Playing it Safe: Psychological Safety and Mental Health for Community Sport. At a time when over half of all Australians participate in organised sports it is critical to ensure that these environments are psychologically safe. The problem is that community sports clubs have no clear guidance on how to fulfil this substantial responsibility. There have been urgent calls for the development of psychological safety and mental health guidelines which have yet to be answered. This project will deliv ....Playing it Safe: Psychological Safety and Mental Health for Community Sport. At a time when over half of all Australians participate in organised sports it is critical to ensure that these environments are psychologically safe. The problem is that community sports clubs have no clear guidance on how to fulfil this substantial responsibility. There have been urgent calls for the development of psychological safety and mental health guidelines which have yet to be answered. This project will deliver the knowledge to underpin effective psychological safety and mental health guidelines for community sports with national impact. When implemented, this knowledge will help sports clubs to provide a psychologically safe environment, and promote the mental health and wellbeing of all Australians involved in organised sports.Read moreRead less
Regulatory mechanisms in skeletal muscle lipid hydrolysis. The regulation of intramuscular triglyceride (fat) utilisation by human skeletal muscle is largely unknown. Our contention is that the specialized protein enzyme, hormone sensitive lipase (HSL), has a fundamental role in intramuscular triacylglycerol utilisation and is regulated by both intramuscular levels of key metabolites and circulating hormone concentrations. We also propose control points subsequent to HSL activation are important ....Regulatory mechanisms in skeletal muscle lipid hydrolysis. The regulation of intramuscular triglyceride (fat) utilisation by human skeletal muscle is largely unknown. Our contention is that the specialized protein enzyme, hormone sensitive lipase (HSL), has a fundamental role in intramuscular triacylglycerol utilisation and is regulated by both intramuscular levels of key metabolites and circulating hormone concentrations. We also propose control points subsequent to HSL activation are important for triglyceride hydrolysis. Our proposed project examines these factors and will enhance our understanding of the regulation of muscle fat use, thereby leading to potential metabolic strategies (nutritional, pharmacological) that enhance skeletal muscle function at rest and during exercise.Read moreRead less
Biological Role of Contraction-Induced Heat Shock Protein Expression. It is well known that mammalian skeletal muscle increases its expression of a group of highly conserved proteins, the heat shock proteins (HSP) in response to repeated contraction. However, the biological role of this expression is unclear. The aim of this project is to determine the biological role of contraction-induced HSP expression. We expect to show that HSP synthesis in response to exercise has three major roles; 1) to ....Biological Role of Contraction-Induced Heat Shock Protein Expression. It is well known that mammalian skeletal muscle increases its expression of a group of highly conserved proteins, the heat shock proteins (HSP) in response to repeated contraction. However, the biological role of this expression is unclear. The aim of this project is to determine the biological role of contraction-induced HSP expression. We expect to show that HSP synthesis in response to exercise has three major roles; 1) to act to repair damaged proteins in recovery from muscle injury 2) to act as a "molecular motor" to translocate proteins from one region of a muscle cell to another and 3) to be released into the circulation in order to act as a central signal to activate immune cells. Such a project will be significant because it will allow for a fundamental understanding as to why these proteins are produced in response to exercise. We expect to enhance our understanding of fundamental cell biology.Read moreRead less
Reducing the fat burden: Identification of novel cellular and molecular targets for alleviating skeletal muscle insulin resistance. Insulin resistance and the associated consequences are a major public health problem in Australia and cost the healthcare system >$1.1 billion/year. Exercise training and thiaziolidinedione (TZD) treatment are therapies that partially ameliorate insulin resistance through distinct and independent mechanisms. However, neither intervention represents a viable long-ter ....Reducing the fat burden: Identification of novel cellular and molecular targets for alleviating skeletal muscle insulin resistance. Insulin resistance and the associated consequences are a major public health problem in Australia and cost the healthcare system >$1.1 billion/year. Exercise training and thiaziolidinedione (TZD) treatment are therapies that partially ameliorate insulin resistance through distinct and independent mechanisms. However, neither intervention represents a viable long-term strategy: exercise training has low compliance, while chronic TZD use is associated with several adverse side effects (edema, weight gain etc.). We will investigate the metabolic, cellular and molecular mechanisms by which these therapies each exert their positive effect on insulin action with the aim of identifying novel targets for future drug interventions. Read moreRead less
Intracellular localisation of insulin signalling proteins in human skeletal muscle following exercise. The metabolic action of insulin in skeletal muscle is enhanced by exercise, but the underlying mechanisms mediating this are unknown. Insulin receptor substrate proteins are key mediators in the intracellular insulin signalling pathway and play a central role in regulating many metabolic events. Our aim is to examine the hypothesis that exercise induces a novel subcellular redistribution of the ....Intracellular localisation of insulin signalling proteins in human skeletal muscle following exercise. The metabolic action of insulin in skeletal muscle is enhanced by exercise, but the underlying mechanisms mediating this are unknown. Insulin receptor substrate proteins are key mediators in the intracellular insulin signalling pathway and play a central role in regulating many metabolic events. Our aim is to examine the hypothesis that exercise induces a novel subcellular redistribution of these insulin receptor substrate proteins in skeletal muscle, such that the metabolic action of insulin is enhanced. Elucidating the mechanisms whereby exercise enhances insulin action underpins the development of new treatments and therapies with the aim of improving skeletal muscle function in health and disease.Read moreRead less
