Host-tumour interplay in Tasmanian devils with devil facial tumour disease: can immune cells be harnessed for therapy? Tasmanian devils only exist naturally in Tasmania and Devil Facial Tumour Disease, an infectious cancer, could cause the extinction of the Tasmanian devil. This project will determine if Devil Facial Tumour Disease reduces the effectiveness of the devil's immune system and test if activated immune cells can protect against this disease.
Development of an immunology toolbox to combat emerging marsupial diseases. Disease is increasingly a driver of wildlife population declines in Australia. However, basic immunology tools for >99% of vertebrate species are scarce, limiting our ability to prevent and respond to emerging and endemic diseases, such as devil facial tumour disease and wobbly possum disease. The overarching goal of this project is to improve wildlife health and fill the marsupial immunology gap by developing a long-ove ....Development of an immunology toolbox to combat emerging marsupial diseases. Disease is increasingly a driver of wildlife population declines in Australia. However, basic immunology tools for >99% of vertebrate species are scarce, limiting our ability to prevent and respond to emerging and endemic diseases, such as devil facial tumour disease and wobbly possum disease. The overarching goal of this project is to improve wildlife health and fill the marsupial immunology gap by developing a long-overdue multispecies marsupial immunology toolbox. The toolbox is needed to accelerate devil facial tumour disease vaccine progress and conservation immunology research. It will expand our knowledge of wobbly possum disease virus that is increasingly reported in Tasmania and the risk posed by the virus to other possum species.Read moreRead less
Molecular tools for understanding, predicting and managing flowering and reproductive development in Brassica oleracea. This project integrates basic research with application to a significant horticultural industry, building on Australia's position as a leader in world research on molecular and genetic regulation of flowering. The project will strengthen Australia's research reputation in this field, provide new tools for cultivar screening in and management of B. oleracea seed crops. The proj ....Molecular tools for understanding, predicting and managing flowering and reproductive development in Brassica oleracea. This project integrates basic research with application to a significant horticultural industry, building on Australia's position as a leader in world research on molecular and genetic regulation of flowering. The project will strengthen Australia's research reputation in this field, provide new tools for cultivar screening in and management of B. oleracea seed crops. The project will deliver training for 3 PhD students at the interface between basic and applied research. A shortage of skilled scientists with ability to link understanding of plant development at the molecular/genetic level with improved crop management practices has been identified by the horticultural sector as a major challenge. Read moreRead less
Molecular pathways controlling light-regulated development in legumes. Legumes are widely grown as forage and grain crops and make a substantial contribution to the Australian economy. Light is an important determinant of plant architecture and productivity and we need to know more about how development is regulated by light in this important plant group. The natural light environment faced by plants is complex and varies with crop density, season and time of day. Understanding the interaction o ....Molecular pathways controlling light-regulated development in legumes. Legumes are widely grown as forage and grain crops and make a substantial contribution to the Australian economy. Light is an important determinant of plant architecture and productivity and we need to know more about how development is regulated by light in this important plant group. The natural light environment faced by plants is complex and varies with crop density, season and time of day. Understanding the interaction of photoreceptors and plant hormones in the control of growth is vital for manipulating crops to meet changing agronomic requirements. Training of students in state-of-the art techniques and the generation of new germplasm for use by other researchers and plant breeders will be other significant outcomes of the project.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100484
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,058.00
Summary
Tipping the balance from tolerance to immunity for the devil facial tumour. This project aims to develop a single-shot vaccine for the Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease. The disease is an enigma because the transmissible tumours are simultaneously cancer, infections, and genetically mismatched tissue grafts. This project will focus on immune molecules that are revolutionising human oncology, and will develop techniques to understand and systematically test the function of these key molecules ....Tipping the balance from tolerance to immunity for the devil facial tumour. This project aims to develop a single-shot vaccine for the Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease. The disease is an enigma because the transmissible tumours are simultaneously cancer, infections, and genetically mismatched tissue grafts. This project will focus on immune molecules that are revolutionising human oncology, and will develop techniques to understand and systematically test the function of these key molecules in Tasmanian devils. Understanding the role of these immune molecules will accelerate development of a vaccine to help save the devil and has the potential to shed light on general principles relating to how the immune system balances tolerance and immunity.Read moreRead less
