Understanding the differentiation of the endocardium. The project aims to understand the genetic regulation of endocardial development. The heart is essential for survival, its beat the indicator of life. The endocardium, the heart’s inner lining, is required for signalling during heart development and is a major component of the valves, septa and trabeculae. Despite its indispensable role, little is known about how it forms or develops. This project integrates two complementary approaches that ....Understanding the differentiation of the endocardium. The project aims to understand the genetic regulation of endocardial development. The heart is essential for survival, its beat the indicator of life. The endocardium, the heart’s inner lining, is required for signalling during heart development and is a major component of the valves, septa and trabeculae. Despite its indispensable role, little is known about how it forms or develops. This project integrates two complementary approaches that have identified the earliest marker of endocardial differentiation and devised the method to make endocardium from stem cells. Knowledge from this work will inform future research into growing and regenerating damaged tissue.Read moreRead less
Kruppel-like factors and the methylome. This project aims to test the hypothesis that the KLF/SP family of transcription factors work in part via dynamic interactions with methylated cytosine nucleotides in DNA. This is fundamental to their function as pioneer factors in reprograming and their ability to co-ordinate differentiation and organogenesis. Conversely, dynamic changes in methylation status engage or disengage new regulatory elements in the genome via recruitment of KLF/SP family protei ....Kruppel-like factors and the methylome. This project aims to test the hypothesis that the KLF/SP family of transcription factors work in part via dynamic interactions with methylated cytosine nucleotides in DNA. This is fundamental to their function as pioneer factors in reprograming and their ability to co-ordinate differentiation and organogenesis. Conversely, dynamic changes in methylation status engage or disengage new regulatory elements in the genome via recruitment of KLF/SP family proteins as specific effectors. This project will address a new paradigm in genetics that is likely to underpin development.Read moreRead less
Investigating the effectiveness of teacher education for early career teachers in diverse settings: a longitudinal study. This project investigates the effectiveness of teacher education programs in Victoria and Queensland in preparing teachers for the variety of school settings in which they begin their careers. The findings will inform state and national policy, as well as the work of professional regulation authorities and teacher education providers.
Naming the world: early years literacy and sustainability learning. The project seeks to produce knowledge about new forms of literacy emerging in sustainability education. For children born in the 21st century, the enmeshing of natural and human forces in the survival of the planet requires conceptual and practical innovation. Early childhood education can be a fundamental driver in this process. This project aims to integrate literacy and sustainability to produce powerful new learning for you ....Naming the world: early years literacy and sustainability learning. The project seeks to produce knowledge about new forms of literacy emerging in sustainability education. For children born in the 21st century, the enmeshing of natural and human forces in the survival of the planet requires conceptual and practical innovation. Early childhood education can be a fundamental driver in this process. This project aims to integrate literacy and sustainability to produce powerful new learning for young children. It plans to theorise new forms of literacy emerging in sustainability education, articulate innovative pedagogies, and inform national and international policy and practice to address 21st century learning imperatives.Read moreRead less
Controlling the adhesome to regulate cell fate on biomaterials. Mesenchymal stem cell-based tissue engineering practices are hampered worldwide by the lack of appreciation and understanding of the matrix-mediated cues that must be provided during adhesion and spreading to drive cells to definitive tissue end points. This project will address these knowledge deficiencies by combining high throughput array technologies, a set of tailorable self-assembling biomaterials and real-time biosensors to r ....Controlling the adhesome to regulate cell fate on biomaterials. Mesenchymal stem cell-based tissue engineering practices are hampered worldwide by the lack of appreciation and understanding of the matrix-mediated cues that must be provided during adhesion and spreading to drive cells to definitive tissue end points. This project will address these knowledge deficiencies by combining high throughput array technologies, a set of tailorable self-assembling biomaterials and real-time biosensors to rapidly, at high resolution, elucidate how mechanotransductive cues determine the fate choice of mesenchymal stem cells, and furthermore, how to manipulate them with smart biomaterial design to achieve desired outcomes for tissue engineering. Read moreRead less
