Ensuring The Utility And Sustainability Of Tissue Banks: Supporting Translational Research In Australia Through Informed Regulation And Community Engagement.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$481,885.00
Summary
Tissue banks provide a critical resource for translational research into the causes and treatment of many diseases affecting children and adults, such as cancer.Their success and contribution to medical research depends on addressing the many unresolved and emerging challenges that impact their work. This is the first national empirical study engaging the Australian research community, legal experts tissue donors and the public about the challenges to tissue banks to inform ethico legal regulati ....Tissue banks provide a critical resource for translational research into the causes and treatment of many diseases affecting children and adults, such as cancer.Their success and contribution to medical research depends on addressing the many unresolved and emerging challenges that impact their work. This is the first national empirical study engaging the Australian research community, legal experts tissue donors and the public about the challenges to tissue banks to inform ethico legal regulation and deliver better health care systems.Read moreRead less
The role of neurohormones in the regulation of appetite and successful sea water transfer in farmed Atlantic salmon. Cultured Atlantic salmon spend the first part of their life in freshwater and then following a physiological adaption phase called smoltification, the fish (now termed smolts) are transferred to sea cages for growout. A proportion of smolts fail to thrive after transfer, show slow or no growth and usually die some months later. This project will investigate the role that the neuro ....The role of neurohormones in the regulation of appetite and successful sea water transfer in farmed Atlantic salmon. Cultured Atlantic salmon spend the first part of their life in freshwater and then following a physiological adaption phase called smoltification, the fish (now termed smolts) are transferred to sea cages for growout. A proportion of smolts fail to thrive after transfer, show slow or no growth and usually die some months later. This project will investigate the role that the neurohomones that control both appetite and physiological stress in fish have in stimulating the resumption of feeding after sea water transfer.The basic knowledge generated will be used directly in development of strategies for minimising smolt failure in Atlantic salmon aquaculture.Read moreRead less
The cellular basis of temperature impairment of reproductive function in Atlantic salmon. Elevated summer and autumn temperatures, either as a result of normal climate variation or global warming, inhibit reproduction in salmonid fishes by disrupting endocrine (hormonal processes). The mechanisms involved are unclear but are known to involve inhibition of ovarian estrogen and the assembly of egg-yolk proteins. This project will investigate the cellular basis of the inhibitory effect of high temp ....The cellular basis of temperature impairment of reproductive function in Atlantic salmon. Elevated summer and autumn temperatures, either as a result of normal climate variation or global warming, inhibit reproduction in salmonid fishes by disrupting endocrine (hormonal processes). The mechanisms involved are unclear but are known to involve inhibition of ovarian estrogen and the assembly of egg-yolk proteins. This project will investigate the cellular basis of the inhibitory effect of high temperature on reproduction, at the ovarian and hepatic levels. The understanding developed will be an essential component of amelioration strategies for managing the continued successful rearing of salmon and trout under warming environmental conditions.Read moreRead less
Developing Evidence Based Strategies For Addressing Childhood Vaccination Rejection
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$743,927.00
Summary
Parental rejection of vaccines is a global concern that threatens to undermine disease control. A lack of evidence hampers the responses to this complex and persistent problem. We will interview parents who don’t vaccinate their children to learn what influences their decisions. We will then hold community juries and a public engagement process to refine strategies for responding to vaccination rejection that are acceptable to a well informed citizenry, practical and ethically justified.
Vulnerability, autonomy and justice. Vulnerable people require assistance and care. But what are our responsibilities in relation to the vulnerable? And how can we provide assistance and care while avoiding stereotyping or paternalism? This research will advance ethical theory and be useful in solving practical problems in health research and policy.