A digital twin framework for human mobility measurement in the home setting. Mobility is essential to maintain quality of life and healthy ageing, yet we do not have the capability to perform accurate long-term mobility assessments of a person in their home or community. This project will overcome this engineering challenge by developing a user-friendly ‘digital twin’ that combines wearable sensors, 3D mapping and artificial intelligence to predict and visualise real-time human joint motion and ....A digital twin framework for human mobility measurement in the home setting. Mobility is essential to maintain quality of life and healthy ageing, yet we do not have the capability to perform accurate long-term mobility assessments of a person in their home or community. This project will overcome this engineering challenge by developing a user-friendly ‘digital twin’ that combines wearable sensors, 3D mapping and artificial intelligence to predict and visualise real-time human joint motion and mobility in any location. This digital twin framework will benefit next-generation healthcare for older Australians, including telemedicine and remote rehabilitation for isolated communities, performance monitoring of elite athletes and military personnel, and the gaming and film/animation industries.Read moreRead less
Predictive Biomechanics for Modelling Gait Stability and Falls Prediction. Efficient, adaptive locomotion is critical to our independence, but it is adversely affected by neuromuscular disorders due to trauma, ageing and other impairments that increase the risk of balance loss and falling. This project investigates the extraordinary possibilities of advancing from the traditional laboratory-based, retrospective, gait research paradigm, to real-world gait monitoring using predictive biomechanics. ....Predictive Biomechanics for Modelling Gait Stability and Falls Prediction. Efficient, adaptive locomotion is critical to our independence, but it is adversely affected by neuromuscular disorders due to trauma, ageing and other impairments that increase the risk of balance loss and falling. This project investigates the extraordinary possibilities of advancing from the traditional laboratory-based, retrospective, gait research paradigm, to real-world gait monitoring using predictive biomechanics. By employing artificial intelligence, wearable sensors' data will predict balance loss and alert the user. The outcome will be fundamental knowledge for developing wearable systems to reduce the catastrophic impact of falls, with public health cost savings and improved quality of life for people with restricted mobility.Read moreRead less
Developing Accessible Playgrounds for Children with Vision Impairment. Children who are blind or have low vision (BLV) often have difficulties accessing and interacting with playgrounds, most of which are not equipped to support them. Through consultation, collaboration and co-creation with the BLV community, foundational knowledge on the user experience of playgrounds, an evaluation framework for auditing existing playgrounds and design guidelines for creating or retrofitting playgrounds will b ....Developing Accessible Playgrounds for Children with Vision Impairment. Children who are blind or have low vision (BLV) often have difficulties accessing and interacting with playgrounds, most of which are not equipped to support them. Through consultation, collaboration and co-creation with the BLV community, foundational knowledge on the user experience of playgrounds, an evaluation framework for auditing existing playgrounds and design guidelines for creating or retrofitting playgrounds will be developed that support the unique challenges of BLV children and carers. Importantly it will promote access, orientation, physical and social play for BLV children, with improved cognitive, physical and social development, thus enabling a more inclusive and healthy society.Read moreRead less
Targeting the genome and epigenome of the exercising skeletal muscle. This project aims is to discover epigenetic and genetic biomarkers that predict fitness changes, following exercise intervention. Individuals are remarkably variable in their responses to exercise interventions, and a large portion of these responses is attributed to genetics, and epigenetics (the effect of the environment on the expression of genes). Using controlled exercise training as a model, this project expects to disco ....Targeting the genome and epigenome of the exercising skeletal muscle. This project aims is to discover epigenetic and genetic biomarkers that predict fitness changes, following exercise intervention. Individuals are remarkably variable in their responses to exercise interventions, and a large portion of these responses is attributed to genetics, and epigenetics (the effect of the environment on the expression of genes). Using controlled exercise training as a model, this project expects to discover epigenetic and genomic markers in skeletal muscle predictive of exercise adaptations. This will contribute to the development and future delivery of targeted and personalised exercise programs for the general population. This has important implications for improving health in the Australian population.Read moreRead less
Can exercise slow down the epigenetic ageing clock? The aged population accounts for a significant amount of Australia’s health budget. This project aims to uncover novel molecular biomarkers that slow the ageing process and maintain good health for longer. This project aims to use innovative epigenetic analysis to study the molecular ‘clocks’ of young and old populations and to test whether exercise can slow the ageing process. This is expected to lead to a better understanding of how humans re ....Can exercise slow down the epigenetic ageing clock? The aged population accounts for a significant amount of Australia’s health budget. This project aims to uncover novel molecular biomarkers that slow the ageing process and maintain good health for longer. This project aims to use innovative epigenetic analysis to study the molecular ‘clocks’ of young and old populations and to test whether exercise can slow the ageing process. This is expected to lead to a better understanding of how humans respond to changing environments during their lifetime, and will underpin the development of evidence-based personalised health interventions to keep Australians healthier for longer.
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