Development of the PD GeneChip: a research and diagnostic tool for Parkinson's disease. The PD GeneChip will provide both social and economic benefits to Australia. It will be a key research platform for Australian scientists, and will facilitate collaboration both within Australia and overseas. It will assist with health care management of PD (Parkinson's disease) patients by providing a cost-effective diagnostic tool and the possibility of predicting the clinical course of disease. This inform ....Development of the PD GeneChip: a research and diagnostic tool for Parkinson's disease. The PD GeneChip will provide both social and economic benefits to Australia. It will be a key research platform for Australian scientists, and will facilitate collaboration both within Australia and overseas. It will assist with health care management of PD (Parkinson's disease) patients by providing a cost-effective diagnostic tool and the possibility of predicting the clinical course of disease. This information will provide the basis for tailoring treatment to a patients needs. It is anticipated that marketing of the PD GeneChip within Australia and overseas may produce revenue of at least $40 million annually.Read moreRead less
DEEP DRILLING OF THE HUMAN PLASMA PROTEOME. Like turning out city lights lets you see the faint stars more clearly - removal of high abundance proteins from human biofluids allows quantum leaps in biomarker discovery. This project will develop products that remove the biggest obstacle in proteomics - high abundance proteins (city lights). Cheap, efficient and routine removal of abundant proteins will amplify the power of ?cutting edge? proteomic technologies in the discovery of novel biomarkers ....DEEP DRILLING OF THE HUMAN PLASMA PROTEOME. Like turning out city lights lets you see the faint stars more clearly - removal of high abundance proteins from human biofluids allows quantum leaps in biomarker discovery. This project will develop products that remove the biggest obstacle in proteomics - high abundance proteins (city lights). Cheap, efficient and routine removal of abundant proteins will amplify the power of ?cutting edge? proteomic technologies in the discovery of novel biomarkers. This is possible because undiscovered low copy number biomarkers (faint stars) exist in human diagnostic fluids at levels far lower than current proteomic array detection limits.Read moreRead less
Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. This project aims to address diagnostic error in advanced technology systems, by providing a mechanism to assess and improve individual diagnosticians’ performance. Organisations that rely on their employees’ diagnostic skills rarely assess them once the operators become qualified, so there is no basis for interventions that might prevent diagnostic erro ....Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. This project aims to address diagnostic error in advanced technology systems, by providing a mechanism to assess and improve individual diagnosticians’ performance. Organisations that rely on their employees’ diagnostic skills rarely assess them once the operators become qualified, so there is no basis for interventions that might prevent diagnostic errors affecting thousands. This research tests a new method of assessing diagnostic skills based on how skilled operators respond to cues. This project will test how employees’ diagnostic skills change and whether this change corresponds to measures of organisational performance. This research is expected to provide organisations with a tool to pre-empt diagnostic errors that could minimise costs to the economy.Read moreRead less
New techniques to detect fetal heart abnormalities. Australia’s national fetal death rate is 6.7 per one thousand births. In Australia’s Indigenous community it surges to 12.3 deaths per one thousand births. Early diagnosis (and management) of abnormal fetu.ses with cardiac defects will go a long way in reducing these numbers. The proposed technology will help set up easy-to-use systems for fetal cardiac abnormality screening and reduce fetal deaths and congenital heart disease burden in adult l ....New techniques to detect fetal heart abnormalities. Australia’s national fetal death rate is 6.7 per one thousand births. In Australia’s Indigenous community it surges to 12.3 deaths per one thousand births. Early diagnosis (and management) of abnormal fetu.ses with cardiac defects will go a long way in reducing these numbers. The proposed technology will help set up easy-to-use systems for fetal cardiac abnormality screening and reduce fetal deaths and congenital heart disease burden in adult life. This project will also provide domain trained researchers with cutting edge international academic and industry expertise.Read moreRead less
Engineering of anti-platelet antibodies for the diagnosis and therapy of infants with bleeding disorders. Foeto-maternal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FMAIT) is a serious clinical condition where infants suffer potentially fatal bleeding disorders from 14 weeks gestation to 1-2 weeks post delivery. The cause of the disease is through maternal antibodies destroying foetal platelets. Our aim is to produce human antibodies, which will be used as diagnostic agents to screen for the condition in preg ....Engineering of anti-platelet antibodies for the diagnosis and therapy of infants with bleeding disorders. Foeto-maternal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FMAIT) is a serious clinical condition where infants suffer potentially fatal bleeding disorders from 14 weeks gestation to 1-2 weeks post delivery. The cause of the disease is through maternal antibodies destroying foetal platelets. Our aim is to produce human antibodies, which will be used as diagnostic agents to screen for the condition in pregnant women, and to further develop such antibodies for therapy. Identification of mothers at risk of FMAIT and the development of a specific therapy are vital to the management and prevention of this serious condition.Read moreRead less
