Biophysics-informed deep learning framework for magnetic resonance imaging. This project aims to bring about a paradigm shift from the conventional non-quantitative magnetic resonance imaging to ultra-fast, quantitative, and artefact free imaging. This project integrates biophysics and artificial intelligence, and it is expected to bring new knowledge in both fields. The expected outcomes of this project include next generation magnetic resonance imaging methods with a fundamental shift in the ....Biophysics-informed deep learning framework for magnetic resonance imaging. This project aims to bring about a paradigm shift from the conventional non-quantitative magnetic resonance imaging to ultra-fast, quantitative, and artefact free imaging. This project integrates biophysics and artificial intelligence, and it is expected to bring new knowledge in both fields. The expected outcomes of this project include next generation magnetic resonance imaging methods with a fundamental shift in the approach to image artefacts and image quantification. This project is expected to advance both single subject and population level biomedical imaging with greater accuracy and cost-effectiveness. This project also promotes explainable and generalisable artificial intelligence in medical imaging.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101244
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$342,411.00
Summary
Unravelling the relationship between food and the brain. This project aims to investigate how highly palatable foods that are high in fat and sugar, interact with the brain to cause their overconsumption. Highly palatable foods cause plasticity in brain reward circuitry in a manner similar to drugs of abuse. Identifying how these "junk" foods interact with reward areas of the brain will explore the neural mechanisms underlying the hedonic nature of appetite. This project will not only inform our ....Unravelling the relationship between food and the brain. This project aims to investigate how highly palatable foods that are high in fat and sugar, interact with the brain to cause their overconsumption. Highly palatable foods cause plasticity in brain reward circuitry in a manner similar to drugs of abuse. Identifying how these "junk" foods interact with reward areas of the brain will explore the neural mechanisms underlying the hedonic nature of appetite. This project will not only inform our understanding of how exposure to these foods can contribute to overeating and obesity, a huge and growing problem in Australia, but will also provide evidence to inform policy options relevant to advertising and marketing of these foods.Read moreRead less
How does timing affect mammalian brain development and evolution? This project aims to generate fundamental knowledge on the origin of diversity in mammalian brain circuits by studying development of marsupials and rodents. The expected outcome is to elucidate how differences in the timing, rate and sequence of development of gene expression, cell differentiation and circuit formation can relate to the origin of key evolutionary innovations in the mammalian brain. The significance of understandi ....How does timing affect mammalian brain development and evolution? This project aims to generate fundamental knowledge on the origin of diversity in mammalian brain circuits by studying development of marsupials and rodents. The expected outcome is to elucidate how differences in the timing, rate and sequence of development of gene expression, cell differentiation and circuit formation can relate to the origin of key evolutionary innovations in the mammalian brain. The significance of understanding the dynamics of developmental systems that shape complex brain traits includes establishing new developmental paradigms in evolutionary theory, generating new tools to investigate and manipulate brain gene expression in vivo, and the potential discovery of the causes of neurodevelopmental dysfunction.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101272
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,885.00
Summary
Glial Plasticity: How experience and aging change brain structure. 50 % of the cells in the brain are called glia. These cells work with neurons to regulate how we think, feel and behave. Most glial cells are added to the brain after birth, however we know very little about how this process works, or how it may be changed by lived-experience. The overarching aim of this study is to better understand how lived-experience impacts the growth of the major types of glial cells in the brain. To do th ....Glial Plasticity: How experience and aging change brain structure. 50 % of the cells in the brain are called glia. These cells work with neurons to regulate how we think, feel and behave. Most glial cells are added to the brain after birth, however we know very little about how this process works, or how it may be changed by lived-experience. The overarching aim of this study is to better understand how lived-experience impacts the growth of the major types of glial cells in the brain. To do this, I will use cutting-edge technologies and identify; 1) the rates of cell growth for the major types of glia, and 2) map how they are integrated into the brain. This will lead to important new information on how lived-experience can shape the growth and structure of the brain.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC170100030
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,133,659.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre in Cognitive Computing for Medical Technologies. The ARC Training Centre in Cognitive Computing for Medical Technologies aims to create a workforce that is expert in developing, applying and interrogating cognitive computing technologies in data-intensive medical contexts. This will facilitate the next generation of data-driven and machine learning-based medical technologies. The Centre will provide a world-class industry-driven research training environment for PhD students ....ARC Training Centre in Cognitive Computing for Medical Technologies. The ARC Training Centre in Cognitive Computing for Medical Technologies aims to create a workforce that is expert in developing, applying and interrogating cognitive computing technologies in data-intensive medical contexts. This will facilitate the next generation of data-driven and machine learning-based medical technologies. The Centre will provide a world-class industry-driven research training environment for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. These researchers will lead the medical technology industry into a new era of data-driven personalised and precision medical devices and applications. The Centre will result in the development of capabilities in the core technologies of machine learning and the practical application of cognitive computing in the area of health.Read moreRead less
