Establishing Design Principles Of Polymers For Intracellular Delivery . Engineered polymers have played a central role in the field of bionanotechnology by enabling targeted nanoscale cell interactions. Progress in the field of intracellular delivery is currently affected by a major bottleneck due to the absence of effective polymers that is applicable across the range of bimolecular cargoes. In essence depending on the type of cargo: DNA, RNA or protien, the polymer needs programmability. The l ....Establishing Design Principles Of Polymers For Intracellular Delivery . Engineered polymers have played a central role in the field of bionanotechnology by enabling targeted nanoscale cell interactions. Progress in the field of intracellular delivery is currently affected by a major bottleneck due to the absence of effective polymers that is applicable across the range of bimolecular cargoes. In essence depending on the type of cargo: DNA, RNA or protien, the polymer needs programmability. The limited tunability of traditional polymers agents makes them unsuitable for this particular application. The multidisciplinary project addresses this significant problem by engineering novel sequences of defined polymer based nanoscale agents to achieve efficient delivery in cells.Read moreRead less
Polarization vision: insights from biological systems for imaging solutions. This project aims to discover how invertebrate and vertebrate model species see linearly polarised light by constructing a novel instrument to determine limits to sensitivities, as well as animals' ability to distinguish small differences in degree and angle of linear polarisation. The project aims to predict how this might be affected as environments change. A clear understanding of biological solutions to polarisation ....Polarization vision: insights from biological systems for imaging solutions. This project aims to discover how invertebrate and vertebrate model species see linearly polarised light by constructing a novel instrument to determine limits to sensitivities, as well as animals' ability to distinguish small differences in degree and angle of linear polarisation. The project aims to predict how this might be affected as environments change. A clear understanding of biological solutions to polarisation perception can inform the design and development of novel bio-inspired imaging sensors that will be particularly suited to small, autonomous robots.Read moreRead less
Meta-microscopy of insect tissue: How nature grows bicontinuous nanosolids. Several butterfly species grow a complex nano-sculptured matrix whose chiral network structure confers remarkable optical properties, including jewel-like reflections. The formation process remains mysterious and a spectacular case of bottom-up self-assembly at far larger scales than accessible in the lab. The project aims to decipher this process, by (a) tomography of a species where arrested growth sites represent time ....Meta-microscopy of insect tissue: How nature grows bicontinuous nanosolids. Several butterfly species grow a complex nano-sculptured matrix whose chiral network structure confers remarkable optical properties, including jewel-like reflections. The formation process remains mysterious and a spectacular case of bottom-up self-assembly at far larger scales than accessible in the lab. The project aims to decipher this process, by (a) tomography of a species where arrested growth sites represent time-frozen snapshots of the development, and (b) by a combination of micron-resolved in-vivo microscopy of a developing butterfly wing with a growth model to infer nanometer-scale information. This insight will lead to blueprints for self-assembly strategies and shed light on function and form of inner-cellular membranes. Read moreRead less
Correlative Imaging of Brain Lipids. This project aims to develop imaging tools and protocols for the detection of lipids in brain tissue and cells. This project expects to generate advanced methodologies to display specific lipid classes and their corresponding structures within tissues and cells, with the ability to be detected and correlated with multiple techniques, which represent a currently unavailable capacity. The expected outcomes of this project are improved opportunities to study lip ....Correlative Imaging of Brain Lipids. This project aims to develop imaging tools and protocols for the detection of lipids in brain tissue and cells. This project expects to generate advanced methodologies to display specific lipid classes and their corresponding structures within tissues and cells, with the ability to be detected and correlated with multiple techniques, which represent a currently unavailable capacity. The expected outcomes of this project are improved opportunities to study lipid biology at the cellular and sub-cellular level across a wide range of in vitro and in vivo models. The outcomes of this project should provide significant knowledge to tackle modern societal challenges in healthy ageing, brain pathologies and neurodegenerative diseases.Read moreRead less
Going wild: Neural processing in freely moving animals. This project aims to use new techniques in wireless neural recording to reveal how small neural networks process visual information to make fast, accurate decisions. The project is designed to generate new knowledge about biological solutions to contextual information processing and how tiny, simple biological neural systems control critical animal behaviours such as predator avoidance. Expected outcomes will be new biological insights with ....Going wild: Neural processing in freely moving animals. This project aims to use new techniques in wireless neural recording to reveal how small neural networks process visual information to make fast, accurate decisions. The project is designed to generate new knowledge about biological solutions to contextual information processing and how tiny, simple biological neural systems control critical animal behaviours such as predator avoidance. Expected outcomes will be new biological insights with which to develop novel bio-inspired decision-making processing systems as required in small, autonomous robots. The anticipated benefits of this project will be advances in fundamental neuroscience and animal behaviour and is expected to provide significant value to a fast-developing industrial sector.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE210100110
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$474,000.00
Summary
