Encoding Interactions and Printability into Hairy Colloidal Biomaterials. Printing mixtures of live cells and biomaterials (or 'BioInks') to make bespoke engineered tissues has the potential to enable personalised platforms for therapeutic discovery and organ replacement. Using a novel high throughput approach to materials synthesis, BioInk design and process optimisation, this project aims to discover new biomaterials and printing nozzles to help realise this potential. It will produce new insi ....Encoding Interactions and Printability into Hairy Colloidal Biomaterials. Printing mixtures of live cells and biomaterials (or 'BioInks') to make bespoke engineered tissues has the potential to enable personalised platforms for therapeutic discovery and organ replacement. Using a novel high throughput approach to materials synthesis, BioInk design and process optimisation, this project aims to discover new biomaterials and printing nozzles to help realise this potential. It will produce new insights in colloid science, cell-laden biomaterials design, and BioInk processing. Structure-property-function guides for colloid-based BioInks and quality-assured bioprinting as outcomes represent significant benefits for researchers and industries alike engaged in biofabrication, cell therapy and biotherapeutics.Read moreRead less
Self-reinforced biopolymer composites. This project will pioneer high performance and biodegradable composites using self-reinforced biopolymer composites. Composites can have poor properties due to interfacial issues, and this reduces their performance. By producing a fully self-reinforced (where the fibre and the polymer are the same type of polymer) polymer composites, the project will develop a way to improve properties, increase the use of biobased materials, and improve recyclability and b ....Self-reinforced biopolymer composites. This project will pioneer high performance and biodegradable composites using self-reinforced biopolymer composites. Composites can have poor properties due to interfacial issues, and this reduces their performance. By producing a fully self-reinforced (where the fibre and the polymer are the same type of polymer) polymer composites, the project will develop a way to improve properties, increase the use of biobased materials, and improve recyclability and biodegradability. Outcomes include greater understanding of design of self-reinforced biopolymer composites structure, processing and properties. This will produce opportunities for high performance biobased composite manufacturing and a growing circular plastics economy for Australia.Read moreRead less
Placental nutrient transport shows how complex traits evolve. This project aims to use amino acid transport in the vertebrate placenta as a model to demonstrate how genes are recruited and modified to produce a major organ. Using an innovative combination of a new technology, selected reaction monitoring, and transcriptomic and molecular approaches, plus carefully selected Australian species pairs, this project will study the evolution of a complex trait (placental amino acid transport). The pr ....Placental nutrient transport shows how complex traits evolve. This project aims to use amino acid transport in the vertebrate placenta as a model to demonstrate how genes are recruited and modified to produce a major organ. Using an innovative combination of a new technology, selected reaction monitoring, and transcriptomic and molecular approaches, plus carefully selected Australian species pairs, this project will study the evolution of a complex trait (placental amino acid transport). The project will provide fundamental advances in our knowledge of the nutrient transport during pregnancy that is required to produce a healthy baby.Read moreRead less
Precision ecology: the modern era of designed experiments in plant ecology. This project aims to develop the field of precision ecology, forging a new era of designed experiments where sampling is informed by research questions and what is known about the ecological process being studied. Through the development of novel statistical methods, new experiments globally will be designed to answer important ecological questions including what influence abiotic and biotic factors have on plant commun ....Precision ecology: the modern era of designed experiments in plant ecology. This project aims to develop the field of precision ecology, forging a new era of designed experiments where sampling is informed by research questions and what is known about the ecological process being studied. Through the development of novel statistical methods, new experiments globally will be designed to answer important ecological questions including what influence abiotic and biotic factors have on plant communities over time and different spatial scales. Expected outcomes include new methods and tools that will modernise how future experiments will be conducted in plant ecology. This will provide significant transdisciplinary benefits including new statistical methods that target scientific discovery in ecological studies.Read moreRead less
Bioplastics in the environment: lifetimes and toxicology. Globally, governments are implementing policies to drive a move to a circular economy. In the process, new materials are being introduced whose potential impacts need to be understood before they are widely used. This project pioneers investigations into the rate and extent of biodegradation of biodegradable plastics in aquatic and soil environments and the associated ecotoxicology of this process. In particular, it aims to quantify the e ....Bioplastics in the environment: lifetimes and toxicology. Globally, governments are implementing policies to drive a move to a circular economy. In the process, new materials are being introduced whose potential impacts need to be understood before they are widely used. This project pioneers investigations into the rate and extent of biodegradation of biodegradable plastics in aquatic and soil environments and the associated ecotoxicology of this process. In particular, it aims to quantify the extent to which the surfaces of these materials accumulate environmental pollutants via adsorption and other mechanisms. The outcomes will include conceptual models of biodegradation across environments, including lifetimes and likely impacts, critical information for framing a sustainable plastics industry.Read moreRead less
