Driving performance and self-regulation practices in drivers with dementia . Despite the high prevalence of dementia in older drivers, a substantial gap remains in the evidence regarding the natural progression of the disease and its impact on fitness to drive. This project will use a combination of real-time, in-vehicle driver monitoring devices and a state-of-the-art driving simulator. Together, these will objectively measure natural driving patterns and self-regulation practices, and provide ....Driving performance and self-regulation practices in drivers with dementia . Despite the high prevalence of dementia in older drivers, a substantial gap remains in the evidence regarding the natural progression of the disease and its impact on fitness to drive. This project will use a combination of real-time, in-vehicle driver monitoring devices and a state-of-the-art driving simulator. Together, these will objectively measure natural driving patterns and self-regulation practices, and provide a comprehensive assessment of driving performance for drivers with mild dementia and a comparison group without dementia. The project will create a partnership between leading researchers, clinicians and policy makers in order to provide an answer to a complex problem.Read moreRead less
Visual field impairment and injury: A population-based study. This project aims to link a large-scale ophthalmic database of visual field tests to population-based injury data which includes police-reported crash data, hospitalisation, death and trauma data in people aged over 60 years. The identification of individuals with high risk visual fields will enable the development of targeted interventions at the local, national and international level to prevent injuries due to visual field loss. Si ....Visual field impairment and injury: A population-based study. This project aims to link a large-scale ophthalmic database of visual field tests to population-based injury data which includes police-reported crash data, hospitalisation, death and trauma data in people aged over 60 years. The identification of individuals with high risk visual fields will enable the development of targeted interventions at the local, national and international level to prevent injuries due to visual field loss. Significant benefits include a reduction in the number of injuries and consequent reductions in personal harm and health care demands.Read moreRead less
Elder Abuse: A Longitudinal Prospective Study of Perpetrators and Victims. This project aims to improve the quality of the available data and fill major gaps in knowledge about elder abuse in Australia. The study is significant as it aims to generate new knowledge about the perpetrators and victims of abuse and neglect of older women. The Council of Attorneys’ General of Australia has explicitly prioritised this need for further research on the population prevalence of elder abuse. The anticipat ....Elder Abuse: A Longitudinal Prospective Study of Perpetrators and Victims. This project aims to improve the quality of the available data and fill major gaps in knowledge about elder abuse in Australia. The study is significant as it aims to generate new knowledge about the perpetrators and victims of abuse and neglect of older women. The Council of Attorneys’ General of Australia has explicitly prioritised this need for further research on the population prevalence of elder abuse. The anticipated project outcomes will be to identify the prevalence, causes and consequences of elder abuse in Australia, with the intended benefit of the development of reliable and validated estimates of the population prevalence of elder abuse and identify the early life and current circumstances of women who experience elder abuse.
Read moreRead less
Global dementias: Examining structural vulnerability and dementia outcomes. This project aims to examine the social and cultural dimensions of dementia by using a comparative ethnographic approach to examine the experiences of people living with dementia in Australia, Malaysia and India. The project expects to generate new anthropological knowledge about structural inequalities by examining how dementia is responded to in diverse geographic, cultural and social settings. Expected outcomes of thi ....Global dementias: Examining structural vulnerability and dementia outcomes. This project aims to examine the social and cultural dimensions of dementia by using a comparative ethnographic approach to examine the experiences of people living with dementia in Australia, Malaysia and India. The project expects to generate new anthropological knowledge about structural inequalities by examining how dementia is responded to in diverse geographic, cultural and social settings. Expected outcomes of this project include the creation of a new evidence-base on dementia and the production of briefing documents to guide global health frameworks. The project should provide significant benefits for people living with dementia by providing locally-relevant strategies to respond to dementia and resultant disability.Read moreRead less
Adaptation to life in the dark: genomic analyses of blind beetles. This project aims to utilise a unique Australian model system based on multiple, independently-evolved subterranean water beetles to explore the adaptive and regressive changes in the genome that occur when surface species colonise subterranean habitats. This project focuses on the evolution of Heat Shock protein (Hsp) genes that play critical roles in adaptation to environmental stress and the process of de-canalisation, the rel ....Adaptation to life in the dark: genomic analyses of blind beetles. This project aims to utilise a unique Australian model system based on multiple, independently-evolved subterranean water beetles to explore the adaptive and regressive changes in the genome that occur when surface species colonise subterranean habitats. This project focuses on the evolution of Heat Shock protein (Hsp) genes that play critical roles in adaptation to environmental stress and the process of de-canalisation, the release of cryptic genetic variation that can allow novel morphologies to evolve in new environments. The project expects to provide further understanding of how species may potentially adapt to environmental stresses in the future, including climate change.Read moreRead less
