Novel mechanisms integrating the central and autonomic nervous system. This project aims to define molecular mechanisms controlling the exquisite connectivity of neurons in different parts of the body. The ability of higher-vertebrates to respond to different environmental conditions is essential for life, evolution, health, reproduction and growth, and is reliant on the autonomic nervous system. However, how the autonomic nervous system is integrated with the central nervous system to control h ....Novel mechanisms integrating the central and autonomic nervous system. This project aims to define molecular mechanisms controlling the exquisite connectivity of neurons in different parts of the body. The ability of higher-vertebrates to respond to different environmental conditions is essential for life, evolution, health, reproduction and growth, and is reliant on the autonomic nervous system. However, how the autonomic nervous system is integrated with the central nervous system to control holistic physiological responses is largely unknown. By deciphering how neural networks are formed this project aims to provide broad biological insight to wiring of the entire nervous system which is likely to have significant implications for the formation of synthetic neural networks and for regeneration.Read moreRead less
Atypical cognition in autism: preference for nonverbal coding and impaired connectivity? This project will investigate whether individuals with autism prefer to think 'in pictures' rather than use words, and whether their thinking shows evidence of limited connections across brain regions. Establishing either characteristic for autism would provide important direction in improving diagnosis and intervention for affected children.
Specification of the nerve cell subtypes in the developing central nervous system. Different subtypes of nerve cells in the brain, which carry out distinct functions, are generated in the embryo by the co-ordinated action of many genes. This project aims to use the genetic advantages of the zebrafish to determine the role of genes in specifying the final fates of nerve cells in the retina, which analyses visual signals within the eye.
How does timing affect mammalian brain development and evolution? This project aims to generate fundamental knowledge on the origin of diversity in mammalian brain circuits by studying development of marsupials and rodents. The expected outcome is to elucidate how differences in the timing, rate and sequence of development of gene expression, cell differentiation and circuit formation can relate to the origin of key evolutionary innovations in the mammalian brain. The significance of understandi ....How does timing affect mammalian brain development and evolution? This project aims to generate fundamental knowledge on the origin of diversity in mammalian brain circuits by studying development of marsupials and rodents. The expected outcome is to elucidate how differences in the timing, rate and sequence of development of gene expression, cell differentiation and circuit formation can relate to the origin of key evolutionary innovations in the mammalian brain. The significance of understanding the dynamics of developmental systems that shape complex brain traits includes establishing new developmental paradigms in evolutionary theory, generating new tools to investigate and manipulate brain gene expression in vivo, and the potential discovery of the causes of neurodevelopmental dysfunction.Read moreRead less
Molecules and mechanisms regulating axonal degeneration and regeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans neurons. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying nerve degeneration and regeneration is essential to tackle and provide treatment for neurodegenerative diseases and injury of the nervous system. This project aims to discover, using a genetic approach and a simple animal model system, the molecules regulating these crucial biological processes.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101290
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Age-related reorganisation of cortical networks subserving memory retrieval. This research project will use brain imaging to understand how the brain reorganises working memory when it ages. It will provide a framework for understanding age-related memory decline in the brain, which will in turn provide key information for understanding memory difficulties in clinical populations.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101311
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Role of intrinsic versus extrinsic cues in cell type determination during development and regeneration. During development all of the different cell types are generated by the action of genes and also signals from the embryo that read out which cell types are present or missing. This project studies how much environmental signals affect cell type generation developmentally and if they can be used to regenerate only the types missing in different diseases.
Awaking quiescent neural stem cells. This project aims to generate new knowledge in the area of the evolutionary size of animals and plants, which is determined by intrinsic cell regulation and is constrained by nutrient availability. Brain size is perhaps the most profound example of this. Brain size regulation is underpinned by control of proliferation of neural stem cells (NSCs). Using Drosophila NSCs, the project will examine how nutrients impact on NSC quiescence versus activation, a key ch ....Awaking quiescent neural stem cells. This project aims to generate new knowledge in the area of the evolutionary size of animals and plants, which is determined by intrinsic cell regulation and is constrained by nutrient availability. Brain size is perhaps the most profound example of this. Brain size regulation is underpinned by control of proliferation of neural stem cells (NSCs). Using Drosophila NSCs, the project will examine how nutrients impact on NSC quiescence versus activation, a key characteristic of stem cell control throughout evolution. This will increase our understanding of how energy metabolism and nutrition influence organ size control in multicellular organisms, by determining how organs communicate with each other to convert nutrient signals to action stem cell proliferation.Read moreRead less
Shaping the vertebrate brain: defining the cellular and genetic drivers . This project aims to uncover specific cellular and genetic mechanisms that control growth and shape of the brain. How brain shape and size changes during evolution of vertebrates is enigmatic but important to know for better understanding of behaviour and function of intact and diseased brain. The project aims to assemble team of national and international experts to build international capacity and unique genetics model t ....Shaping the vertebrate brain: defining the cellular and genetic drivers . This project aims to uncover specific cellular and genetic mechanisms that control growth and shape of the brain. How brain shape and size changes during evolution of vertebrates is enigmatic but important to know for better understanding of behaviour and function of intact and diseased brain. The project aims to assemble team of national and international experts to build international capacity and unique genetics model to generate new knowledge of the cellular and genetic components that drive evolution of different brain parts and shapes the vertebrate brain. In doing so the project aims to provide research training, excellence and knowledge that in future may benefit health and the society. Read moreRead less
Revealing the mechanobiology of neural tube formation. This project aims to understand the formation of the neural tube; a fundamental tissue structure that generates the brain and the spinal cord. Using interdisciplinary approaches and exploiting recent advances in transgenic and imaging technologies, we expect to reveal the complex interplay between cells and their environment that generates mechanical forces to direct neural tissue formation. Outcomes include knowledge of previously intractab ....Revealing the mechanobiology of neural tube formation. This project aims to understand the formation of the neural tube; a fundamental tissue structure that generates the brain and the spinal cord. Using interdisciplinary approaches and exploiting recent advances in transgenic and imaging technologies, we expect to reveal the complex interplay between cells and their environment that generates mechanical forces to direct neural tissue formation. Outcomes include knowledge of previously intractable developmental processes, training of future scientists and development of international collaborations. This should provide enhanced imaging capacity, a higher quality scientific workforce and position Australia at the forefront of cell and developmental biology.Read moreRead less