Evolutionary, macroecological and phylogenetic patterns in Australasian freshwater crayfish. This project connects Australian systematists to a worldwide project that involves all of the world's living experts on freshwater crayfish evolution in a coordinated effort to answer some very important evolutionary questions. It involves a group of invertebrate animals that are not only readily recognisable, but which in Australia includes the world's largest and the world's most terrestrial crayfish s ....Evolutionary, macroecological and phylogenetic patterns in Australasian freshwater crayfish. This project connects Australian systematists to a worldwide project that involves all of the world's living experts on freshwater crayfish evolution in a coordinated effort to answer some very important evolutionary questions. It involves a group of invertebrate animals that are not only readily recognisable, but which in Australia includes the world's largest and the world's most terrestrial crayfish species. Information gained from the project will contribute to the management of crayfish biodiversity, identification of threatened species and tools to identify these prominent and important members of Australian freshwater ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Everyday Incivilities. The study aims to provide the best available evidence on the seriousness of everyday incivilities between strangers in public places as a social problem in Australian society. This will involve gathering self-report data from socially diverse Australians for the purpose of exploring social group differences in (i) the type and prevalence of everyday incivilities experienced, and (ii) the social and psychological costs of exposure to everyday incivilities. The information ....Everyday Incivilities. The study aims to provide the best available evidence on the seriousness of everyday incivilities between strangers in public places as a social problem in Australian society. This will involve gathering self-report data from socially diverse Australians for the purpose of exploring social group differences in (i) the type and prevalence of everyday incivilities experienced, and (ii) the social and psychological costs of exposure to everyday incivilities. The information gathered will be used to identify high risk social groups and public places, and serve as a basis for developing programs for reducing everyday incivilities.Read moreRead less
A novel regulator of growth signalling in Drosophila. This project aims to increase understanding of how growth is regulated by growth factor hormones. In animals, growth is controlled by signalling pathways that are activated by secreted peptide hormones. A new regulator of growth in the fruitfly Drosophila, the membrane attack complex/perforin-like (MACPF) protein Torso-like, has been identified. The project aims to unravel how Torso-like functions to regulate growth, thus throwing light on th ....A novel regulator of growth signalling in Drosophila. This project aims to increase understanding of how growth is regulated by growth factor hormones. In animals, growth is controlled by signalling pathways that are activated by secreted peptide hormones. A new regulator of growth in the fruitfly Drosophila, the membrane attack complex/perforin-like (MACPF) protein Torso-like, has been identified. The project aims to unravel how Torso-like functions to regulate growth, thus throwing light on the role this protein family may play in all animals. The findings are expected to provide key insights into the modification of growth factor activity, which is often dysregulated in human cancers and growth disorders, and may enable the design of new strategies for interfering with insect development for pest control.Read moreRead less
Info-chemicals for the environmentally sustainable management of autumn gum moth and scarab beetle pests of bluegum plantations. Insect pest control in Australian bluegum plantations currently relies on insecticides. Insecticides are incompatible with maintaining populations of native beneficial insects and achieving biotic regulation of pest populations. Info-chemicals offer ways of disrupting pest populations that are benign to beneficials because they only interfere with the responses of the ....Info-chemicals for the environmentally sustainable management of autumn gum moth and scarab beetle pests of bluegum plantations. Insect pest control in Australian bluegum plantations currently relies on insecticides. Insecticides are incompatible with maintaining populations of native beneficial insects and achieving biotic regulation of pest populations. Info-chemicals offer ways of disrupting pest populations that are benign to beneficials because they only interfere with the responses of the target insect. This project will pioneer the development of sex pheromone-based technologies for managing autumn gum moth and reveal potential applications of info-chemicals for managing scarab beetles. Application of info-chemical solutions to plantation pests will improve public perception of the industry and assist with forestry standard certification.Read moreRead less
The impact of environmental change on larval energetics of molluscs on the southeast coast of Australia. This project will investigate the impact of environmental change on larval energetics of molluscs on the southeast (SE) coast of Australia. The SE coast of Australia is a climate hotspot characterised by rising ocean temperatures, fluctuations in salinity and we expect in the near future ocean acidification (OA). Mollusc larvae show extreme sensitivity to OA, but the impacts of other stressor ....The impact of environmental change on larval energetics of molluscs on the southeast coast of Australia. This project will investigate the impact of environmental change on larval energetics of molluscs on the southeast (SE) coast of Australia. The SE coast of Australia is a climate hotspot characterised by rising ocean temperatures, fluctuations in salinity and we expect in the near future ocean acidification (OA). Mollusc larvae show extreme sensitivity to OA, but the impacts of other stressors remains unknown. It is predicted that OA will reduce the capacity of larvae to cope with temperature and salinity, particularly when food supply is low and in populations which have had no previous exposure to OA. Understanding the response of mollusc larvae to environmental change will support ecologically and economically significant mollusc populations over this century.Read moreRead less