Immunisation to protect against transmissible cancers in Tasmanian devils. This project aims to identify the immune escape mechanisms that the transmissible cancers, Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) use to avoid being killed by the immune system. Since the discovery of the second transmissible cancer (DFT2) mystery surrounds whether the devils immune system can respond to this cancer, hence this project will investigate the immune response to DFT2. The final aims are to develop a vaccine with ....Immunisation to protect against transmissible cancers in Tasmanian devils. This project aims to identify the immune escape mechanisms that the transmissible cancers, Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) use to avoid being killed by the immune system. Since the discovery of the second transmissible cancer (DFT2) mystery surrounds whether the devils immune system can respond to this cancer, hence this project will investigate the immune response to DFT2. The final aims are to develop a vaccine with the potential to protect healthy devils and cure devils with DFTD.Read moreRead less
The role of phytotoxins in ray blight disease of pyrethrum and significance of toxin tolerance to disease resistance. Ray blight disease, caused by Phoma ligulicola, is the greatest threat to the Australian pyrethrum industry causing $2.0M in annual losses. We aim to clarify the pathology of P.ligulicola in pyrethrum, focussing on the role of fungal toxins during infection. Toxin importance in disease will be determined through histology and induction of toxin- pathogen mutants. Toxins will be ....The role of phytotoxins in ray blight disease of pyrethrum and significance of toxin tolerance to disease resistance. Ray blight disease, caused by Phoma ligulicola, is the greatest threat to the Australian pyrethrum industry causing $2.0M in annual losses. We aim to clarify the pathology of P.ligulicola in pyrethrum, focussing on the role of fungal toxins during infection. Toxin importance in disease will be determined through histology and induction of toxin- pathogen mutants. Toxins will be characterised and used in tissue culture to select obtain toxin tolerant pyrethrum clones that will be evaluated for agronomic performance and disease resistance. Successful development of resistant clones will decrease production costs, minimise risk of fungicide resistance development and reduce environmental pollution.Read moreRead less
Ion transporters regulating plant adaptive responses to salinity and the modes of their control by compatible solutes in plant cells. Plants respond to saline conditions by a significant elevation in the level of compatible solutes in the cytosol. It appears that these solutes are not directly involved in conventional osmoprotection, but instead have a regulatory role in cell metabolism. This project will apply a range of state-of-the-art biophysical and molecular techniques to investigate the m ....Ion transporters regulating plant adaptive responses to salinity and the modes of their control by compatible solutes in plant cells. Plants respond to saline conditions by a significant elevation in the level of compatible solutes in the cytosol. It appears that these solutes are not directly involved in conventional osmoprotection, but instead have a regulatory role in cell metabolism. This project will apply a range of state-of-the-art biophysical and molecular techniques to investigate the modes of control exercised by compatible solutes over the activity of major plasma membrane transporters involved in plant adaptive responses to salinity. The work will substantially advance our understanding of salt tolerance and will provide a sound basis for genetic engineering of salt tolerant crops.Read moreRead less
Modelling Food Expenditure, Analysing Nutrient Security, Measuring Hunger and Calculating Purchasing Power Parity: Methodological Advances with Policy Applications. The analysis of consumption changes in selected Asian countries will throw light on Australia's trade potential, especially with one of the fastest growing countries.
More informed debate on the role of trade and aid in reducing hunger and poverty.Following the 2000 Millenium summit and the step up of Australian developmental aid, ....Modelling Food Expenditure, Analysing Nutrient Security, Measuring Hunger and Calculating Purchasing Power Parity: Methodological Advances with Policy Applications. The analysis of consumption changes in selected Asian countries will throw light on Australia's trade potential, especially with one of the fastest growing countries.
More informed debate on the role of trade and aid in reducing hunger and poverty.Following the 2000 Millenium summit and the step up of Australian developmental aid, the subject has returned to the centre stage in policy discussions.
The systematic use of unit value information available elsewhere, but currently lacking in ABS data, will help the latter in improving its HES.
Contribute to "understanding our region and the world"(Key Priority Goal in Research Priority 4 of ARC).
Provide data sets for use in Australian RHD dissertations .
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Modelling Decision Making Within the Household and Analysing its Welfare Implications:Methodological Advances with Policy Applications. The project examines the behavioural and welfare implications of alternative models of intra household decisions. A framework that integrates the household's earnings and expenditure decisions will be proposed and applied. The project introduces new measures of spousal power in making decisions and examines its impact on household outcomes. A satisfactory eco ....Modelling Decision Making Within the Household and Analysing its Welfare Implications:Methodological Advances with Policy Applications. The project examines the behavioural and welfare implications of alternative models of intra household decisions. A framework that integrates the household's earnings and expenditure decisions will be proposed and applied. The project introduces new measures of spousal power in making decisions and examines its impact on household outcomes. A satisfactory econometric methodology to test the conventional unitary model will be developed and applied. The usefulness of this research is underlined by examining the policy implications in areas that range from taxation in the developed country context to child health, child labour and gender bias in case of developing countries.Read moreRead less