Pathogen sensing in systemic inflammatory disease. The initiation, amplification and quenching of an immune response is a carefully orchestrated process that eliminates invading pathogens while minimising collateral damage to host tissues. This research focuses on proteins that restrict immune responses to prevent inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease. This work will also explore the role of a potassium channel that protects the host from or ....Pathogen sensing in systemic inflammatory disease. The initiation, amplification and quenching of an immune response is a carefully orchestrated process that eliminates invading pathogens while minimising collateral damage to host tissues. This research focuses on proteins that restrict immune responses to prevent inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease. This work will also explore the role of a potassium channel that protects the host from organ failure during an infection, by coupling the energy requirements of mounting an immune response, and organ function. This may have important implications for the management of sepsis, a systemic immune response associated with infection and the leading cause of death in critically ill patients.Read moreRead less
Advanced micro-architecture and nanotopography for enhanced tissue growth in scaffolds. Tissue engineering scaffolds offer an urgently needed synthetic biomaterials solution to overcome disease transmission from donor transplants. This work will combine biomaterial chemistry and designed surface topography to trigger bone formation within a scaffold for the first time in the world. Collaboration with national research leaders on stem cell and animal testing of the new scaffolds will provide the ....Advanced micro-architecture and nanotopography for enhanced tissue growth in scaffolds. Tissue engineering scaffolds offer an urgently needed synthetic biomaterials solution to overcome disease transmission from donor transplants. This work will combine biomaterial chemistry and designed surface topography to trigger bone formation within a scaffold for the first time in the world. Collaboration with national research leaders on stem cell and animal testing of the new scaffolds will provide the necessary interdisciplinary approach to generate a new product for patients in need of bone regeneration. Australia will benefit from the contribution to medical science, the development of a new device for rapid prototyping tissue engineering scaffolds, retain biomaterials research expertise, and generate new biomedical products.Read moreRead less
The implications of resistance training for the control of movement. Resistance training (or weight lifting) is an essential element of comprehensive rehabilitation programs in a wide range of clinical settings. However, because we know little about how the organization of the nervous system is affected by training with high loads, the consequences of resistance training for our ability to control functional movements are unclear. The ultimate goal of this research is to generate basic knowledge ....The implications of resistance training for the control of movement. Resistance training (or weight lifting) is an essential element of comprehensive rehabilitation programs in a wide range of clinical settings. However, because we know little about how the organization of the nervous system is affected by training with high loads, the consequences of resistance training for our ability to control functional movements are unclear. The ultimate goal of this research is to generate basic knowledge about the impact of resistance training on nervous system function. The research will lead to the design of injury prevention and rehabilitation programs that are maximally effective, and provide a genuine benefit to the community.Read moreRead less
Calcium Signalling and Sequestration at Vertebrate Motor-Nerve Terminals. A fundamental process at Synapses is the release of transmitter from nerve terminals due to the initiation of calcium signalling in the temrinals by impulses. This calcium signalling must be terminated by sequestering processes. The aim of this project is to identify these processes in a vertebrate motor-nerve terminal and to determine the means by which calcium signals the changes in efficacy of transmitter release during ....Calcium Signalling and Sequestration at Vertebrate Motor-Nerve Terminals. A fundamental process at Synapses is the release of transmitter from nerve terminals due to the initiation of calcium signalling in the temrinals by impulses. This calcium signalling must be terminated by sequestering processes. The aim of this project is to identify these processes in a vertebrate motor-nerve terminal and to determine the means by which calcium signals the changes in efficacy of transmitter release during trains of impulses. This work will give a complete description of calcium signalling in a vertebrate nerve terminal and provide the basis for ameliorating failures in transmission from nerve to muscle.Read moreRead less
Experimental and computational assessment of the mechanical, musculo-skeletal and neuromuscular contributions to rhythmic multi-joint arm movements. The human body is a complex mechanical system that is controlled by a vast neural network comprising many millions of connections. To date, realistic descriptions of the interactions between these neuro-mechanical features have proved elusive. This project seeks to develop a mathematical model that accurately describes the essential features of the ....Experimental and computational assessment of the mechanical, musculo-skeletal and neuromuscular contributions to rhythmic multi-joint arm movements. The human body is a complex mechanical system that is controlled by a vast neural network comprising many millions of connections. To date, realistic descriptions of the interactions between these neuro-mechanical features have proved elusive. This project seeks to develop a mathematical model that accurately describes the essential features of the control system for human movement, and yet is simple enough to inform the design of artificial devices to generate or assist movement. The knowledge derived should improve mechanical and neural prosthetic systems, and guide rehabilitation protocols. The work will ultimately provide a considerable benefit to the community by reducing the social cost of a range of movement disorders.Read moreRead less
