Superhuman place recognition with a unified model of human visual processing and rodent spatial memory. Current robotic and personal navigation systems leave much to be desired; GPS only works in open outdoor areas, lasers are expensive and cameras are highly sensitive to changing environmental conditions. In contrast, nature has evolved superb navigation systems. This project aims to solve the challenging problem of place recognition, a key component of navigation, by modelling the visual recog ....Superhuman place recognition with a unified model of human visual processing and rodent spatial memory. Current robotic and personal navigation systems leave much to be desired; GPS only works in open outdoor areas, lasers are expensive and cameras are highly sensitive to changing environmental conditions. In contrast, nature has evolved superb navigation systems. This project aims to solve the challenging problem of place recognition, a key component of navigation, by modelling the visual recognition skills of humans and the rodent spatial memory system. This project looks to combine the best understood and most capable components of place recognition in nature to create a whole more capable than its parts, produce advances in robotic and personal navigation technology and lead to breakthroughs in understandings of the brain.Read moreRead less
Brain-based sensor fusion for navigating robots. This project uses new findings in neuroscience to create robots that can self-determine which of their sensors will best help them learn to navigate in an environment. This technology enables robot systems to be flexibly deployed without prior calibration for wide ranging applications in environments from office buildings to outdoor ecosystems.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging: Decoding the palimpsest. This project aims to model the dynamics of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to image new physiology and attain higher resolution. This will enable new aspects of brain dynamics to be imaged, achieving higher resolution and improving interpretation. This project is expected to improve the use and power of fMRI, unlock new avenues for probing brain function and save experimental costs. This will have many uses in neuroscie ....Functional magnetic resonance imaging: Decoding the palimpsest. This project aims to model the dynamics of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to image new physiology and attain higher resolution. This will enable new aspects of brain dynamics to be imaged, achieving higher resolution and improving interpretation. This project is expected to improve the use and power of fMRI, unlock new avenues for probing brain function and save experimental costs. This will have many uses in neuroscience, brain imaging technology and fMRI analysis software.Read moreRead less
Novel pharmacological agents to target stroke-induced brain injury. There is a looming stroke epidemic in Australia. 72% of Australian stroke sufferers are over the age of 65 and whereas in 1997 only 12% of Australians were in that age group, by 2030 that number will have increased to 23%. There is an urgent need for novel therapies. This project will aid the development of a novel anti-stroke therapy.
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL210100156
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,716,041.00
Summary
Re-Evolving Nature’s Best Positioning Systems for People and Their Machines. The aim is to develop next-generation positioning capabilities that reduce Australia’s increasingly risky strategic reliance on vulnerable GPS satellites owned by other countries, and that enable transformation of Australia’s most important sectors through enhanced automation and robotics. Our approach re-evolves, re-engineers, and re-combines the best performing and best understood components of nature’s best positioni ....Re-Evolving Nature’s Best Positioning Systems for People and Their Machines. The aim is to develop next-generation positioning capabilities that reduce Australia’s increasingly risky strategic reliance on vulnerable GPS satellites owned by other countries, and that enable transformation of Australia’s most important sectors through enhanced automation and robotics. Our approach re-evolves, re-engineers, and re-combines the best performing and best understood components of nature’s best positioning systems with new technological advances in sensing and computation. The expected outcomes are high-performance positioning systems that improve the competitiveness of Australia’s leading industries and provide the positioning reliability required by the defence sector to keep Australia secure.Read moreRead less
The long-term consequences of toluene exposure on the maturing brain. Inhalant abuse is a significant problem especially among adolescent and indigenous communities. This project will provide insights into the long-term neurobiological consequences following inhalant exposure during adolescence when critical aspects of brain development are still occurring and how these may relate to altered behaviour in adulthood.
Stem Cell Treatment For Neonatal Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$954,195.00
Summary
Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy occurs when the fetus receives inadequate oxygen in labour and many babies die or have brain damage. Stem cell therapy might save these babies from brain damage but there are many unknowns, such as which stem cells to use and how many. Through our skills in stem cells and measuring the rescued brain following injury, we will determine the necessary details for the most effective stem cell therapy to be ready to immediately test the treatment in a RCT in babies.
Functional analysis of long noncoding RNAs expressed in the brain. For many years, the mammalian genome has been thought to be mainly junk. Recently, however, it has become evident that most of the genome specifies RNAs that do not encode proteins ('long noncoding' RNAs, lncRNAs), many of which are brain-specific. This project aims to determine the functions of lncRNAs that are expressed in the hippocampus (involved in learning) and the cerebellum (involved in movement coordination) by deleting ....Functional analysis of long noncoding RNAs expressed in the brain. For many years, the mammalian genome has been thought to be mainly junk. Recently, however, it has become evident that most of the genome specifies RNAs that do not encode proteins ('long noncoding' RNAs, lncRNAs), many of which are brain-specific. This project aims to determine the functions of lncRNAs that are expressed in the hippocampus (involved in learning) and the cerebellum (involved in movement coordination) by deleting them in mice, testing for developmental, cognitive and motor effects, and characterising the structures with which they are associated. The results of the project are expected to open new vistas in neuroscience, contributing to understanding the molecular basis of brain function and the 'dark matter' of the genome.Read moreRead less
Memory and the temporal lobes. This project will use brain imaging techniques to investigate how humans perceive, combine and access stored knowledge about the world via different senses. This information will not only provide information on normal brain processes, but will also provide vital data on what happens to memory if certain regions of the brain become damaged.
Role of micro-RNAs in learning and memory of insects. This project will investigate how small molecules in the brain, so-called micro RNAs, regulate processes underlying learning and memory formation. The outcomes will provide new knowledge on the specific function of these molecules in the brain, and help us understand their role in cognitive disorders such as autism and schizophrenia.