New insulins for the improved management of diabetes. The prevalence of diabetes has increased dramatically over the past few decades and now this condition is widely considered the world’s fastest growing disease. New insulins with improved pharmacological and storage properties are desperately needed, and this project will work on chemical synthesis enabling designer insulins to be prepared for improved management of diabetes.
A Tough Resilin Based Hydrogel Platform for Repair and Regeneration. This project seeks to develop novel hydrogels that mimic the properties of the body. In the field of repair and regeneration, our challenge is to make hydrogels that retain the fatigue and resilience properties of the natural body part, but are comprised of nontoxic material. Resilin is a remarkable material exhibiting a broad range of stimuli-responsive behaviour and outstanding elasticity. The project aim is to create a tough ....A Tough Resilin Based Hydrogel Platform for Repair and Regeneration. This project seeks to develop novel hydrogels that mimic the properties of the body. In the field of repair and regeneration, our challenge is to make hydrogels that retain the fatigue and resilience properties of the natural body part, but are comprised of nontoxic material. Resilin is a remarkable material exhibiting a broad range of stimuli-responsive behaviour and outstanding elasticity. The project aim is to create a tough and responsive hydrogel platform from this disordered protein family through greater understanding of structure and mechanical function and incorporating adequate stiffness, strength and biocompatibility. Such tough hydrogels would be applicable to a range of biotechnological applications (eg intervertebral disc repair or artificial skin tissue engineering).Read moreRead less
Characterising Novel Alternative Splicing Networks That Promote Tumour Cell Plasticity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$609,329.00
Summary
During cancer progression, tumour cells can change their properties and become more aggressive and resistant to therapies. We have identified an important regulator of this tumour cell transition, called “Quaking”, which causes widespread changes in gene splicing. We aim to investigate how "Quaking" causes changes in gene splicing and what the effects of these splicing changes are in tumour cells.
The effect of aerial spraying of two pesticides on semi-arid grasslands. The project will investigate how two pesticides, fipronil and metarrhizium, used to control locusts, affect semi-arid ecosystems by examining impacts on invertebrates, their predators, lizards and soil processes. The effects will be followed through time in a large scale experiment to determine recovery and compare each pesticide.
Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. This project aims to develop a multicomponent vaccine system to deliver equal effectiveness against several disease targets in a single administration. New and innovative vaccine design strategies incorporating economical commercial production processes are urgently needed for new and existing human and animal health applications. A vaccine capab ....Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. Enhanced multivalent vaccine responses using a novel vaccine vector system. This project aims to develop a multicomponent vaccine system to deliver equal effectiveness against several disease targets in a single administration. New and innovative vaccine design strategies incorporating economical commercial production processes are urgently needed for new and existing human and animal health applications. A vaccine capable of targeting multiple diseases by a single injection is an obvious way to expedite future vaccine development and deployment. However, the recipient’s immune system can repress equivalent responses to these multicomponent vaccines. This project’s research is expected to address these problems, and underpin the future commercial development of this vaccine platform.Read moreRead less
The Role Of Arousal And Diaphragm Displacement In The Pathogenesis Of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$410,875.00
Summary
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects 4% of men and causes excessive daytime sleepiness leading to increased accidents, high blood pressure and premature cardiovascular disease e.g. heart attacks and strokes. OSA is characterized by repetitive obstructions of the floppy portion of the throat during sleep with adverse effects on oxygen levels and sleep quality. OSA is strongly associated with obesity and is 2-3 times more common in men than women. How obesity and male gender predispose to OSA is ....Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects 4% of men and causes excessive daytime sleepiness leading to increased accidents, high blood pressure and premature cardiovascular disease e.g. heart attacks and strokes. OSA is characterized by repetitive obstructions of the floppy portion of the throat during sleep with adverse effects on oxygen levels and sleep quality. OSA is strongly associated with obesity and is 2-3 times more common in men than women. How obesity and male gender predispose to OSA is not known. We will investigate two factors that we believe are most likely involved in causing and explaining this gender difference in OSA. We will examine if breathing responses with brief awakening are sufficient to promote OSA patterns of breathing in snorers and if they are greater in male than female OSA patients. We have already shown that healthy men have greater breathing response to arousal compared to women. These brief arousals occur hundreds of times a night in OSA patients, and over-breathing on arousal may increase the probability of upper airway obstruction on falling back to sleep. We will also investigate why even healthy men show greater breathing responses compared to women. Men tend to accumulate fat centrally, particularly in the abdomen, whereas in women fat tends to be distributed more to the hips and thighs. This could be very important in OSA because downward pull exerted on the upper airway by the diaphragm is likely to be reduced in people with more abdominal obesity. This mechanisms has not yet been studied in humans. We will therefore investigate if increased forces placed on the diaphragm during sleep make the upper airway more prone to collapse. We will also investigate these effects during sleep onset, when there may well be important changes in diaphragm position as muscles relax.Read moreRead less
Testing our knowledge on the dawn of animal life: evidence from the fossil record against modern ecological and morphological analogues. The Cambrian 'Explosion', half a billion years ago, is regarded as one of the most important events in the history of the Earth, when most major animal groups first appear in the rock record, and for which South Australia has recently become a significant source of spectacular fossils. However, important questions remain regarding their Ediacaran roots, the spe ....Testing our knowledge on the dawn of animal life: evidence from the fossil record against modern ecological and morphological analogues. The Cambrian 'Explosion', half a billion years ago, is regarded as one of the most important events in the history of the Earth, when most major animal groups first appear in the rock record, and for which South Australia has recently become a significant source of spectacular fossils. However, important questions remain regarding their Ediacaran roots, the speed of evolution at the time, and the environments in which the radiation took place. Studying the fossil evidence in the light of present-day ecological frameworks, and in comparison with modern behavioural and morphological analogues, as well as living relatives, can help us better assess our understanding of this first radiation of animals.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE200100190
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$620,000.00
Summary
Electrophysiology Platform for Ion-channel Characterisation. Ion channels are ubiquitous pore-forming membrane proteins, with the human genome encoding >300 ion channels. The diverse roles of ion channels include action potential generation, control of ion flow across secretory and epithelial cells, and regulation of cell volume, motility and proliferation. Pharmacological modulators are powerful tools for probing ion channel function, but for most channels these tools are lacking. Thus, this p .... Electrophysiology Platform for Ion-channel Characterisation. Ion channels are ubiquitous pore-forming membrane proteins, with the human genome encoding >300 ion channels. The diverse roles of ion channels include action potential generation, control of ion flow across secretory and epithelial cells, and regulation of cell volume, motility and proliferation. Pharmacological modulators are powerful tools for probing ion channel function, but for most channels these tools are lacking. Thus, this project aims to develop the first comprehensive toolbox of ion channel modulators using an integrated in vitro/in vivo electrophysiology platform. These pharmacological tools will be made freely available to the Australian research community for probing the mechanism and physiological function of ion channels.Read moreRead less
Keystone microbes and planktonic guilds in Australia's oceans. This project aims to unveil the ocean’s hidden sentinels, “keystone microbes” that underpin precious ecosystem services, and which can be used to monitor and model changes in ocean function. Marine microbes account for 90 per cent of oceanic biomass and every litre of seawater contains ~20,000 different species, but it is not known which species control ocean health and productivity. This project intends to provide definitive evidenc ....Keystone microbes and planktonic guilds in Australia's oceans. This project aims to unveil the ocean’s hidden sentinels, “keystone microbes” that underpin precious ecosystem services, and which can be used to monitor and model changes in ocean function. Marine microbes account for 90 per cent of oceanic biomass and every litre of seawater contains ~20,000 different species, but it is not known which species control ocean health and productivity. This project intends to provide definitive evidence of these keystones’ cellular level biogeochemical and metabolic capacity. Ultimately, this knowledge is expected to predict the resilience of ocean ecosystems and their response to change. The capacity to predict their dynamics will help provide investment clarity and increase healthy outcomes from activities involving human-ocean interactions such as recreation, food production and tourism.Read moreRead less