The impact of female sex hormones on neurodevelopment. This project aims to characterise the contribution of sex hormones to the development of emotional brain circuits in female adolescents. Puberty is associated with profound changes in emotional behaviours in females, but we know little about the underlying brain mechanisms. In particular, research has neglected to consider the role of the sex hormones for which changes are a defining feature of female puberty (eg, oestradiol). This work will ....The impact of female sex hormones on neurodevelopment. This project aims to characterise the contribution of sex hormones to the development of emotional brain circuits in female adolescents. Puberty is associated with profound changes in emotional behaviours in females, but we know little about the underlying brain mechanisms. In particular, research has neglected to consider the role of the sex hormones for which changes are a defining feature of female puberty (eg, oestradiol). This work will be the first to comprehensively advance our understanding of the unique role of sex hormones in shaping the adolescent female brain. It will provide critical understanding of how individual differences in hormonal factors increase risk for emotional problems in females, and inform treatment strategies.Read moreRead less
Integrative brain imaging technologies. This project aims to develop quantitative metabolic imaging using simultaneous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). The current generation of MR-PET scanners are capable of simultaneously acquiring MRI and PET data to enable quantitative anatomical, physiological and metabolic imaging. The project aims to develop new MRI methods for quantitative anatomical mapping, MR-based motion correction of dynamic PET scan data, and ....Integrative brain imaging technologies. This project aims to develop quantitative metabolic imaging using simultaneous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). The current generation of MR-PET scanners are capable of simultaneously acquiring MRI and PET data to enable quantitative anatomical, physiological and metabolic imaging. The project aims to develop new MRI methods for quantitative anatomical mapping, MR-based motion correction of dynamic PET scan data, and joint estimation of physiological and metabolic organ activity. These advances will create innovative imaging technologies for advanced biomedical imaging research with a particular emphasis in healthy ageing.
Read moreRead less
Investigating the role of Zona Incerta RXFP3+ cells in learning and memory. Learning and memory are fundamental to human and animal behaviour. We identified a specific population of cells in the zona incerta of the brain, where activation inhibits expression of memory, and facilitates the acquisition of new learning. Aside from our observations, nothing is currently known about the anatomy and function of these cells. This project aims to map how they connect to the rest of the brain, to observe ....Investigating the role of Zona Incerta RXFP3+ cells in learning and memory. Learning and memory are fundamental to human and animal behaviour. We identified a specific population of cells in the zona incerta of the brain, where activation inhibits expression of memory, and facilitates the acquisition of new learning. Aside from our observations, nothing is currently known about the anatomy and function of these cells. This project aims to map how they connect to the rest of the brain, to observe how these connections are recruited during learning and memory, and then to test their function experimentally. The outcomes will extend the known neural circuitry that controls learning by defining how and where these unexplored pathways fit within it; thus advancing knowledge regarding neural regulation of behaviour.
Read moreRead less
Building a visual world: how brain circuits create and use representations. This project aims to demonstrate the presence, computation, and use of an invariant representation for texture structure. The proposed approach is interdisciplinary and combines image analysis, electrophysiology, optogenetics and computational modelling.
Expected outcomes of this project include learning how neurons encode properties of natural images, defining a novel computational tool for analysis of textures, and ne ....Building a visual world: how brain circuits create and use representations. This project aims to demonstrate the presence, computation, and use of an invariant representation for texture structure. The proposed approach is interdisciplinary and combines image analysis, electrophysiology, optogenetics and computational modelling.
Expected outcomes of this project include learning how neurons encode properties of natural images, defining a novel computational tool for analysis of textures, and new knowledge of how multiple brain areas work together to represent the visual world. This should provide significant benefits for the development of artificial visual systems, and impact on brain research broadly by increasing the number of tools available to predict complex representations at the cellular level.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100157
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$416,134.00
Summary
Involvement of the claustrum in coordinating brain circuits. This project aims to reveal how the claustrum coordinates information flow across other brain areas. The project will test the hypothesis that the Claustrum, a structure in the brain’s temporal lobe, coordinates the brains resting state networks. The project expects to characterise how the claustrum interacts with different networks, using a combination of anatomical, physiological and mathematical analysis techniques. The project expe ....Involvement of the claustrum in coordinating brain circuits. This project aims to reveal how the claustrum coordinates information flow across other brain areas. The project will test the hypothesis that the Claustrum, a structure in the brain’s temporal lobe, coordinates the brains resting state networks. The project expects to characterise how the claustrum interacts with different networks, using a combination of anatomical, physiological and mathematical analysis techniques. The project expects to advance knowledge about the function of one of the least understood parts of the brain. This will provide benefits that include new analysis techniques for integrative brain function, and may form the basis of future biotechnologies for modulating brain activity using neuroengineering or pharmacological approaches.Read moreRead less