An inverse control approach to resolving the neural basis of spatial and muscular dependencies in coordinated multi-limb movements. Each year 48,000 Australians suffer from stroke with many survivors left with problems that limit limb function. With reduced duration of hospital care, the opportunities for retraining in the period immediate following stroke are rapidly diminishing. Effective and efficient strategies of rehabilitation that will maximise the level of recovery following stroke will ....An inverse control approach to resolving the neural basis of spatial and muscular dependencies in coordinated multi-limb movements. Each year 48,000 Australians suffer from stroke with many survivors left with problems that limit limb function. With reduced duration of hospital care, the opportunities for retraining in the period immediate following stroke are rapidly diminishing. Effective and efficient strategies of rehabilitation that will maximise the level of recovery following stroke will result in benefits expressed in terms of enhanced quality of life and functional life-span, as well as significantly reduced costs of health care. In understanding the fundamental principles underlying the stability and adaptability of movement coordination, this research is likely to make a significant contribution to the design of programs for movement rehabilitation.Read moreRead less
Cortical Mechanisms Mediating Bilateral Interactions Between the Upper Limbs. Each year 40,000 Australians suffer from stroke with many survivors left with problems that limit limb function. With reduced duration of hospital care, the opportunities for retraining in the period immediate following stroke are rapidly diminishing. Effective and efficient strategies of rehabilitation that will maximise the level of recovery following stroke will result in benefits expressed in terms of enhanced qual ....Cortical Mechanisms Mediating Bilateral Interactions Between the Upper Limbs. Each year 40,000 Australians suffer from stroke with many survivors left with problems that limit limb function. With reduced duration of hospital care, the opportunities for retraining in the period immediate following stroke are rapidly diminishing. Effective and efficient strategies of rehabilitation that will maximise the level of recovery following stroke will result in benefits expressed in terms of enhanced quality of life and functional life-span, as well as significantly reduced costs of health care. In understanding the fundamental principles underlying the stability and adaptability of movement coordination, this research is likely to make a significant contribution to the design of programs for rehabilitation of the upper limb.Read moreRead less
The neural basis of interlimb coordination. The aims of the proposed research program are to increase our understanding the control of voluntary movement. It is expected that the outcomes of this research program will have eventual application to a number of acquired movement deficits, in particular those arising from spinal cord and brain injury. This research will also be of diagnostic value in determining the integrity of the motor pathways, in both acquired and developmental movement disorde ....The neural basis of interlimb coordination. The aims of the proposed research program are to increase our understanding the control of voluntary movement. It is expected that the outcomes of this research program will have eventual application to a number of acquired movement deficits, in particular those arising from spinal cord and brain injury. This research will also be of diagnostic value in determining the integrity of the motor pathways, in both acquired and developmental movement disorders.Read moreRead less
Spatio-Temporal Precision of Interceptive Action. Interceptive actions like hitting a moving target require precise, accurate positioning and timing. This project aims to empirically document how spatial and temporal constraints affect performance of interceptions and to quantify the speed-accuracy trade-off for interceptions. The speed-accuracy trade-off for movements aimed at stationary targets has been extensively documented - slower movements are more accurate. There has been no correspondin ....Spatio-Temporal Precision of Interceptive Action. Interceptive actions like hitting a moving target require precise, accurate positioning and timing. This project aims to empirically document how spatial and temporal constraints affect performance of interceptions and to quantify the speed-accuracy trade-off for interceptions. The speed-accuracy trade-off for movements aimed at stationary targets has been extensively documented - slower movements are more accurate. There has been no corresponding documentation for interception. This project will fill the gap and provide a rich data set for developing an understanding of interception through modeling work. An understanding of the factors governing interception has potential applications in road safety, sports and neurological rehabilitation.Read moreRead less
Fibre-Polymer Composites With Graded Microstructure. This project concerns the development of a novel fibre-polymer functionally graded composite material that mimics the structure of the spinal disk. The spinal disk comprises a soft core (nucleus) and a tough fibrous periphery (annulus). The graded composite approach of this proposal represents a significant advance over spinal fusion, and over the current generation of spinal disk protheses (metal plates with springs/polymers as shock absorber ....Fibre-Polymer Composites With Graded Microstructure. This project concerns the development of a novel fibre-polymer functionally graded composite material that mimics the structure of the spinal disk. The spinal disk comprises a soft core (nucleus) and a tough fibrous periphery (annulus). The graded composite approach of this proposal represents a significant advance over spinal fusion, and over the current generation of spinal disk protheses (metal plates with springs/polymers as shock absorbers). Chronic back pain affects a significant proportion of the population and is primarily caused by failure of the spinal disk. Therefore a strong social and economic imperative exists to develop engineering solutions to this problem.Read moreRead less