Pursuing equity in high poverty rural schools: improving learning through rich accountabilities. Poor performance of students in schools located in high poverty communities is a pressing educational problem for Australia, with educational disadvantage in poor rural communities in particular demanding amelioration. The evidence suggests the equity and quality of schooling outcomes are centrally important to the nation's economic future, the strength of Australian democracy, social inclusion and a ....Pursuing equity in high poverty rural schools: improving learning through rich accountabilities. Poor performance of students in schools located in high poverty communities is a pressing educational problem for Australia, with educational disadvantage in poor rural communities in particular demanding amelioration. The evidence suggests the equity and quality of schooling outcomes are centrally important to the nation's economic future, the strength of Australian democracy, social inclusion and a unified nation. In strengthening policy and practice knowledge about educative usage of performance data and the development of rich forms of accountability, the research will advance the academic literature and provide an evidence base for success of the national partnership on low socio-economic status schools.Read moreRead less
Bone tissue engineering using innovative tubular dual-layered nanofiber meshes. Lifetime risks for long-bone fractures in Caucasians over the age of 50 are 17 per cent for women and 6 per cent for men. A clear therapeutic need exists to address the ever-increasing problems of diminished productivity and reduced quality of life associated with bone disorders as the population ages. To address this challenge, the project’s multidisciplinary, international team will develop technologies to heal tib ....Bone tissue engineering using innovative tubular dual-layered nanofiber meshes. Lifetime risks for long-bone fractures in Caucasians over the age of 50 are 17 per cent for women and 6 per cent for men. A clear therapeutic need exists to address the ever-increasing problems of diminished productivity and reduced quality of life associated with bone disorders as the population ages. To address this challenge, the project’s multidisciplinary, international team will develop technologies to heal tibial defects. Furthermore, it will establish Australia's prominence in the tissue engineering field, training the next generation of young scientists and engineers. This technology will be of interest to numerous research groups and companies worldwide and will foster international collaboration, placing Australia at the forefront of this emerging field.Read moreRead less
Education meets play: a sociological study of how the new compulsory national learning framework for children zero to five years influences educators' practice. New theorising about play and education in early childhood settings has challenged traditional notions of play. This project investigates how educators respond to the requirement for play-based learning by identifying characteristics of successful educators and professional leaders, and strategies and practices that merge education and p ....Education meets play: a sociological study of how the new compulsory national learning framework for children zero to five years influences educators' practice. New theorising about play and education in early childhood settings has challenged traditional notions of play. This project investigates how educators respond to the requirement for play-based learning by identifying characteristics of successful educators and professional leaders, and strategies and practices that merge education and play.Read moreRead less
Understanding How Language And Reading Problems Develop: A Population-based Longitudinal Study From Infancy To Age 7
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$667,507.00
Summary
Early language and reading problems are common and therefore significant public health problems. They are disabling and have life-long implications for oral and written communication skills, social and emotional well-being, cognition, behaviour, academic achievement and employment. This study will address the following three problems: 1. To date no study has documented how language and reading problems develop from infancy (8 months) through to school age (7 years). 2. Little is known about risk ....Early language and reading problems are common and therefore significant public health problems. They are disabling and have life-long implications for oral and written communication skills, social and emotional well-being, cognition, behaviour, academic achievement and employment. This study will address the following three problems: 1. To date no study has documented how language and reading problems develop from infancy (8 months) through to school age (7 years). 2. Little is known about risk factors, identified early in infancy and childhood, that can be reliably used to predict language and reading problems later in childhood. 3. The relationships between language difficulties and reading problems are poorly understood. Therefore, we currently have no satisfactory methods for reliably detecting which children at much younger ages are at risk of later language disorders or reading problems. Without this information it is impossible to develop effective prevention and early intervention programs. These programs are critical if we are to: a) Prevent language and reading problems from occurring, thereby reducing the prevalence of the problem b) Intervene early in childhood, thereby reducing in the longer term the burden and cost associated with language and reading problems. The proposed study builds on an existing substantial investment by the NHMRC in the Early Language in Victoria Study (ELVS). It will provide a world-first description of the evolution of language difficulties and reading problems from infancy through to school age within a single population cohort.Read moreRead less
School retention and second chance schooling. This project is concerned with ensuring that students who experience systemic disadvantage are not excluded from the benefits of a formal education. It provides an account and critique of the growth of second chance schooling options catering to such students in both Australia and the UK.