SKELETAL MUSCLE: REVERSIBLE TEMEPERATURE-INDUCED UNCOUPLING OF CONTRACTION FROM THE ACTIVATOR Ca2+ AND TUBULAR SYSTEM ROLES IN MUSCLE FUNCTION REGULATION. Skeletal muscles represent the largest organ in the body of vertebrates and are responsible for major functions including maintaining posture and locomotion. Skeletal muscles are also a major source of heat production. The project focuses on temperature-induced effects on the ability of the skeletal muscle to contract in warm blooded animals, ....SKELETAL MUSCLE: REVERSIBLE TEMEPERATURE-INDUCED UNCOUPLING OF CONTRACTION FROM THE ACTIVATOR Ca2+ AND TUBULAR SYSTEM ROLES IN MUSCLE FUNCTION REGULATION. Skeletal muscles represent the largest organ in the body of vertebrates and are responsible for major functions including maintaining posture and locomotion. Skeletal muscles are also a major source of heat production. The project focuses on temperature-induced effects on the ability of the skeletal muscle to contract in warm blooded animals, including marsupials, and on the complex roles played by a cellular structure unique to the muscle fibre, the tubular system, with respect to regulation of muscle function at physiological temperatures. The project will test hypotheses that will have far-reaching implications for muscle physiology, cell biology and evolutionary biology.Read moreRead less
Chromatin barriers in Plasmodium falciparum gene regulation. Malaria is a major world disease that kills around 2 million people annually. The genome of the causative agent has now been completely sequenced, but we still know very little of how and why some genes are activated while their neighbours are turned off. I will study the DNA barriers that separate such genes, and the proteins that interact with these regions to better understand how genetic regulation functions in these parasites. A b ....Chromatin barriers in Plasmodium falciparum gene regulation. Malaria is a major world disease that kills around 2 million people annually. The genome of the causative agent has now been completely sequenced, but we still know very little of how and why some genes are activated while their neighbours are turned off. I will study the DNA barriers that separate such genes, and the proteins that interact with these regions to better understand how genetic regulation functions in these parasites. A better understanding of gene regulation in malaria parasites will help us to better combat the tricks utilised by this and other organisms to elude our immune systems.Read moreRead less
Oxidative stress-induced alterations of the host erythrocyte by the malaria parasite. The malaria parasite spends part of its lifecycle inside the red blood cells of its host. During this time, the parasite modifies many of the features of the red blood cell and subjects it to high levels of oxidative stress. We will use and develop a variety of fluorescence and microscopic techniques to understand the molecular basis of the alterations in the organization of membrane proteins in malaria parasit ....Oxidative stress-induced alterations of the host erythrocyte by the malaria parasite. The malaria parasite spends part of its lifecycle inside the red blood cells of its host. During this time, the parasite modifies many of the features of the red blood cell and subjects it to high levels of oxidative stress. We will use and develop a variety of fluorescence and microscopic techniques to understand the molecular basis of the alterations in the organization of membrane proteins in malaria parasite-infected red blood cells. We will examine the roles of oxidative stress and of parasite proteins in modulating the properties of the host cell membrane.Read moreRead less
Development of nanoporous materials for capture and release of oxygen. This project aims to develop new materials to make lighter, more efficient oxygen concentrators. The project will combine materials that can capture oxygen with particles that can be magnetically heated, making it possible to release the oxygen rapidly and efficiently when needed. Expected outcomes from this project include new composite materials and better understanding of how gases are trapped and released within composite ....Development of nanoporous materials for capture and release of oxygen. This project aims to develop new materials to make lighter, more efficient oxygen concentrators. The project will combine materials that can capture oxygen with particles that can be magnetically heated, making it possible to release the oxygen rapidly and efficiently when needed. Expected outcomes from this project include new composite materials and better understanding of how gases are trapped and released within composite materials. Benefits from this project may include oxygen concentrators that are more portable and have longer battery life, both with industrial and medical applications.Read moreRead less
Probing membrane rafts using surface-selective multi-dimensional microscopy. The results of this project will provide fundamental insights into the role played by domains in cell membranes in the regulation of membrane protein function. These insights will create new avenues in the biotechnology industry for development of novel therapeutics aimed at disruption of membrane protein-protein interactions that cause aberant cell signalling in disease states such as cancer.
Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes for Organic Solvent Separation. Directly addressing the pressing challenge of organic solvent separation faced by numerous industries, the project aims to develop molecular sieve membranes with outstanding selectivity and solvent tolerance by constructing zeolite-carbon mixed matrix membrane via incorporating zeolite nanosheets into carbon materials. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge of nanosheet synthesis, membrane fabrication and selective mole ....Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes for Organic Solvent Separation. Directly addressing the pressing challenge of organic solvent separation faced by numerous industries, the project aims to develop molecular sieve membranes with outstanding selectivity and solvent tolerance by constructing zeolite-carbon mixed matrix membrane via incorporating zeolite nanosheets into carbon materials. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge of nanosheet synthesis, membrane fabrication and selective molecule transport. The membranes developed in the project have great potentials for improving the production capacity and sustainability of Australian industries, e.g., pharmaceutical manufacturing, bioethanol production and petroleum refining, providing significant economic and environmental benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less
Statistical methods for detection of non-coding RNAs in eukaryote genomes. Understanding how eukaryotic cells work is a major goal of 21st century biology. A crucial step will be to catalogue the functional components of eukaryotic genomes. Australian researchers must be involved in this process at an early stage, in order to maximise commercial opportunities, attract quality researchers and position ourselves for further advances. This project will make major contributions to international effo ....Statistical methods for detection of non-coding RNAs in eukaryote genomes. Understanding how eukaryotic cells work is a major goal of 21st century biology. A crucial step will be to catalogue the functional components of eukaryotic genomes. Australian researchers must be involved in this process at an early stage, in order to maximise commercial opportunities, attract quality researchers and position ourselves for further advances. This project will make major contributions to international efforts in this area, via the development of statistical methods for segmenting genomes, classification of those segments, and study of the resulting classes. In the long term, enhanced understanding of eukaryotic cells will lead to breakthroughs in biology, and to medical, pharmaceutical, agricultural and scientific advances.Read moreRead less
Enhancing sleep and wellbeing in working families. This project aims to investigate the role of sleep on individuals’ health by measuring Australians' sleep patterns relative to work and family demands. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the sociology of sleep using innovative data collection bringing together cross-national, nationally representative, longitudinal and physiological data on Australians’ sleep patterns. Expected outcomes of this project are to identify the social a ....Enhancing sleep and wellbeing in working families. This project aims to investigate the role of sleep on individuals’ health by measuring Australians' sleep patterns relative to work and family demands. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the sociology of sleep using innovative data collection bringing together cross-national, nationally representative, longitudinal and physiological data on Australians’ sleep patterns. Expected outcomes of this project are to identify the social and biological determinants of sleep and their links with health, family and economic policy recommendations.Read moreRead less
Designing the surface and structural properties of MFI zeolite membranes for low energy ion-selective desalination. Desalination is being established in response to climate change and growing demands on existing supplies. Fresh water from infinitely abundant ocean sources using little energy input will benefit communities by providing affordably a vital resource with minimal greenhouse gas emissions. Fresh water from current desalination costs $2 per kl, being a major expense for a vital resourc ....Designing the surface and structural properties of MFI zeolite membranes for low energy ion-selective desalination. Desalination is being established in response to climate change and growing demands on existing supplies. Fresh water from infinitely abundant ocean sources using little energy input will benefit communities by providing affordably a vital resource with minimal greenhouse gas emissions. Fresh water from current desalination costs $2 per kl, being a major expense for a vital resource normally $0.2 per kl. As energy input accounts for half of the desalination cost, the smart ion-selective membrane to be developed in this project has the capability to reduce desalinated water price by 50%. Such an advancement derived from fundamental material properties is a novel contribution to both science and membrane desalinationRead moreRead less
The functional organisation of the trans-Golgi network: From cultured cells to physiological systems. This research will result in a better understanding of the secretory pathway of all eukaryotic cells, a process of broad biological and biomedical significance. It will impact on cell biology in the broadest sense, from membrane biogenesis to lipid domain organization, as well as membrane transport, protein structure and protein targeting. Furthermore, this work will utilize and develop fronti ....The functional organisation of the trans-Golgi network: From cultured cells to physiological systems. This research will result in a better understanding of the secretory pathway of all eukaryotic cells, a process of broad biological and biomedical significance. It will impact on cell biology in the broadest sense, from membrane biogenesis to lipid domain organization, as well as membrane transport, protein structure and protein targeting. Furthermore, this work will utilize and develop frontier technologies of live cell imaging and RNA interference as a genetic tool to investigate functions of a protein family. By training post-graduate students and post-doctoral staff, it will contribute to the expertise of cell biology in Australia. International collaborations will enhance connections between Australia and overseas research.Read moreRead less