Combining biomechanics and movement ecology of kangaroos and relatives. Kangaroos and their relatives are unique in their body form, hopping gait and by the fact that increased speed does not come at an increased energetic cost. This project aims to build 3D musculoskeletal models to understand how muscles and tendons interact, enabling greater distances to be travelled using less energy. Further, it will use animal tracking devices and machine-learning tools to quantify movements in the wild. T ....Combining biomechanics and movement ecology of kangaroos and relatives. Kangaroos and their relatives are unique in their body form, hopping gait and by the fact that increased speed does not come at an increased energetic cost. This project aims to build 3D musculoskeletal models to understand how muscles and tendons interact, enabling greater distances to be travelled using less energy. Further, it will use animal tracking devices and machine-learning tools to quantify movements in the wild. This framework will provide novel insights into how energetics, morphology, and habitat have shaped the evolution of this unique group. This may open doors to a range of future ecological, physiological, and conservation studies and provide biological inspiration for energetically efficient robotic and assistive devices.Read moreRead less
Examining scientific, philosophical, and folk perspectives on time=. This project aims to consider three very different physical theories, each of which reconciles quantum mechanics and general and special relativity in a different way. While science is more accessible than ever, we are increasingly faced with a scientific world-view that is antithetical to the way we see the world and experience ourselves in it. This project will consider the tension between the scientific picture of the world ....Examining scientific, philosophical, and folk perspectives on time=. This project aims to consider three very different physical theories, each of which reconciles quantum mechanics and general and special relativity in a different way. While science is more accessible than ever, we are increasingly faced with a scientific world-view that is antithetical to the way we see the world and experience ourselves in it. This project will consider the tension between the scientific picture of the world and our experience of the world, and aims to reconcile the two by bridging the gap between lived experience and scientific findings. The project will provide a range of ways of bridging the tension between these physical theories with our lived experience.Read moreRead less
Digital mediation of children’s interactions with the more than human world. This project aims to investigate how children deploy digital devices to interact with the "natural" world and how this influences their literate practices, emotional engagement and identities. The project intends to examine these issues longitudinally across Australia and Finland, and in relation to key contextual issues of social class, material conditions, and pedagogical approach. Expected outcomes include identifyin ....Digital mediation of children’s interactions with the more than human world. This project aims to investigate how children deploy digital devices to interact with the "natural" world and how this influences their literate practices, emotional engagement and identities. The project intends to examine these issues longitudinally across Australia and Finland, and in relation to key contextual issues of social class, material conditions, and pedagogical approach. Expected outcomes include identifying ways of educating students through mobile digital technologies that connect them in emotional, creative and engaging ways with the "natural" world. This should provide significant benefits as children contribute as co-researchers in establishing a set of protocols for using digital technologies to both maximise learning in "nature" and mitigate harm to the environment.Read moreRead less
Targeting TGF-beta proteins to control animal reproduction. This project aims to develop a suite of novel biologics to control fertility in female mammals. This project expects to demonstrate that targeting a single class of ovarian proteins will enhance or inhibit egg production. The expected outcomes of this project are to (1) transform the breeding of livestock animals, which should provide significant benefits to the agricultural industry, through increased herd/flock sizes, and (2) provide ....Targeting TGF-beta proteins to control animal reproduction. This project aims to develop a suite of novel biologics to control fertility in female mammals. This project expects to demonstrate that targeting a single class of ovarian proteins will enhance or inhibit egg production. The expected outcomes of this project are to (1) transform the breeding of livestock animals, which should provide significant benefits to the agricultural industry, through increased herd/flock sizes, and (2) provide a non-surgical method of contraception in companion/feral species, which should address the large unmet need for fertility control in these animals.
Read moreRead less
Next-generation lithography: photo-directing assembly of block copolymers. This project aims to introduce a novel approach to organising block polymers through the photochemical modification of the surface of a photo-sensitive polymer. Chemo-epitaxy is the science of organising materials on a surface decorated with chemical patterns. The process has the potential to revolutionise the manufacture of integrated circuits, enabling faster processors. This project expects to introduce innovative conc ....Next-generation lithography: photo-directing assembly of block copolymers. This project aims to introduce a novel approach to organising block polymers through the photochemical modification of the surface of a photo-sensitive polymer. Chemo-epitaxy is the science of organising materials on a surface decorated with chemical patterns. The process has the potential to revolutionise the manufacture of integrated circuits, enabling faster processors. This project expects to introduce innovative concepts in polymer chemistry and nanoscale assembly with the potential to advance a multi-billion-dollar industry.Read moreRead less