Engineering Processable, Tough Hydrogels with Biological Activity. The project aims to design a new class of tough hydrogels to address issues in engineering complex soft and robust structures. These hydrogels have superior properties compared with current materials as they are biologically active, processable by various manufacturing techniques, elastic and have a capacity for rapid self-recovery that are ideal for soft tissues. Their physical property is tunable by modification of their compos ....Engineering Processable, Tough Hydrogels with Biological Activity. The project aims to design a new class of tough hydrogels to address issues in engineering complex soft and robust structures. These hydrogels have superior properties compared with current materials as they are biologically active, processable by various manufacturing techniques, elastic and have a capacity for rapid self-recovery that are ideal for soft tissues. Their physical property is tunable by modification of their compositions that enable construction of complex seamless structure such as valved conduit with anistropic property. Expected outcomes of this project include new insights into material design, multi-physics modelling, and multi-material additive manufacturing for broad applications in soft robotics and medical implants.Read moreRead less
How cholesterol optimises ion pump function in animal membranes. This project aims to determine how cholesterol optimises ion pump function in animal membranes and to identify the major effects of cholesterol and its derivatives on membranes’ physical properties. All animal cells need high levels of cholesterol in the plasma membrane for survival. Insufficient cholesterol biosynthesis leads to severe birth defects. The need for cholesterol is likely linked to its acceleration of sodium pump acti ....How cholesterol optimises ion pump function in animal membranes. This project aims to determine how cholesterol optimises ion pump function in animal membranes and to identify the major effects of cholesterol and its derivatives on membranes’ physical properties. All animal cells need high levels of cholesterol in the plasma membrane for survival. Insufficient cholesterol biosynthesis leads to severe birth defects. The need for cholesterol is likely linked to its acceleration of sodium pump activity, essential to physiological processes including cell division, nerve, muscle and kidney activity. An expected benefit of the project is knowledge on the molecular origin of diseases associated with inhibition of cholesterol production, and a more complete understanding of the crucial role played by cholesterol via its effect on ion pumping towards the healthy functioning of vital organs, particularly in heart muscle and nerves.Read moreRead less
Lipid-protein interplay in the mechanism of the sodium pump. The sodium pump is the major energy-consuming enzyme of animal cells. Its ion pumping is essential to numerous physiological processes (e.g. nerve, muscle and kidney activity and the maintenance of cell volume). Because of its importance in so many cell functions, the enzyme must be able to respond to cellular conditions. Using measurements of the enzyme's activity in isolated membrane fragments and comparison with its behaviour in liv ....Lipid-protein interplay in the mechanism of the sodium pump. The sodium pump is the major energy-consuming enzyme of animal cells. Its ion pumping is essential to numerous physiological processes (e.g. nerve, muscle and kidney activity and the maintenance of cell volume). Because of its importance in so many cell functions, the enzyme must be able to respond to cellular conditions. Using measurements of the enzyme's activity in isolated membrane fragments and comparison with its behaviour in living cells, this project aims to determine how sodium pump activity is modulated by transmembrane electric potential and intramembrane electric field strength. Our project could provide fundamental new knowledge on how membrane protein function in general can be controlled by electrical properties of their lipid surroundings.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100181
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$650,000.00
Summary
Strengthening merit-based access and support at the new National Computing Infrastructure petascale supercomputing facility. World-leading high-performance computing is fundamental to Australia's international research success. This facility will provide access to the new National Computational Infrastructure facility by world-leading researchers from six research universities, and sustain ground-breaking work in an increasingly competitive environment.