. Age-related increases in neural noise degrade information transfer in the brain and lead to diminished cognitive function. Yet with cognitive reserve, some people are able to maintain healthy functioning well into their later years. This project aims to investigate the effects of neural noise on brain connectivity, cognitive performance and reserve, advancing breakthrough work on the neural physiology of healthy cognitive ageing and malleabilit ....Neural noise in human cognitive ageing and reserve. Age-related increases in neural noise degrade information transfer in the brain and lead to diminished cognitive function. Yet with cognitive reserve, some people are able to maintain healthy functioning well into their later years. This project aims to investigate the effects of neural noise on brain connectivity, cognitive performance and reserve, advancing breakthrough work on the neural physiology of healthy cognitive ageing and malleability of neural noise. This will be delivered by novel combinations of electrophysiology, neuroimaging and non-invasive brain stimulation. Benefits extend from developing neural markers for measuring cognitive reserve to new strategies for building resilience to age-related cognitive decline.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100022
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$435,298.00
Summary
Investigating neuronal oscillations and motor function in older adults. . This project aims to identify changes in brain function that contribute to age-related reductions in movement control. By implementing a novel, multimodal approach involving cutting edge non-invasive brain stimulation, this project expects to identify the causal role of brain oscillations in the ability of older adults to learn new motor skills. Expected outcomes include a critical understanding of the basic neural mechani ....Investigating neuronal oscillations and motor function in older adults. . This project aims to identify changes in brain function that contribute to age-related reductions in movement control. By implementing a novel, multimodal approach involving cutting edge non-invasive brain stimulation, this project expects to identify the causal role of brain oscillations in the ability of older adults to learn new motor skills. Expected outcomes include a critical understanding of the basic neural mechanisms that contribute to altered motor function during healthy ageing. These outcomes will provide significant benefits, including important neurophysiological insight that is required to develop targeted interventions aimed at improving movement in older adults. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100741
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$342,996.00
Summary
Harnessing neural plasticity with brain stimulation. This project aims to investigate the links between the molecular mechanisms underlying brain plasticity and the effects of non-invasive brain stimulation. It will use a novel approach that integrates genetics, electrophysiology and biological modelling. Plasticity underpins all learning, memory and aging. Brain stimulation can drive plasticity in humans, but these effects are extremely difficult to harness and vary widely between people. Expec ....Harnessing neural plasticity with brain stimulation. This project aims to investigate the links between the molecular mechanisms underlying brain plasticity and the effects of non-invasive brain stimulation. It will use a novel approach that integrates genetics, electrophysiology and biological modelling. Plasticity underpins all learning, memory and aging. Brain stimulation can drive plasticity in humans, but these effects are extremely difficult to harness and vary widely between people. Expected outcomes include a critical understanding of the fundamental mechanisms governing plasticity. This will provide significant benefits such as the development of individually optimised brain stimulation protocols, enabling tailored, reliable approaches to address brain function and cognition.Read moreRead less
Development of Pyrrolopyrimidines as Inhibitors of ATP-Binding Proteins. This project seeks to generate analogues of natural products that have been found to be active against cancer cells and tropical parasites. The new materials produced by this project will aid in the study of biochemical processes involved in diseases such as cancer and lymphatic filariasis, thus leading the way to development of these compounds as potential treatments for such diseases.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100575
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$423,604.00
Summary
Does neuroplasticity protect against late life cognitive impairment? This project aims to investigate neuroplasticity across the adult lifespan, using novel neurophysiological approaches to determine its role in protecting against age-related cognitive decline. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of human cognitive ageing, using an innovative and interdisciplinary approach. Expected outcomes of this project include a critical understanding of the basic neural mechanisms of ....Does neuroplasticity protect against late life cognitive impairment? This project aims to investigate neuroplasticity across the adult lifespan, using novel neurophysiological approaches to determine its role in protecting against age-related cognitive decline. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of human cognitive ageing, using an innovative and interdisciplinary approach. Expected outcomes of this project include a critical understanding of the basic neural mechanisms of healthy brain ageing. This will provide significant benefits, such as the neurophysiological knowledge required to develop novel biological markers to detect, as well as therapeutic agents to curb, cognitive decline in the aging population.Read moreRead less
