Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100652
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$345,000.00
Summary
Regulation of organ size and stem cell hierarchy in the developing kidney. Transient stem/progenitor cell populations play essential roles in establishing organ systems. The balance between self-renewal and differentiation in the nephron progenitor population plays a major, but poorly understood, role in regulating kidney development. Factors produced by undifferentiated progenitors promote organ expansion, whereas differentiation of these cells builds functional capacity. What is not clear is h ....Regulation of organ size and stem cell hierarchy in the developing kidney. Transient stem/progenitor cell populations play essential roles in establishing organ systems. The balance between self-renewal and differentiation in the nephron progenitor population plays a major, but poorly understood, role in regulating kidney development. Factors produced by undifferentiated progenitors promote organ expansion, whereas differentiation of these cells builds functional capacity. What is not clear is how the balance between self-renewal and differentiation is regulated in these cells, nor how the control of this fate decision impacts on optimal organ development. This project aims to dissect the molecular identity, regulation, and influence of this stem cell population on kidney development.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101393
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Genetic and epigenetic drivers of the Australian cane toad invasion. Although invasive species are a massive threat to biodiversity, and costly to society, we still do not understand the evolutionary processes that shape invasions. Invasive populations often show rapid evolutionary change in novel environments but attempts to identify the underlying genetic mechanisms have been largely unsuccessful. This project aims to explore an innovative and untested alternative possibility: that invader evo ....Genetic and epigenetic drivers of the Australian cane toad invasion. Although invasive species are a massive threat to biodiversity, and costly to society, we still do not understand the evolutionary processes that shape invasions. Invasive populations often show rapid evolutionary change in novel environments but attempts to identify the underlying genetic mechanisms have been largely unsuccessful. This project aims to explore an innovative and untested alternative possibility: that invader evolution is primarily driven by epigenetic change. Using an iconic Australian invasive species, the cane toad, the project aims to quantify genetic and epigenetic change across the invasion and use manipulative experiments to determine the influence of epigenetic change on the evolution of phenotypic traits important to invasion.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100723
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
The inheritance of epigenetic information in mammals. This project aims to understand how biological information can be passed from one generation to the next without being encoded in the genes. This may explain questions as diverse as why twins look subtly different and why some families are more likely than others to suffer disease.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101315
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$461,154.00
Summary
The dynamic interplay between the matrix and cell fate in developing heart. Malformations in the developing heart can lead to catastrophic defects and embryonic loss. The valves play a critical role in blood flow regulation and are made of a stratified matrix that is laid down early in development. This project aims to determine how the cellular fate of the early valve cells establish the layered matrix and in turn how the matrix can influence cell fate by utilising a multi-omics approach to ide ....The dynamic interplay between the matrix and cell fate in developing heart. Malformations in the developing heart can lead to catastrophic defects and embryonic loss. The valves play a critical role in blood flow regulation and are made of a stratified matrix that is laid down early in development. This project aims to determine how the cellular fate of the early valve cells establish the layered matrix and in turn how the matrix can influence cell fate by utilising a multi-omics approach to identify unique cell populations and integrate transcriptional and protein changes during matrix disruption. This project expects to generate fundamental knowledge on how matrix structure can influence cell fate in the valves and will advance Australia's knowledge base and research capabilities in developmental biology.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101615
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
How does viviparity evolve? Genetic perspectives from a unique model system. By integrating decades of Australian natural history research with the same technology that allowed researchers to sequence the genome of the woolly mammoth, this project seeks to uncover the genetic mechanisms responsible for the transition from egg-laying to live-bearing in reptiles.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101311
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Role of intrinsic versus extrinsic cues in cell type determination during development and regeneration. During development all of the different cell types are generated by the action of genes and also signals from the embryo that read out which cell types are present or missing. This project studies how much environmental signals affect cell type generation developmentally and if they can be used to regenerate only the types missing in different diseases.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101206
