A Place to Call Home: expediting repatriation and ending the practice of warehousing refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Half of the world's 12 million refugees and 25 million IDPs have been living in camps for five to ten years (and longer). The proposed model for refugee and IDP repatriation and reintegration will: significantly increase their human security; alleviate the economic burden on host countries; contribute to the development goals of the countries of origin; facilitat ....A Place to Call Home: expediting repatriation and ending the practice of warehousing refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). Half of the world's 12 million refugees and 25 million IDPs have been living in camps for five to ten years (and longer). The proposed model for refugee and IDP repatriation and reintegration will: significantly increase their human security; alleviate the economic burden on host countries; contribute to the development goals of the countries of origin; facilitate the targeting of humanitarian assistance for resolving protracted refugee and IDP situations; and reduce the threats to regional stability. The research will also enhance both Australia's reputation in this humanitarian sector and its institutional capacity to successfully repatriate and reintegrate refugees and IDPs.Read moreRead less
Reducing health disparities for culturally and linguistically diverse peoples. This project aims to develop a greater understanding of migrants and the factors that predict poor health outcomes related to blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections. The delayed access by migrants to healthcare from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds results in late diagnosis, low treatment uptake, and poorer health outcomes, with enhanced risk of infection and increased burden on the h ....Reducing health disparities for culturally and linguistically diverse peoples. This project aims to develop a greater understanding of migrants and the factors that predict poor health outcomes related to blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections. The delayed access by migrants to healthcare from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds results in late diagnosis, low treatment uptake, and poorer health outcomes, with enhanced risk of infection and increased burden on the health system. The data collected in this project will assist in developing health services to meet these needs.Read moreRead less
The Forgotten Children, Ten Years On. This project aims to investigate the rippling impacts of immigration detention in the lives of people who were detained as children. Utilising an innovative arts-based, person-centred design, and in partnership with Australia’s national human rights institution and children themselves, the project aims to generate a foundational evidence-base that advances knowledge and provides the basis for improved policy and practice. Addressing the current dearth of evi ....The Forgotten Children, Ten Years On. This project aims to investigate the rippling impacts of immigration detention in the lives of people who were detained as children. Utilising an innovative arts-based, person-centred design, and in partnership with Australia’s national human rights institution and children themselves, the project aims to generate a foundational evidence-base that advances knowledge and provides the basis for improved policy and practice. Addressing the current dearth of evidence concerning the long-term impacts of childhood detention, the project will offer critical recommendations to improve services and reduce harm, while fostering increased public awareness through a high-impact radio documentary that tells the stories of Australia’s forgotten children.Read moreRead less
Antecedents of innovation vs. conservatism in rural industries and communities. This project will investigate antecedents of conservatism and innovation within rural communities and industries. Whilst effort, from government, community and industry, has focussed on social, economic and environmental reform, intended shifts in thinking and practice are frequently not realised. .Personality literature suggests individual differences in conservatism/innovation. Further, people are drawn towards ....Antecedents of innovation vs. conservatism in rural industries and communities. This project will investigate antecedents of conservatism and innovation within rural communities and industries. Whilst effort, from government, community and industry, has focussed on social, economic and environmental reform, intended shifts in thinking and practice are frequently not realised. .Personality literature suggests individual differences in conservatism/innovation. Further, people are drawn towards situations that satisfy intrinsic needs and away from situations that do not. The result may be greater concentrations of particular personality types in conservative industries and communities and a quite different concentration in innovative groups. Validation of this hypothesis would permit more appropriate and effective policy and management strategy.Read moreRead less
Settlement outcomes of Syrian-conflict refugee families in Australia. This project aims to focus on the policy responses to, and settlement outcomes for, Syrian-conflict refugee families in Australia with an emphasis on employment and education. The Syrian conflict has generated an unprecedented flow of refugees across Europe and other countries, including Australia. These countries face new challenges in providing successful settlement outcomes for the refugees. Utilising a longitudinal study o ....Settlement outcomes of Syrian-conflict refugee families in Australia. This project aims to focus on the policy responses to, and settlement outcomes for, Syrian-conflict refugee families in Australia with an emphasis on employment and education. The Syrian conflict has generated an unprecedented flow of refugees across Europe and other countries, including Australia. These countries face new challenges in providing successful settlement outcomes for the refugees. Utilising a longitudinal study of 250 refugee families and fieldwork in key areas of high refugee settlement in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, this project will generate comparative insights to identify policy and program responses that lead to the most successful settlement outcomes. Improved employment, education and settlement outcomes for refugees will have economic, social and cultural benefits for Australian society and improve the quality of life of refugees.Read moreRead less