Performance of safety critical anchors in early age concrete with SCM. This project aims to examine the performance of anchors in a range of cements, to contribute to new safety and building guidelines. Demands for faster construction cycles and increased productivity require anchors for lifting and joining concrete elements to be installed and loaded in early age concrete. Yet, best practice for evaluation of anchors is based on mature concrete. There is also increasing use of supplementary cem ....Performance of safety critical anchors in early age concrete with SCM. This project aims to examine the performance of anchors in a range of cements, to contribute to new safety and building guidelines. Demands for faster construction cycles and increased productivity require anchors for lifting and joining concrete elements to be installed and loaded in early age concrete. Yet, best practice for evaluation of anchors is based on mature concrete. There is also increasing use of supplementary cementitious materials with unknown effects on anchors. This project aims to address this construction industry challenge. The project plans to study experimentally and analytically the effect of early age creep on anchor installation and the factors affecting the slip behaviour and ultimate performance of cast-in and post-installed mechanical anchors in concretes. It is intended that these studies will then inform new design guidelines.Read moreRead less
Haemodynamic investigation of flow diverter stents for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms. This project will explore the engineering of a flow diverter, an endovascular device for the treatment of brain aneurysms. The project will determine the optimal design of new types of flow diverters, which in turn could improve the effectiveness of treatments, thus reducing the associated costs of cerebral haemorrhage and stroke.
A new approach to structural design that incorporates the effect of non-structural components. The construction industry is a significant contributor to the Australian economy. Each year billions of dollars are spent erecting new high rise buildings. Further, Australian engineering firms bid on major construction projects throughout the world, particularly in Asia and the Middle East. The research described here promises to deliver economies to the Australian construction industry as well as e ....A new approach to structural design that incorporates the effect of non-structural components. The construction industry is a significant contributor to the Australian economy. Each year billions of dollars are spent erecting new high rise buildings. Further, Australian engineering firms bid on major construction projects throughout the world, particularly in Asia and the Middle East. The research described here promises to deliver economies to the Australian construction industry as well as equipping local firms involved in structural design to better compete for offshore work .
Community benefits will take the form of reduced construction costs and the capacity for a more complete and up to date knowledge of the structural performance and risk of aging assets, thereby increasing community confidence and safety.Read moreRead less
Borderline Personality as Social Phenomena. Mental disorders attract social stigma and those diagnosed are widely misunderstood. This project aims to collect and analyse accounts of people living with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) - mainly women - and perspectives of social support practitioners. The intended outcome is to provide a sophisticated understanding of BPD as a social phenomenon, develop sociological evidence based on lived experiences and generate Australian digital resources ....Borderline Personality as Social Phenomena. Mental disorders attract social stigma and those diagnosed are widely misunderstood. This project aims to collect and analyse accounts of people living with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) - mainly women - and perspectives of social support practitioners. The intended outcome is to provide a sophisticated understanding of BPD as a social phenomenon, develop sociological evidence based on lived experiences and generate Australian digital resources including narratives of BPD, creative outputs and practitioner perspectives. The anticipated goal of this project is to inform policy and community responses addressing stigma and marginalisation, and the improvement of social support for those affected by BPD.Read moreRead less
Geomagnetic induced currents in the Australian electricity supply network. This project will develop measures to protect the Australian electricity supply network from adverse effects of enhanced solar activity. This is essential for risk assessment and long term asset management of the Australian electricity network.