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,536.00
Summary
Beyond genes: How the extended genotype of plants facilitates adaptation. Adaptation to environmental change is required for species to persist, however rapid environmental change may exceed the limits of traditional genetic adaptation leading to widespread decline. Recent work has highlighted the 'extended genotype' as an additional factor influencing adaptive phenotypes. This project aims to examine DNA methylation and polyploidisation as both a cause and consequence of the adaptation process ....Beyond genes: How the extended genotype of plants facilitates adaptation. Adaptation to environmental change is required for species to persist, however rapid environmental change may exceed the limits of traditional genetic adaptation leading to widespread decline. Recent work has highlighted the 'extended genotype' as an additional factor influencing adaptive phenotypes. This project aims to examine DNA methylation and polyploidisation as both a cause and consequence of the adaptation process using natural populations of the model cereal Brachypodium distachyon. The project aims to determine the architecture of these features and how their variability impacts adaptive traits such as flowering time. From the functional role of the extended genotype the project endeavours to predict and select genetic responses to the environment.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101235
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$424,500.00
Summary
Encounters with hominins: the history of human arrival in Sahul. This project aims to provide a detailed understanding on the remarkably complex encounters between archaic and modern human populations in Island Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Australia during the Pleistocene. The project plans to provide the largest collection of human genetic diversity from this vast geographical region and significantly advance current knowledge on one of the most intriguing questions in human evolution. These ....Encounters with hominins: the history of human arrival in Sahul. This project aims to provide a detailed understanding on the remarkably complex encounters between archaic and modern human populations in Island Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Australia during the Pleistocene. The project plans to provide the largest collection of human genetic diversity from this vast geographical region and significantly advance current knowledge on one of the most intriguing questions in human evolution. These insights are expected to bring important social and cultural benefits for Australia by unveiling the singularly deep genetic history of Aboriginal Australians, including their ancient connection to indigenous communities from Indonesia and New Guinea that extends back to when people first arrived in Australia.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101064
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$416,000.00
Summary
Exploring eco-evolutionary dynamics to predict the future of coral reefs. This project aims to predict the future of coral reefs in the rapidly changing climate of the Anthropocene by integrating state-of-the-art population genomics with evolutionary and ecological modelling. The project expects to describe pathways of genetic and non-genetic adaptation; and the strength and direction of connectivity of warm vs cold adapted coral populations - united in an eco-evolutionary framework. Expected ou ....Exploring eco-evolutionary dynamics to predict the future of coral reefs. This project aims to predict the future of coral reefs in the rapidly changing climate of the Anthropocene by integrating state-of-the-art population genomics with evolutionary and ecological modelling. The project expects to describe pathways of genetic and non-genetic adaptation; and the strength and direction of connectivity of warm vs cold adapted coral populations - united in an eco-evolutionary framework. Expected outcomes address critical gaps in data and methodology that currently hinder our ability to reliably model the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of one of the most biologically diverse, socially and economically valuable and climatically vulnerable ecosystems of our planet, contributing to their science-based management. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100542
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$355,000.00
Summary
Understanding adaptation of plants along environmental clines. This project aims to address a key debate on the relative roles of dispersal and selection on adaptation, testing how life history traits determine the magnitude of adaptation. Since dispersal should override selection, this project endeavours to show that plants that strongly disperse will display weaker signals of adaptation but a higher capacity to adapt. The project aims to test these predictions with ecological genomics and func ....Understanding adaptation of plants along environmental clines. This project aims to address a key debate on the relative roles of dispersal and selection on adaptation, testing how life history traits determine the magnitude of adaptation. Since dispersal should override selection, this project endeavours to show that plants that strongly disperse will display weaker signals of adaptation but a higher capacity to adapt. The project aims to test these predictions with ecological genomics and functional genetics at a multi-species scale across climate gradients in South Australia, using a novel design that separates dispersal (isolation-by-distance) from selection (isolation-by-ecology). This understanding will provide improved conservation planning that seeks to restore resilience to biological communities that are under increasing environmental pressures.Read moreRead less