Touch and Tension: Molecular Determinants of Human Mechanosensation . Feelings of touch and muscle tension are initiated by mechanosensory neurons found within the peripheral nervous system. Knowledge of human mechanosensory neurons has predominantly relied on rodent studies because of the limited availability of human tissue, which is not ideal. Our team has developed novel technologies for generating human mechanosensory neurons ‘in the dish’. The major aim of this project is to use human stem ....Touch and Tension: Molecular Determinants of Human Mechanosensation . Feelings of touch and muscle tension are initiated by mechanosensory neurons found within the peripheral nervous system. Knowledge of human mechanosensory neurons has predominantly relied on rodent studies because of the limited availability of human tissue, which is not ideal. Our team has developed novel technologies for generating human mechanosensory neurons ‘in the dish’. The major aim of this project is to use human stem cell-derived mechanosensory neurons as a platform to extensively study their molecular and functional properties. The significant benefits are the advancement of knowledge in the human mechanosensory system, which to date has been lacking, and in the long-term progress commercial development of novel drugs.Read moreRead less
Understanding gender inequality in the post-pandemic future of work. This project examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis on the working futures of young women and men in three advanced market economies where the pandemic hit with varying degrees of severity. Young people have experienced the greatest upheaval of all workers, and the impact has been gendered. Recovery strategies will have lasting consequences for women’s and men’s working futures. The project will produc ....Understanding gender inequality in the post-pandemic future of work. This project examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis on the working futures of young women and men in three advanced market economies where the pandemic hit with varying degrees of severity. Young people have experienced the greatest upheaval of all workers, and the impact has been gendered. Recovery strategies will have lasting consequences for women’s and men’s working futures. The project will produce macro-level mapping of post-pandemic national work/care regimes, and micro-level survey data on young people’s experience of and attitudes to the future of work in Australia, the UK and Japan, to deliver insights on the gendered economic and social impact of the pandemic and inform a more inclusive global recovery.Read moreRead less
Smashing Glass Walls: Building gender equality in male-dominated jobs. This project investigates gender segregation, which is a remarkably resilient problem in the Australian labour market, despite women's increasing labour force participation and strong educational attainment. It examines this problem with a focus on women’s careers in very male-dominated occupations. In these contexts, women enter in low numbers, find it difficult to progress, and face extremely hostile working environments. ....Smashing Glass Walls: Building gender equality in male-dominated jobs. This project investigates gender segregation, which is a remarkably resilient problem in the Australian labour market, despite women's increasing labour force participation and strong educational attainment. It examines this problem with a focus on women’s careers in very male-dominated occupations. In these contexts, women enter in low numbers, find it difficult to progress, and face extremely hostile working environments. Adopting a career stage, a worker- and industry-engaged, and a comparative design, the project will generate new insight into where and how sustainable careers for women are challenged in these contexts. This knowledge will inform strategies to build gender equality in jobs at the heart of the economy.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100695
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$449,335.00
Summary
Circular capabilities for living with obdurate waste. The circular economy is being promoted to resolve the looming materials crises created by excessive consumption. But circularity is still out of reach for much of the economy. The DECRA project aims to address critical questions of how to manage obdurate wastes that exceed circular economy models. Through an innovative critical social science approach, the project expects to advance knowledge on two stubbornly obdurate wastes – refrigerants a ....Circular capabilities for living with obdurate waste. The circular economy is being promoted to resolve the looming materials crises created by excessive consumption. But circularity is still out of reach for much of the economy. The DECRA project aims to address critical questions of how to manage obdurate wastes that exceed circular economy models. Through an innovative critical social science approach, the project expects to advance knowledge on two stubbornly obdurate wastes – refrigerants and plastic textiles, their latent capacities for circularity, and the policy framings required to achieve change. Expected outcomes include enhancing Australia’s capacity in developing more circular economies, and integrating these into the next generation of industry and environmental policies.Read moreRead less
China’s changing internal migration: patterns, causes, policy implications. China’s massive internal migration is no longer simply rural–urban and circular but highly diversified. The project aims to unravel that transition: its patterns, causes, and effects. Using 2020 census data and major longitudinal datasets, a China variant of Zelinsky’s classic mobility transition theory will be developed and deployed to identify underlying mechanisms. Among expected outcomes are powerful methods for asse ....China’s changing internal migration: patterns, causes, policy implications. China’s massive internal migration is no longer simply rural–urban and circular but highly diversified. The project aims to unravel that transition: its patterns, causes, and effects. Using 2020 census data and major longitudinal datasets, a China variant of Zelinsky’s classic mobility transition theory will be developed and deployed to identify underlying mechanisms. Among expected outcomes are powerful methods for assessing spatio-temporal migration patterns and causes, applicable to many economies especially in the Asia–Pacific. Benefits should include a new evidence base for migration and related urban–rural policy in China; and for Australia, policy inputs to improve prosperity through better relations with our biggest trading partner.Read moreRead less