Understanding working memory: from cells to brain stimulation. This project aims to understand the neural mechanisms of working memory, a fundamental cognitive function in humans, using a novel framework which combines non-invasive brain stimulation, neuroimaging, pharmacological and experimental manipulations, and biological modelling. Expected outcomes include a critical understanding of the cellular mechanisms underlying both neural activity and working memory ability in healthy individuals a ....Understanding working memory: from cells to brain stimulation. This project aims to understand the neural mechanisms of working memory, a fundamental cognitive function in humans, using a novel framework which combines non-invasive brain stimulation, neuroimaging, pharmacological and experimental manipulations, and biological modelling. Expected outcomes include a critical understanding of the cellular mechanisms underlying both neural activity and working memory ability in healthy individuals and a detailed knowledge of how to non-invasively interact with these mechanisms using brain stimulation. This will provide significant benefits such as the development of individually optimised brain stimulation protocols, enabling tailored approaches to reliably alter brain function and cognition.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347962
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$218,000.00
Summary
Adelaide Mass Spectrometry and Analysis Facility. This joint proposal by two South Australian universities and the Hanson Institute seeks to establish a facility for rapid characterisation and identification of biomolecules by means of MALDI-TOF and Nano LC mass spectrometry. The requested equipment is not available in South Australia. This proposal would establish a Nano LC (Q-TOF) node at the University of Adelaide-University of South Australia location and a MALDI-TOF node at the Flinders loc ....Adelaide Mass Spectrometry and Analysis Facility. This joint proposal by two South Australian universities and the Hanson Institute seeks to establish a facility for rapid characterisation and identification of biomolecules by means of MALDI-TOF and Nano LC mass spectrometry. The requested equipment is not available in South Australia. This proposal would establish a Nano LC (Q-TOF) node at the University of Adelaide-University of South Australia location and a MALDI-TOF node at the Flinders location. Its presence would greatly enhance the quality of research and teaching in priority areas such as proteomics, bioinformatics and nanotechnology and would provide a basis for fostering university and biotechnology industry collaborations.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0239035
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$900,000.00
Summary
Regional facility for surface and micro-structure analysis. Adelaide, Flinders and SA Universities seek to enhance the regional facility for surface and microstructure analysis. Equipment includes electron back scatter pattern imaging, high resolution coater, microprobe (CAMECA SX51) upgrade and X ray microtomography to be located at Adelaide University Centre for Electron Microscopy and Microstructure Analysis, the hub of the regional facility. The University of South Australia Ian Wark Researc ....Regional facility for surface and micro-structure analysis. Adelaide, Flinders and SA Universities seek to enhance the regional facility for surface and microstructure analysis. Equipment includes electron back scatter pattern imaging, high resolution coater, microprobe (CAMECA SX51) upgrade and X ray microtomography to be located at Adelaide University Centre for Electron Microscopy and Microstructure Analysis, the hub of the regional facility. The University of South Australia Ian Wark Research Institute node will house ToF-SIMS and SAM upgrades, the Flinders node a multimode STM atomic force microscope, and the Adelaide University Waite Campus node confocal xyz control and digital camera. Applications include biological, materials and geological research projects.Read moreRead less
Designing microarray experiments. Microarrays are powerful tools for surveying the expression levels of many thousands of genes simultaneously. They belong to the new genomics technologies which have important applications in the biological, pharmaceutical and agricultural sciences. There are many sources of uncertainty in microarray experimentation and good statistical designs are essential for ensuring that the effects of interest to scientists are accurately and precisely measured. This Pr ....Designing microarray experiments. Microarrays are powerful tools for surveying the expression levels of many thousands of genes simultaneously. They belong to the new genomics technologies which have important applications in the biological, pharmaceutical and agricultural sciences. There are many sources of uncertainty in microarray experimentation and good statistical designs are essential for ensuring that the effects of interest to scientists are accurately and precisely measured. This Project will develop novel designs for microarray experiments and focus on the advancement of topics crucial to Australia's success in technological research.
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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882289
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$520,000.00
Summary
New generation mass spectrometers for characterisation of molecular shape and size. The ion mobility mass spectrometer (IMMS at UOW) will be the first of its kind in Australia, and together with the ion trap mass spectrometer (ITMS at ANU) will continue the tradition of this partnership in providing researchers with cutting-edge instrumentation for nationally and internationally important projects including: (i) fundamental understanding of the ways in which biomolecules recognize one another, ( ....New generation mass spectrometers for characterisation of molecular shape and size. The ion mobility mass spectrometer (IMMS at UOW) will be the first of its kind in Australia, and together with the ion trap mass spectrometer (ITMS at ANU) will continue the tradition of this partnership in providing researchers with cutting-edge instrumentation for nationally and internationally important projects including: (i) fundamental understanding of the ways in which biomolecules recognize one another, (ii) investigating the structure(s) of lipids (fats) in cardiovascular disease and cataract, (iii) developing anticancer drugs, and (iv) development of new materials.Read moreRead less