High Resolution Mass Spectrometer for Chemical Characterisation in WA. The aim of this proposal is to establish new high resolution mass spectrometry facilities for Western Australia which will support multiple areas of chemical, materials and environmental science. The proposed platform will address a major need for the separation and characterisation of molecules relevant to synthetic and natural products chemistry, advanced materials and environmental analyses. The facility will support a num ....High Resolution Mass Spectrometer for Chemical Characterisation in WA. The aim of this proposal is to establish new high resolution mass spectrometry facilities for Western Australia which will support multiple areas of chemical, materials and environmental science. The proposed platform will address a major need for the separation and characterisation of molecules relevant to synthetic and natural products chemistry, advanced materials and environmental analyses. The facility will support a number of high impact ARC funded research projects in diverse areas, such as plant growth regulation, molecular electronics and environmental contaminants. The new instrumentation will be easy to use, provide advanced high quality data and overall benefit the next generation of researchers in Western Australia.Read moreRead less
Ejaculate-mediated paternal effects on offspring fitness. This project aims to unravel the evolutionary importance of ejaculate-mediated paternal effects, through which paternal lifestyle factors, such as diet and exposure to toxicants, influence offspring growth and health independently of genes. By identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying these non-genetic sources of inheritance, their adaptive value, and their potential to fuel evolutionary change, the project expects to generate new k ....Ejaculate-mediated paternal effects on offspring fitness. This project aims to unravel the evolutionary importance of ejaculate-mediated paternal effects, through which paternal lifestyle factors, such as diet and exposure to toxicants, influence offspring growth and health independently of genes. By identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying these non-genetic sources of inheritance, their adaptive value, and their potential to fuel evolutionary change, the project expects to generate new knowledge that will be relevant across the biological, medical and agricultural sectors. Expected outcomes and benefits include building institutional and interdisciplinary collaborations and the development of tools to understand the evolutionary impacts of paternal lifestyle choices for offspring traits.Read moreRead less
Physiology of oxygen transport in the mammalian kidney. This project aims to improve understanding of oxygen regulation in renal tissue and knowledge of the physiology of the kidney. The mammalian kidney receives more oxygen than it uses or needs, and yet renal tissue is commonly found to be hypoxic. This project proposes that oxygen transport to the renal tissue is limited by blood vessel surface area. The project expects to generate anatomical data currently missing from the renal physiology c ....Physiology of oxygen transport in the mammalian kidney. This project aims to improve understanding of oxygen regulation in renal tissue and knowledge of the physiology of the kidney. The mammalian kidney receives more oxygen than it uses or needs, and yet renal tissue is commonly found to be hypoxic. This project proposes that oxygen transport to the renal tissue is limited by blood vessel surface area. The project expects to generate anatomical data currently missing from the renal physiology community, and potentially change the accepted story of oxygen homeostasis in the kidney. This will provide significant benefits, such as the provision of the foundational physiological science behind a determinant of kidney health and its flow-on impact to quality of life.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100694
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,014.00
Summary
Does disconnection in the aging brain cause age-related movement decline? This project aims to use new neurophysiological approaches to understand the causal role of age-related changes in brain network connectivity to the movement control. Brain regions interact through complex and dynamic neural networks to control voluntary movement, but whether age-related changes in network connectivity drive age-related decline in movement control is unknown. This project will provide significant benefits ....Does disconnection in the aging brain cause age-related movement decline? This project aims to use new neurophysiological approaches to understand the causal role of age-related changes in brain network connectivity to the movement control. Brain regions interact through complex and dynamic neural networks to control voluntary movement, but whether age-related changes in network connectivity drive age-related decline in movement control is unknown. This project will provide significant benefits such as the neurophysiological knowledge required to develop targeted interventions to improve movement control in the aging population.Read moreRead less
Advancing the visualisation and quantification of nephrons with MRI. . This project aims to characterise key components of nephrons, the glomeruli and tubules, using magnetic resonance imaging without contrast agents, in combination with Deep Learning and super-resolution techniques. Nephrons, the basic functional unit of the kidney, are critical to the maintenance of the body’s homeostasis. Their number and architecture are critical determinants of kidney function. The expected outcomes are inn ....Advancing the visualisation and quantification of nephrons with MRI. . This project aims to characterise key components of nephrons, the glomeruli and tubules, using magnetic resonance imaging without contrast agents, in combination with Deep Learning and super-resolution techniques. Nephrons, the basic functional unit of the kidney, are critical to the maintenance of the body’s homeostasis. Their number and architecture are critical determinants of kidney function. The expected outcomes are innovative semi-automated nephron visualisation and quantitation tools that enable efficient renal phenotyping. Techniques tailored to widely accessible preclinical research scanners are expected to accelerate research into genetic and environmental factors affecting kidney microstructure in embryonic and post-natal life.Read moreRead less