Self-assembled phases as effective and selective materials for analysis. This project aims to develop a suite of self-assembled amphiphilic molecules to form distinctive materials for analytical chemistry. The cost-effective, easy to prepare, selective and environmentally benign materials will be for non-volatile bioactive and chiral molecular targets that are commonly encountered every day or are difficult to study. The project will open a new research area and will further uplift the internati ....Self-assembled phases as effective and selective materials for analysis. This project aims to develop a suite of self-assembled amphiphilic molecules to form distinctive materials for analytical chemistry. The cost-effective, easy to prepare, selective and environmentally benign materials will be for non-volatile bioactive and chiral molecular targets that are commonly encountered every day or are difficult to study. The project will open a new research area and will further uplift the international standing of Australia in the field. The project will provide a high level of training and expertise for Australia-based chemists.Read moreRead less
Aptamer imaging mass spectrometry for biomarker quantification. This project aims to develop novel methods for quantifying bio-markers in histological specimens using aptamers, lanthanide visualising tags and laser ablation plasma mass spectrometry. Aptamers are short synthetic strands of nucleic acid with complex three dimensional structures that bind targets with exquisite specificity. This technology meets a major gap in current imaging modalities, has wide application to basic biology and di ....Aptamer imaging mass spectrometry for biomarker quantification. This project aims to develop novel methods for quantifying bio-markers in histological specimens using aptamers, lanthanide visualising tags and laser ablation plasma mass spectrometry. Aptamers are short synthetic strands of nucleic acid with complex three dimensional structures that bind targets with exquisite specificity. This technology meets a major gap in current imaging modalities, has wide application to basic biology and diagnostics, and will eliminate the subjective interpretation of immunohistochemical stains.Read moreRead less
Photodissociation mass spectrometry for lipidome analysis. This project aims to develop and apply novel bioanalytical mass spectrometry-based methods and workflows to illuminate the otherwise hidden structural diversity and molecular complexity of the lipidome. The structure of individual lipids define their specific biological functions. A major requirement of analytical methods employed for lipid analysis on a lipidome-wide scale, therefore, is to enable the detailed structural characterisatio ....Photodissociation mass spectrometry for lipidome analysis. This project aims to develop and apply novel bioanalytical mass spectrometry-based methods and workflows to illuminate the otherwise hidden structural diversity and molecular complexity of the lipidome. The structure of individual lipids define their specific biological functions. A major requirement of analytical methods employed for lipid analysis on a lipidome-wide scale, therefore, is to enable the detailed structural characterisation of the, potentially, tens of thousands of individual molecular lipid species that may be present within a sample of interest. This project will develop and optimise novel, ultraviolet photodissociation-tandem mass spectrometry methods which will be integrated within an automated lipidome analysis workflow, to enable comprehensive global lipidome profiling and to reveal the structural diversity of lipids involved in fundamental cellular signalling processes.Read moreRead less
Single cell glycomics: mapping the surface glycan signature of cells. This project aims to develop a platform technology for multiplexed glycan mapping of the surface of a single cell to address challenges of functional glycomics by utilising a conceptually new approach. By combining newly designed plasmonic nanoparticles with surface-enhanced Raman scattering tags and multiple specific carbohydrate-recognising lectins, this project expects to produce a generic technology that is capable of non- ....Single cell glycomics: mapping the surface glycan signature of cells. This project aims to develop a platform technology for multiplexed glycan mapping of the surface of a single cell to address challenges of functional glycomics by utilising a conceptually new approach. By combining newly designed plasmonic nanoparticles with surface-enhanced Raman scattering tags and multiple specific carbohydrate-recognising lectins, this project expects to produce a generic technology that is capable of non-destructive barcoding of the surface glycan signature of single cells in their native state and in response to metabolic perturbations. Expected project outcomes include advancing knowledge in nanobiotechnology, glycobiology and cell biology by being able to easily monitor changes to the surface of single cells.Read moreRead less
The RGG/RG motif as an RNA chaperone: advancing CRISPR-Cas RNA technology. This project investigates the way in which protein molecules interact effectively with RNA molecules and also aims to enhance the CRISPR-Cas13a system for RNA detection. Innovative approaches will be used to test the role of a particular protein motif, called the RGG/RG motif, in remodelling RNA structure and enhancing the Cas13a protein. This knowledge is expected to shift our understanding of protein-RNA interactions th ....The RGG/RG motif as an RNA chaperone: advancing CRISPR-Cas RNA technology. This project investigates the way in which protein molecules interact effectively with RNA molecules and also aims to enhance the CRISPR-Cas13a system for RNA detection. Innovative approaches will be used to test the role of a particular protein motif, called the RGG/RG motif, in remodelling RNA structure and enhancing the Cas13a protein. This knowledge is expected to shift our understanding of protein-RNA interactions that are fundamental to almost every aspect of cell biology. The project is intended to benefit Australia through contributing to fundamental knowledge in the field, facilitating the development of new CRISPR-Cas biotechnologies for RNA detection and through the training of young researchers in frontier technologies. Read moreRead less