The life-course implications of declining adolescent drinking. The project aims to identify ways to ensure that recent declines in adolescent drinking are maintained and reinforced as these cohorts age into young adulthood. It expects to generate new knowledge on the trajectories of youth drinking into young adulthood. Expected outcomes include new cross-national understandings of the predictors of heavy drinking in adulthood and an updated evidence base for the development of harm prevention po ....The life-course implications of declining adolescent drinking. The project aims to identify ways to ensure that recent declines in adolescent drinking are maintained and reinforced as these cohorts age into young adulthood. It expects to generate new knowledge on the trajectories of youth drinking into young adulthood. Expected outcomes include new cross-national understandings of the predictors of heavy drinking in adulthood and an updated evidence base for the development of harm prevention policies and interventions by governments and NGOs. This should provide significant benefits to Australia via reductions in the negative health and social impacts of heavy drinking for these cohorts across their lives. Read moreRead less
Unlocking the genetic and biochemical potential of kangaroo paws. Using cutting-edge gene technology and an interdisciplinary approach, this project aims to uncover the genes responsible for flower colour in the iconic kangaroo paws of Western Australia, and identify the compounds that produce the colours. The project expects to produce the first entire kangaroo paw genome and identify unique genetic variants and biochemicals underlying colour differences. This new knowledge should help horticul ....Unlocking the genetic and biochemical potential of kangaroo paws. Using cutting-edge gene technology and an interdisciplinary approach, this project aims to uncover the genes responsible for flower colour in the iconic kangaroo paws of Western Australia, and identify the compounds that produce the colours. The project expects to produce the first entire kangaroo paw genome and identify unique genetic variants and biochemicals underlying colour differences. This new knowledge should help horticultural programs to more easily breed varieties with desirable and highly marketable new colours, and could assist in conserving these amazing Australian plants.Read moreRead less
Choosing to persist: sexual selection in the wild. This project aims to investigate the role of sexual selection in maintaining healthy wild populations. The prevailing story of sexual selection, in which the sexes either compete for or choose the other sex, has been of extravagant ornaments and displays that drive species to extinction. However, an opposing story has emerged, with elaborate ornaments reflecting a healthy genome and sexual selection instead sweeping away damaging genetic mater ....Choosing to persist: sexual selection in the wild. This project aims to investigate the role of sexual selection in maintaining healthy wild populations. The prevailing story of sexual selection, in which the sexes either compete for or choose the other sex, has been of extravagant ornaments and displays that drive species to extinction. However, an opposing story has emerged, with elaborate ornaments reflecting a healthy genome and sexual selection instead sweeping away damaging genetic material. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the potential for sexual selection to remove harmful mutations in the wild. Expected outcomes include determining if sexual selection can help prevent extinction in wild populations, with direct benefits for conservation programs.Read moreRead less
Australian Heritage: constructing the first Aboriginal reference genome. This project aims to use DNA sequencing technologies to generate the first complete and accurate Aboriginal genomes, along with maps of genomic variation around Australia. It will combine a range of advanced analytical methods to integrate past and present indigenous genetic diversity from human populations around the world into a new pan-human reference genome. This project will lead to a step change in our understanding o ....Australian Heritage: constructing the first Aboriginal reference genome. This project aims to use DNA sequencing technologies to generate the first complete and accurate Aboriginal genomes, along with maps of genomic variation around Australia. It will combine a range of advanced analytical methods to integrate past and present indigenous genetic diversity from human populations around the world into a new pan-human reference genome. This project will lead to a step change in our understanding of global human genomic variants and provide a range of new targets relevant to medical biology, while significantly improving our knowledge of human genetic history and its consequences in the modern day.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research. This Centre intends to generate crucial knowledge to inform social and economic responses to population ageing, one of the most important issues of the 21st century. Population ageing exerts unprecedented pressures on social norms and policy institutions, both in Australia and around the world. Leading researchers from a range of disciplines will undertake multidisciplinary research to help governments, businesses, and consumers prepare for ....ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research. This Centre intends to generate crucial knowledge to inform social and economic responses to population ageing, one of the most important issues of the 21st century. Population ageing exerts unprecedented pressures on social norms and policy institutions, both in Australia and around the world. Leading researchers from a range of disciplines will undertake multidisciplinary research to help governments, businesses, and consumers prepare for and make better decisions for an ageing world, with consequent social and economic benefits for families and communities expected to flow to Australia, the Asian region and the world.Read moreRead less