Deciphering genome function in animal development. The normal development of an embryo depends on complex and finely tuned gene regulatory mechanisms. In this Fellowship, I will use sophisticated new technologies to discover which of our 30,000 genes is important for embryonic development, reveal the roles of these genes, and identify the control mechanisms that can go awry to cause birth defects. Our research will suggest new ways to diagnose and deal with these conditions, and will be applicab ....Deciphering genome function in animal development. The normal development of an embryo depends on complex and finely tuned gene regulatory mechanisms. In this Fellowship, I will use sophisticated new technologies to discover which of our 30,000 genes is important for embryonic development, reveal the roles of these genes, and identify the control mechanisms that can go awry to cause birth defects. Our research will suggest new ways to diagnose and deal with these conditions, and will be applicable to stem cell technologies, tissue regeneration, cancer biology, conservation, pest management and livestock breeding, thus delivering significant economic and social benefits to Australia. Read moreRead less
Chemical Mimics Of Bioactive Protein Surfaces. Frontier chemical technology will be developed and applied to construction of new compounds that mimic unstable fragments of bioactive protein surfaces. New materials can contribute to National Research Priorities by presenting new ways of impacting on infection, diseases of the aged, and preventative medicine (drugs, vaccines, diagnostics). The technology and materials will advance basic science at the chemistry-biology interface; permit new applic ....Chemical Mimics Of Bioactive Protein Surfaces. Frontier chemical technology will be developed and applied to construction of new compounds that mimic unstable fragments of bioactive protein surfaces. New materials can contribute to National Research Priorities by presenting new ways of impacting on infection, diseases of the aged, and preventative medicine (drugs, vaccines, diagnostics). The technology and materials will advance basic science at the chemistry-biology interface; permit new applications in medicine, science and industry; present new economic opportunities for building and strengthening Australian companies; attract and train outstanding young people in interdisciplinary science; and enhance the international reputation of Australian science and technology.Read moreRead less
Climate change: adaptation and resilience in the face of uncertainty. Climate change poses a wide range of challenges to Australia's agricultural sector and for the management of natural ecosystems. These challenges are recognised in the National Research Priorities 1, An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, and 4, Safeguarding Australia. The potential economic costs of climate change to vital national assets such as the Murray-Darling Basin and the Great Barrier Reef, amount to billions of do ....Climate change: adaptation and resilience in the face of uncertainty. Climate change poses a wide range of challenges to Australia's agricultural sector and for the management of natural ecosystems. These challenges are recognised in the National Research Priorities 1, An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, and 4, Safeguarding Australia. The potential economic costs of climate change to vital national assets such as the Murray-Darling Basin and the Great Barrier Reef, amount to billions of dollars per year, and ecological costs are even more significant. Uncertainty about the rate at which climate change will take place and about effects in different regions is central to the problem. This project will explore adaptive management strategies that promote resilience in the face of uncertainty.
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Beyond Microarrays: Nano-Scaled Devices for High Throughput Biomolecular Sensing. Current developments in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology hold many promises in terms of revolutionising our industrial base, transforming biology, medical science and practice. This project strives to achieve some of these aims by, for the first time, building and testing nano-scaled devices with the capability to 'read' massive amounts of biological information. With the recent completion of the Human Genome proje ....Beyond Microarrays: Nano-Scaled Devices for High Throughput Biomolecular Sensing. Current developments in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology hold many promises in terms of revolutionising our industrial base, transforming biology, medical science and practice. This project strives to achieve some of these aims by, for the first time, building and testing nano-scaled devices with the capability to 'read' massive amounts of biological information. With the recent completion of the Human Genome project, major opportunities exist to provide spectacular advances in human health care (eg, via personalised medicine) provided that appropriate high-throughput biological reading devices can be developed. In developing such devices, this project also aims to substantially catalyse the Australian Nanotechnology/Biotechnology industry.Read moreRead less
Stochastic Modelling of Genetic Regulatory Networks: Subtitle - Genetic Regulation is a Noisy Business. The completion of the human genome marked the culmination of one hundred years of reductionist science in cell biology. Although further bioinformatics analysis will continue, the focus is shifting towards synthesis and understanding how the regulatory genetic components dynamically interact to form functional phenotypes. The key to this is the understanding of the roles of stochasticity in ....Stochastic Modelling of Genetic Regulatory Networks: Subtitle - Genetic Regulation is a Noisy Business. The completion of the human genome marked the culmination of one hundred years of reductionist science in cell biology. Although further bioinformatics analysis will continue, the focus is shifting towards synthesis and understanding how the regulatory genetic components dynamically interact to form functional phenotypes. The key to this is the understanding of the roles of stochasticity in cellular processes. This project will explore these roles and will develop an integrated complex systems modelling, simulation and visualisation framework. This will be used on an exemplar application for lineage commitment in haematopoiesis and for exploring and validating genetic regulatory models in general.Read moreRead less
