Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882701
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$300,000.00
Summary
Establishment of a confocal/multiphoton microscope for imaging of living systems. This facility will allow us to study the dynamic changes in living systems, from the smallest unicellular organisms in the ocean through to the sophisticated neural networks of the living brain. Not only will this imaging facility allow us to understand how living systems work, we will also be able to explore the dynamic changes that underlie human disease and injury.
ARC Centre of Excellence - Vision Science. This Centre will generate important new knowledge of the performance, logic and stability of vision and visual behaviour. This knowledge will help reduce the burden of vision impairment in Australia, increasing productivity, promoting healthy ageing and reducing the community costs of visual impairment (ca. $9.85 billion in 2004). The knowledge produced will also make possible world-class innovations in robotics, leading to novel automated vision system ....ARC Centre of Excellence - Vision Science. This Centre will generate important new knowledge of the performance, logic and stability of vision and visual behaviour. This knowledge will help reduce the burden of vision impairment in Australia, increasing productivity, promoting healthy ageing and reducing the community costs of visual impairment (ca. $9.85 billion in 2004). The knowledge produced will also make possible world-class innovations in robotics, leading to novel automated vision systems with applications in industry and national security. Other knowledge will develop novel diagnostic technologies, for application in health delivery.Read moreRead less
How do myelinating cells alter brain circuits to facilitate learning? This project aims to identify the brain circuits that receive new insulation and characterise the molecular mediators of this process. This project will apply innovative technologies to understand how the nervous system remains adaptable throughout life. This new knowledge, of the cellular mechanisms that allow brain circuits to remain adaptable throughout life, may have application in the development of interventions aimed at ....How do myelinating cells alter brain circuits to facilitate learning? This project aims to identify the brain circuits that receive new insulation and characterise the molecular mediators of this process. This project will apply innovative technologies to understand how the nervous system remains adaptable throughout life. This new knowledge, of the cellular mechanisms that allow brain circuits to remain adaptable throughout life, may have application in the development of interventions aimed at improving educational outcomes or counteracting age-related memory decline. Potential future benefits include facilitating the development of drugs to circumvent memory loss resulting from brain diseases, and improving the design of neuromorphic hardware for computing.Read moreRead less
Identifying genes that influence clinical course and susceptibility in multiple sclerosis. This project aims to identify the genetic basis of multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common neurologic disease in young Australian adults. MS urgently needs research to identify predisposition, aid early diagnosis and provide bona fide molecular targets for new therapies. This will benefit people with MS and those susceptible to it. Crucial new knowledge identified will benefit other major areas of MS rese ....Identifying genes that influence clinical course and susceptibility in multiple sclerosis. This project aims to identify the genetic basis of multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common neurologic disease in young Australian adults. MS urgently needs research to identify predisposition, aid early diagnosis and provide bona fide molecular targets for new therapies. This will benefit people with MS and those susceptible to it. Crucial new knowledge identified will benefit other major areas of MS research including epidemiology, immunology and neurobiology. Collaboration of 8 major Australian institutions is also important for this project and future studies. The team will have access to a new national MS GeneBank (platform) with samples from 2240 patients that should generate findings important to world-wide MS genetic knowledge.Read moreRead less
Learning and memory in the honeybee: Task-dependent brain development. We wish to explore whether the development of specific brain regions in young bees depends upon the nature of the learning task in which they are engaged. We will examine tasks that involve two sensory modalities: olfaction and vision, both of which are important to successful foraging. The relative ease with which bees can be trained, and their nervous systems accessed, make them a very attractive subject in which to study f ....Learning and memory in the honeybee: Task-dependent brain development. We wish to explore whether the development of specific brain regions in young bees depends upon the nature of the learning task in which they are engaged. We will examine tasks that involve two sensory modalities: olfaction and vision, both of which are important to successful foraging. The relative ease with which bees can be trained, and their nervous systems accessed, make them a very attractive subject in which to study fundamental principles of learning and memory that may span a variety of organisms.Read moreRead less