Towards a cognitive process model of how attention and choice interact. Before making any decision, we must gather information on what options are available. This process may influence the choices we make: if we do not notice an option, we will not choose it even if it would have been valuable. This project aims to examine how prior experience can produce attentional biases that influence decisions, and will develop a new computational model of this interaction of attention and choice as an outc ....Towards a cognitive process model of how attention and choice interact. Before making any decision, we must gather information on what options are available. This process may influence the choices we make: if we do not notice an option, we will not choose it even if it would have been valuable. This project aims to examine how prior experience can produce attentional biases that influence decisions, and will develop a new computational model of this interaction of attention and choice as an outcome. This new knowledge will enhance the world-class status of Australian cognitive psychology. Moreover, it should provide significant benefits through improving our ability to predict and shape behaviour, and shedding light on the role of biases in healthy cognition and in the context of compulsive behaviours.Read moreRead less
A statistical decision theory of cognitive capacity. This project aims to investigate the limited capacity of the human cognitive system to form representations of the things in the world around us and to make decisions about them in real time. Its goal is to provide an integrated theory of cognitive capacity based on the statistical properties of cognitive representations and the decision processes that act on them. Its expected outcome will be a unified metric for cognitive capacity that will ....A statistical decision theory of cognitive capacity. This project aims to investigate the limited capacity of the human cognitive system to form representations of the things in the world around us and to make decisions about them in real time. Its goal is to provide an integrated theory of cognitive capacity based on the statistical properties of cognitive representations and the decision processes that act on them. Its expected outcome will be a unified metric for cognitive capacity that will allow us to quantify how cognitive load affects the speed and accuracy of decision making. It will benefit the design and evaluation of high workload real-time decision systems and will contribute to the selection and training of users of such systems.
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Determining principles for successful episode retrieval of repeated events. This project aims to develop the first-ever set of explanatory principles for how people successfully retain and retrieve individual episode memories from repeated experiences (e.g., one occurrence of a routine social encounter or job-related activity). By deepening our understanding of how memory works, this new knowledge is expected to lay the foundation for interview guidance and ongoing research aimed at enhancing th ....Determining principles for successful episode retrieval of repeated events. This project aims to develop the first-ever set of explanatory principles for how people successfully retain and retrieve individual episode memories from repeated experiences (e.g., one occurrence of a routine social encounter or job-related activity). By deepening our understanding of how memory works, this new knowledge is expected to lay the foundation for interview guidance and ongoing research aimed at enhancing the proficiency of investigations into matters that rely on detailed and accurate accounts of specific episodes. This includes workplace or traffic accident investigations, infectious disease contact tracing, as well as prosecution of repeated sexual offences.Read moreRead less
Using cognitive models to understand memorability of real world images. This proposal aims to understand and make predictions about which real world images -- specifically living things, objects, and human faces -- that people will remember remember via an integration of cognitive models of memory and machine learning techniques. Computer vision models and similarity scaling techniques will be used to produce psychological representations of the images. These representations will then be integra ....Using cognitive models to understand memorability of real world images. This proposal aims to understand and make predictions about which real world images -- specifically living things, objects, and human faces -- that people will remember remember via an integration of cognitive models of memory and machine learning techniques. Computer vision models and similarity scaling techniques will be used to produce psychological representations of the images. These representations will then be integrated with cognitive models of memory, which predict that images are more likely to be recognized if they are similar to each of the representations in memory. Large scale memory and similarity rating datasets will be used to develop and test the model.Read moreRead less
The Misinformation Future—Confronting Emerging Threats. Misinformation presents challenges to public health and democracy. Though psychological research has explored processing mechanisms and countermeasures, new threats are arising that need to be confronted. This project aims to help meet these threats by (a) investigating misinformation impacts on future-oriented cognition and behaviours, with a focus on global long-term issues and (b) addressing the unique challenges posed by visual and synt ....The Misinformation Future—Confronting Emerging Threats. Misinformation presents challenges to public health and democracy. Though psychological research has explored processing mechanisms and countermeasures, new threats are arising that need to be confronted. This project aims to help meet these threats by (a) investigating misinformation impacts on future-oriented cognition and behaviours, with a focus on global long-term issues and (b) addressing the unique challenges posed by visual and synthetic (AI-generated) misinformation. The expected outcome is new knowledge on the processing and impacts of emerging types of misinformation and translation into practical interventions. These promise to benefit consumers, educators and policymakers, contributing to a healthier information environment.Read moreRead less