Assembly of neural circuits during development. This program aims to understand how nerve cells wire up accurately during development. Specifically, the program will determine how neuronal connections are established in the retina to produce a sensory structure essential for vision. The program will also generate innovative tools for watching in live animals, the making and breaking of connections during normal and abnormal development. Discoveries will not only significantly increase our knowle ....Assembly of neural circuits during development. This program aims to understand how nerve cells wire up accurately during development. Specifically, the program will determine how neuronal connections are established in the retina to produce a sensory structure essential for vision. The program will also generate innovative tools for watching in live animals, the making and breaking of connections during normal and abnormal development. Discoveries will not only significantly increase our knowledge base of how the nervous system develops or degenerates, but the results will provide crucial information for future studies based on genetic approaches, drug therapies and bioengineering technology to repair the injured nervous system.Read moreRead less
Self organization in (bio)molecular systems: Simulating the folding and aggregation of peptides, proteins and lipids. Molecular self-assembly is a basic property of living systems. Most proteins fold spontaneously and then further self-organize into functional complexes, effectively biological machines. Understanding how this occurs is a fundamental theoretical challenge with widespread application. Work will focus on developing methodology to simulate, computationally, the folding and aggrega ....Self organization in (bio)molecular systems: Simulating the folding and aggregation of peptides, proteins and lipids. Molecular self-assembly is a basic property of living systems. Most proteins fold spontaneously and then further self-organize into functional complexes, effectively biological machines. Understanding how this occurs is a fundamental theoretical challenge with widespread application. Work will focus on developing methodology to simulate, computationally, the folding and aggregation of peptides, proteins, and lipids. The aim is to accurately predict the structures of small peptides in solution and to refine crude models of larger molecules (complexes). This will facilitate the development of peptide based therapeutics and is essential in exploiting the growing volume of genetic information in biology and medicine.Read moreRead less
Carbohydrates and Carbohydrate-Recognising Proteins as Drug Discovery Targets. The significance and roles of carbohydrates in many biological processes, in particular those processes associated with disease, is now well-recognised. These new directions have captured the attention and imagination of not only academic research groups across the world, but also pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and has restimulated their interest in the pursuit of carbohydrate-based drugs and drugs against ....Carbohydrates and Carbohydrate-Recognising Proteins as Drug Discovery Targets. The significance and roles of carbohydrates in many biological processes, in particular those processes associated with disease, is now well-recognised. These new directions have captured the attention and imagination of not only academic research groups across the world, but also pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and has restimulated their interest in the pursuit of carbohydrate-based drugs and drugs against carbohydrate-recognising proteins critical in disease processes. The current application seeks to use some of this information to faciliate the discovery of novel carbohydrate-based chemical entities as inhibitors of the spread of some cancers and diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms.Read moreRead less
Environmental change, carbon cycling and human impact in tropical Australia. This fellowhip will provide the fundamental science outputs required to understand the complex linkages between terrestrial ecosystems, environmental change and human impact in the tropics - in Australia and globally - thereby assisting in
(i) predicting the response of tropical ecosystems to future environmental change and respond to the impacts of tropical climate variability
(ii) developing and validating method ....Environmental change, carbon cycling and human impact in tropical Australia. This fellowhip will provide the fundamental science outputs required to understand the complex linkages between terrestrial ecosystems, environmental change and human impact in the tropics - in Australia and globally - thereby assisting in
(i) predicting the response of tropical ecosystems to future environmental change and respond to the impacts of tropical climate variability
(ii) developing and validating methodologies for improved carbon sequestration, verifiable carbon accounting and emissions trading
(iii) achieving sustainability in the utilization of the natural resource base of tropical Australia by optimizing the balance between wealth creation and environmental impact
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The genomic programming of complex organisms. The project will have far-reaching consequences in medicine, agriculture, biotechnology, engineering, information science and associated industries. It will provide a platform for the rationalization of genetic epidemiology and genetic improvement programs, the development of a wide range of new diagnostics and therapies, the development of new core technologies and practical approaches in genetics and genetic diversity, a framework for advanced gen ....The genomic programming of complex organisms. The project will have far-reaching consequences in medicine, agriculture, biotechnology, engineering, information science and associated industries. It will provide a platform for the rationalization of genetic epidemiology and genetic improvement programs, the development of a wide range of new diagnostics and therapies, the development of new core technologies and practical approaches in genetics and genetic diversity, a framework for advanced genetic engineering, the development of new principles and systems for information storage and transmission, and the design of artificial systems capable of self-referential assembly in other environments.Read moreRead less