Creating a non-invasive window into the mind. This project aims to create better tools to study the human mind. This project expects to generate new knowledge that can be used to non-invasively image neuronal activity. Expected outcomes include the development of unique new Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) instruments to study neuronal activity in both highly controlled laboratory conditions and in humans, with the spatial and temporal resolution needed to study the neuronal circuitry that drive ....Creating a non-invasive window into the mind. This project aims to create better tools to study the human mind. This project expects to generate new knowledge that can be used to non-invasively image neuronal activity. Expected outcomes include the development of unique new Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) instruments to study neuronal activity in both highly controlled laboratory conditions and in humans, with the spatial and temporal resolution needed to study the neuronal circuitry that drives low and high-level brain functions, i.e., creating a window into the mind. In the future, outcomes from this study could improve our understanding of mental disorders, advance computer brain interface technology, and inspire the next paradigm shift in artificial intelligence.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100440
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$419,693.00
Summary
A novel approach in crowd evacuation planning: Behavioural intervention. The ability to rapidly and safely evacuate crowds can mean the difference between death and survival in mass emergencies. While the immediate reaction of the public to an emergency is paramount for their survival, their role in crisis management is often not fully harnessed. This project establishes an innovative and pragmatic approach in urban emergency planning: optimising evacuations through behavioural training. Pioneer ....A novel approach in crowd evacuation planning: Behavioural intervention. The ability to rapidly and safely evacuate crowds can mean the difference between death and survival in mass emergencies. While the immediate reaction of the public to an emergency is paramount for their survival, their role in crisis management is often not fully harnessed. This project establishes an innovative and pragmatic approach in urban emergency planning: optimising evacuations through behavioural training. Pioneering empirical steps will be taken to discover optimum strategies that individual crowd members should adopt, and to establish the extent to which modifying crowd response can be effective. The outcomes will result in educational guides that will increase public awareness and community preparedness for public emergencies.Read moreRead less
Brain mechanisms for coordinating with others through sound. Distinguishing between sounds produced by self and others is critical for interpersonal coordination and communication through speech and music. This project employs a novel dual-brain electrophysiological technique with tagged audio signals to elucidate how the human brain achieves this distinction, and when and why it cannot. Expected outcomes include new knowledge on the neurophysiological mechanisms that support self-other processi ....Brain mechanisms for coordinating with others through sound. Distinguishing between sounds produced by self and others is critical for interpersonal coordination and communication through speech and music. This project employs a novel dual-brain electrophysiological technique with tagged audio signals to elucidate how the human brain achieves this distinction, and when and why it cannot. Expected outcomes include new knowledge on the neurophysiological mechanisms that support self-other processing, and the acoustic conditions and behavioural strategies that facilitate their operation. These outcomes should ultimately have applied benefits for improving interpersonal coordination and social interaction, especially in digital environments and clinical populations with atypical self-other processing.Read moreRead less
Tracking the Flow of Perceptual Information Through Decision Networks. The choices we make define our lives. Despite exciting progress in neuroscience, we still don’t know how the inner workings of the brain give rise to simple decisions. This project brings together experts from diverse domains of computational neuroscience to investigate how our brains turn perceptual information into action. Together, we will develop new methods to track information flow through the brain during the decision ....Tracking the Flow of Perceptual Information Through Decision Networks. The choices we make define our lives. Despite exciting progress in neuroscience, we still don’t know how the inner workings of the brain give rise to simple decisions. This project brings together experts from diverse domains of computational neuroscience to investigate how our brains turn perceptual information into action. Together, we will develop new methods to track information flow through the brain during the decision making process. By doing so, we will develop a world-leading model of how the brain makes decisions, and also provide the broader scientific community with a set of exciting new tools for studying information processing in the brain.Read moreRead less
The Molecular Basis of Nanoparticle Resistance in Mixed-Species Biofilm. The project aims to understand how the globally significant mixed-species growth of pathogens develop resistance to silver nanoparticle, currently one of the most important alternative antimicrobials to antibiotics. The integrated research is to elucidate, for the first time, the nanoparticle multi-targeting toxicity on mixed-species bacterial community and how, in turn, the bacteria activate their cell-to-cell signalling f ....The Molecular Basis of Nanoparticle Resistance in Mixed-Species Biofilm. The project aims to understand how the globally significant mixed-species growth of pathogens develop resistance to silver nanoparticle, currently one of the most important alternative antimicrobials to antibiotics. The integrated research is to elucidate, for the first time, the nanoparticle multi-targeting toxicity on mixed-species bacterial community and how, in turn, the bacteria activate their cell-to-cell signalling for a synergistic defence to adapt to the nanoparticle toxicity. The pioneering knowledge is the foundation for technologies targeting the interspecies metabolite cross-talking to overcome the resistance phenomena, ensuring a long-term efficacy of the alternative antimicrobial on the difficult-to-control pathogenic growth.Read moreRead less