A humanised sensory neuron high-throughput screening platform . Sensory neurons are responsible for converting external stimuli such as touch or temperature into graded electrical signals that allow us to interact with the world around us. However, unlike other cell types, sensory neurons cannot proliferate and thus must be removed from human cadavers, or animals, in order to study their pharmacology and function. This limits our ability to understand neuronal signalling pathways. This project a ....A humanised sensory neuron high-throughput screening platform . Sensory neurons are responsible for converting external stimuli such as touch or temperature into graded electrical signals that allow us to interact with the world around us. However, unlike other cell types, sensory neurons cannot proliferate and thus must be removed from human cadavers, or animals, in order to study their pharmacology and function. This limits our ability to understand neuronal signalling pathways. This project aims to use sensory neurons derived from human stem cells to develop and optimise assays that can be used to study the pharmacology and function of human sensory neurons in vitro. This enhances access to critical model systems and technology platforms and removes the need for isolation of cells from cadavers. Read moreRead less
Development of New Generation Magnetic Circular Dichroism Spectrometers. We are building two Magnetic Circular Dichroism (MCD spectrometers) to meet a rising need in the study of metallo-proteins and other molecules of biological interest. The PhD project described in this application will involve instrumentation design, interfacing and sampling handling development for biological samples. We wish to involve a Lastek, a scientific instrumentation company, in the possible commercial development o ....Development of New Generation Magnetic Circular Dichroism Spectrometers. We are building two Magnetic Circular Dichroism (MCD spectrometers) to meet a rising need in the study of metallo-proteins and other molecules of biological interest. The PhD project described in this application will involve instrumentation design, interfacing and sampling handling development for biological samples. We wish to involve a Lastek, a scientific instrumentation company, in the possible commercial development of aspects of this project.Read moreRead less
Redirecting Carbon Flow through Mesophyll and Bundle Sheath Cells of Sugarcane to Produce Poly-3-Hydroxybutyrate. This project is part of the National Priorities "Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries." Using innovative plant metabolic engineering technologies combined with sophisticated computer modeling we are generating green plants that produce renewable, biodegradable, bioplastics possessing properties such that they are suitable replacements for petrol ....Redirecting Carbon Flow through Mesophyll and Bundle Sheath Cells of Sugarcane to Produce Poly-3-Hydroxybutyrate. This project is part of the National Priorities "Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries." Using innovative plant metabolic engineering technologies combined with sophisticated computer modeling we are generating green plants that produce renewable, biodegradable, bioplastics possessing properties such that they are suitable replacements for petroleum-derived products in many applications. During the course of these studies, we are increasing our basic level of understanding of plant metabolism of important bioenergy crops. The production of renewable, bioplastics in sugarcane will help to diversify the Australian sugarcane industry by providing a value-added product with significant world-wide markets.Read moreRead less
Red Cell Polymorphisms and Malaria. Certain red blood cell disorders have been associated with innate protection against malaria infection. However many early studies were inconclusive. We intend to carry out a comprehensive study to investigate the effect of red blood cell differences on the invasion and/or growth of Plasmodium falciparum in vitro using improved techniques. Identification of red cell components involved in interaction with P.falciparum would give a better understanding of host ....Red Cell Polymorphisms and Malaria. Certain red blood cell disorders have been associated with innate protection against malaria infection. However many early studies were inconclusive. We intend to carry out a comprehensive study to investigate the effect of red blood cell differences on the invasion and/or growth of Plasmodium falciparum in vitro using improved techniques. Identification of red cell components involved in interaction with P.falciparum would give a better understanding of host parasite interactions which may in turn suggest novel approaches or pathways to persue. This may eventually lead to the development of novel therapeutics.
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A lipodomic approach to cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis. Fatty Acids are essential for human health and for reef health. This lipodomic study using newly developed techniques, aims to understand the essential and non-essential fatty acid metabolic exchange in the symbiosis that drives coral reef formation and health, and in turn gives reflective insight into our own metabolism.