Resolving the Structures of Human Muscarinic M1 and M4 Receptors. Muscarinic receptors are vital for most basic human brain functions. These receptors are changed in schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. This project will determine the structure and localisation of two of these receptors in order to i) understand their roles in brain disorders and ii) develop drugs to treat disorders involving them.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989788
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$108,481.00
Summary
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Microimaging and Relaxometry Facility. Many of the research projects to be supported by the facility are dedicated to improving our understanding of conditions and diseases that detrimentally affect many in our community. Projects investigating Alzheimer's disease, the central nervous system and its ability to repair, cancer and associated therapeutic treatments are some of the areas that will benefit from access to this equipment. The new facility will also provide un ....Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Microimaging and Relaxometry Facility. Many of the research projects to be supported by the facility are dedicated to improving our understanding of conditions and diseases that detrimentally affect many in our community. Projects investigating Alzheimer's disease, the central nervous system and its ability to repair, cancer and associated therapeutic treatments are some of the areas that will benefit from access to this equipment. The new facility will also provide unique insights into aspects of fundamental plant biology, with implications for improving crop productivity and better managing our natural ecosystems. The community will also benefit from the development and testing within the facility of new diagnostic tools and markers for a range of diseases.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354726
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
NETVISION: AUSTRALIA'S NATIONAL VISION RESEARCH NETWORK. Vision is the most important human sense. Visual malfunctions pose major health challenges. Vision provides a window into the brain, for studying perception, cognition and consciousness. It is integral to human cultural and social development. It provides opportunities for technological advances in diagnostics, artificial vision, robotics, and surveillance. Vision is therefore crucial to three of the National Priority Areas. The National V ....NETVISION: AUSTRALIA'S NATIONAL VISION RESEARCH NETWORK. Vision is the most important human sense. Visual malfunctions pose major health challenges. Vision provides a window into the brain, for studying perception, cognition and consciousness. It is integral to human cultural and social development. It provides opportunities for technological advances in diagnostics, artificial vision, robotics, and surveillance. Vision is therefore crucial to three of the National Priority Areas. The National Vision Network will create a coherent, interactive and innovative research base in the vision sciences, linked to end-users in areas ranging from the art, entertainment and fashion industries, through health and education, to border protection and counter-terrorism.Read moreRead less
Honeybee Navigation: Low-level and Cognitive Mechanisms. Anyone watching a honeybee find its way back home effortlessly after flying several kilometres in search of nectar would know that these insects are excellent navigators, despite their diminutive brains and relatively simple nervous systems. The aim of this proposal is to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms by which bees navigate repeatedly to an attractive food source, and recruit their nestmates to visit it. The findings should ....Honeybee Navigation: Low-level and Cognitive Mechanisms. Anyone watching a honeybee find its way back home effortlessly after flying several kilometres in search of nectar would know that these insects are excellent navigators, despite their diminutive brains and relatively simple nervous systems. The aim of this proposal is to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms by which bees navigate repeatedly to an attractive food source, and recruit their nestmates to visit it. The findings should illuminate important principles of animal navigation, as well as suggest novel strategies for robot navigation.Read moreRead less
Suction pipette measurements of mammalian rod photoreceptor recovery following intense bleaching exposures. The aim of this project is to discover the events and processes that prevent retinal photoreceptors from recovering instantaneously following the cessation of exposure to extremely bright illumination. Recordings will be made from single rod photoreceptors cells isolated from the mammalian retina. The work will uncover the relative roles of the 'photoproducts' created when rhodopsin abso ....Suction pipette measurements of mammalian rod photoreceptor recovery following intense bleaching exposures. The aim of this project is to discover the events and processes that prevent retinal photoreceptors from recovering instantaneously following the cessation of exposure to extremely bright illumination. Recordings will be made from single rod photoreceptors cells isolated from the mammalian retina. The work will uncover the relative roles of the 'photoproducts' created when rhodopsin absorbs light: e.g. intermediates such as metarhodopsin and opsin. The molecular knowledge obtained will help us to understand why it is that the visual system recovers so slowly after the eye has experienced very intense light.Read moreRead less