Microeconomic effects of Australian natural disasters. This project aims to describe and identify the effects of Australian natural disasters – such as the Black Saturday bushfires and the Brisbane floods – on important microeconomic outcomes, including health, education and employment. Natural disasters have profound economic and social effects on individuals and communities. This project intends to bring evidence on how disasters affect individuals and how the effects can be lessened. The proj ....Microeconomic effects of Australian natural disasters. This project aims to describe and identify the effects of Australian natural disasters – such as the Black Saturday bushfires and the Brisbane floods – on important microeconomic outcomes, including health, education and employment. Natural disasters have profound economic and social effects on individuals and communities. This project intends to bring evidence on how disasters affect individuals and how the effects can be lessened. The project expects to inform policy-makers on these critical issues by analysing field, survey and administrative data on individuals before and after past disasters.Read moreRead less
Revealing the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of avian influenza virus. This project aims to understand how avian influenza virus (AIV) emerges, evolves and spreads in wild birds. AIV has the potential to devastate the poultry industry and cause human pandemics, but the factors that shape the genetic diversity of AIV in its wild bird reservoir are poorly understood. The project plans to combine genomic, ecological and phylogenetic approaches to reveal key aspects of AIV evolution, as well a ....Revealing the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of avian influenza virus. This project aims to understand how avian influenza virus (AIV) emerges, evolves and spreads in wild birds. AIV has the potential to devastate the poultry industry and cause human pandemics, but the factors that shape the genetic diversity of AIV in its wild bird reservoir are poorly understood. The project plans to combine genomic, ecological and phylogenetic approaches to reveal key aspects of AIV evolution, as well as the risk for future viral emergence. Using sampling sites in Australia and Antarctica, it plans to investigate AIV diversity, the evolutionary dynamics of AIV in wild birds and poultry, and the role played by environmental transmission in AIV ecology.Read moreRead less
Understanding mutation and genetic reassortment in viruses: new mathematical models of viral dynamics and evolution. This project aims to understand how evolutionary processes and ecological conditions combine to ignite and sustain viral epidemics. Using novel mathematical models and statistical methods we will study the manner in which viral genes mutate and are recombined, as well as the rates of these important forces.
Nanosilver antimicrobial resistance in target pathogens. This project aims to elucidate the important phenomena of bacterial resistance to antimicrobial nanosilver, currently one of the most developed and commercialised products of nanotechnology. The integrated research approach comprises of concurrent identification of the origins and routes of nanosilver toxicity in bacteria and the arising emergence and mechanisms of bacterial defence to the toxicity. The generated knowledge is to form a bas ....Nanosilver antimicrobial resistance in target pathogens. This project aims to elucidate the important phenomena of bacterial resistance to antimicrobial nanosilver, currently one of the most developed and commercialised products of nanotechnology. The integrated research approach comprises of concurrent identification of the origins and routes of nanosilver toxicity in bacteria and the arising emergence and mechanisms of bacterial defence to the toxicity. The generated knowledge is to form a base template for novel nanosilver engineering with less tendency for resistance development and to facilitate tracking of resistance and its spread amongst microorganisms. The knowledge has far-reaching implications on the better governance of nanosilver use, including its disposal.Read moreRead less
Reducing flood loss - A data-assimilation framework for improving forecasting capability in sparsely gauged regions. Floods are the biggest and severest natural disaster we face year after year. Furthermore, there has been little improvement in our capability to prevent flood damage over past decades. This research proposes a paradigm shift in the way flood forecasting, warning and evacuation proceeds, using 21st century technologies for collecting and incorporating flood related data into exist ....Reducing flood loss - A data-assimilation framework for improving forecasting capability in sparsely gauged regions. Floods are the biggest and severest natural disaster we face year after year. Furthermore, there has been little improvement in our capability to prevent flood damage over past decades. This research proposes a paradigm shift in the way flood forecasting, warning and evacuation proceeds, using 21st century technologies for collecting and incorporating flood related data into existing modelling platforms. It is argued that assimilating real-time satellite soil moisture data into flood models can increase accuracy manifold, even if the images are uncertain. The understanding gained in course of the proposed project has the potential to significantly reduce the damage caused year after year, especially in the data poor regions of the world.Read moreRead less
Microbial natural history and molecular evolution. This project aims to develop mathematical and computational models of microbial evolution that capture dynamics at both within-host and between-host scales, combined with processes of mutation. Integration of these elements with computational statistical methods will produce a framework that will enable inference from genome sequencing data. The mathematical models will be applied to bacterial genomic data to investigate how natural selection ac ....Microbial natural history and molecular evolution. This project aims to develop mathematical and computational models of microbial evolution that capture dynamics at both within-host and between-host scales, combined with processes of mutation. Integration of these elements with computational statistical methods will produce a framework that will enable inference from genome sequencing data. The mathematical models will be applied to bacterial genomic data to investigate how natural selection acts on experimental and natural populations of microorganisms. The mathematical models and statistical approaches developed here are intended to be applicable to infectious disease of both humans and domesticated animals, and could influence public health policies.Read moreRead less
Using a biosocial approach to advance pandemic influenza control. This project investigates Australia's capacity to cope with pandemic influenza outbreaks, with a special focus on the lives of everyday citizens. By consulting members of the general public and professionals, this project will advise governments on how Australians can be assisted to prepare for the next outbreak of pandemic influenza.
Probabilistic graphical models for detecting outbreaks. This project will create a novel class of probabilistic graphical model algorithms for learning and inference in problems involving unfrequent events such as anomaly detection. The outcome will be a methodology for seamlessly integrating space-time correlated data that will enable the early prediction of outbreaks in a principled statistical manner.
A system wide analysis of health financing equity in Cambodia. This project aims to evaluate equity in health care financing in Cambodia using state of the art methods such as financial and benefit incidence analysis. The project aims to produce novel results by integrating both public and private sectors of the health system, in place of the traditional public sector focus alone thereby enabling a 'whole-system' approach to the assessment of equity in health systems financing. Strengthening the ....A system wide analysis of health financing equity in Cambodia. This project aims to evaluate equity in health care financing in Cambodia using state of the art methods such as financial and benefit incidence analysis. The project aims to produce novel results by integrating both public and private sectors of the health system, in place of the traditional public sector focus alone thereby enabling a 'whole-system' approach to the assessment of equity in health systems financing. Strengthening the health systems of countries such as Cambodia by developing more predictable and sustainable sources of funding, will not only benefit Cambodia but also enable donors such as Australia to more effectively target their substantial aid investments to promote social and economic stability in the region.Read moreRead less
Satellite tracking of health threats from grass pollen exposure. This project aims to discover why pollen exposure has increased since the 1960s. Grass pollens are the main environmental allergen source in Australia and the primary cause of allergic diseases. This project will investigate the ecological causes of changing pollen allergen exposures through integrating 40 years of satellite data, field phenology cameras, and pollen traps that track grass pollen sources, their evolution and impact ....Satellite tracking of health threats from grass pollen exposure. This project aims to discover why pollen exposure has increased since the 1960s. Grass pollens are the main environmental allergen source in Australia and the primary cause of allergic diseases. This project will investigate the ecological causes of changing pollen allergen exposures through integrating 40 years of satellite data, field phenology cameras, and pollen traps that track grass pollen sources, their evolution and impact areas. The outcomes are expected to advance knowledge of environmental drivers and enable more accurate pollen forecasts that alleviate the medical and socioeconomic burden of allergic diseases, estimated to cost 30 billion dollars.Read moreRead less