Next generation dengue diagnostics. The 2009 dengue epidemic was widespread and the largest in North Queensland for 50 years. The outbreak was not quickly contained despite an extensive education program and a mosquito control taskforce. All four types of Dengue were detected, greatly increasing the chance of more severe complications such as Dengue haemorrhagic fever and Dengue shock syndrome. This project will improve our knowledge of Dengue proteins used in tests to diagnose the virus. The ne ....Next generation dengue diagnostics. The 2009 dengue epidemic was widespread and the largest in North Queensland for 50 years. The outbreak was not quickly contained despite an extensive education program and a mosquito control taskforce. All four types of Dengue were detected, greatly increasing the chance of more severe complications such as Dengue haemorrhagic fever and Dengue shock syndrome. This project will improve our knowledge of Dengue proteins used in tests to diagnose the virus. The new knowledge will be used to develop an easy to use test to diagnose Dengue infection early, rapidly and accurately. Effective diagnosis of Dengue will then allow timely implementation of intervention strategies (mosquito control, public advice, isolation and care).Read moreRead less
High performance inks for solution based organic light emitting diodes manufacturing. This project aims to introduce an advanced solution processing and printing technique for organic light emitting diode (OLED) fabrication based on a set of innovative macromolecular chemistries. These proceed either photochemically or thermally, exploiting precision macromolecular designs of the polymer precursor materials, which contain advanced emitter systems developed by Cynora. Solution fabrication of OLED ....High performance inks for solution based organic light emitting diodes manufacturing. This project aims to introduce an advanced solution processing and printing technique for organic light emitting diode (OLED) fabrication based on a set of innovative macromolecular chemistries. These proceed either photochemically or thermally, exploiting precision macromolecular designs of the polymer precursor materials, which contain advanced emitter systems developed by Cynora. Solution fabrication of OLED is a challenging, yet ultimately powerful, process with key advantages over current vacuum processing systems, especially with regard to production flexibility, cost and OLED size. The project will provide a functioning technology platform for solution OLED fabrication.Read moreRead less
Enhanced natural insecticidal activity against a pest of national priority . This project aims to deliver environmentally friendly, non-genetically modified crop protection tools against a catastrophic pest, the fall armyworm. This project expects to generate new knowledge of natural plant protection strategies and their application in targeted crop protection using a combination of unconventional, but cleverly integrated, cutting-edge technologies and approaches. Expected outcomes include compr ....Enhanced natural insecticidal activity against a pest of national priority . This project aims to deliver environmentally friendly, non-genetically modified crop protection tools against a catastrophic pest, the fall armyworm. This project expects to generate new knowledge of natural plant protection strategies and their application in targeted crop protection using a combination of unconventional, but cleverly integrated, cutting-edge technologies and approaches. Expected outcomes include comprehensive new technologies to fight against the most damaging global crop pest, improved Australian agritech capacity and strengthened international collaborations. This should provide significant benefits, such as added security for Australia’s most important agricultural crops and regions, and global food production.Read moreRead less
Digging deeper to improve yield stability. This project aims to provide innovative breeding solutions that harness the ‘hidden’ part of the plant, roots, to support the development of more productive crops in the face of climate variability. The project expects to generate new insights into the biology and genetics of root development in barley, a model cereal crop, by applying cutting-edge genome editing, phenotyping and genomics technologies. Anticipated outcomes include novel methodologies to ....Digging deeper to improve yield stability. This project aims to provide innovative breeding solutions that harness the ‘hidden’ part of the plant, roots, to support the development of more productive crops in the face of climate variability. The project expects to generate new insights into the biology and genetics of root development in barley, a model cereal crop, by applying cutting-edge genome editing, phenotyping and genomics technologies. Anticipated outcomes include novel methodologies to accelerate breeding for diverse production environments, with direct applications in barley, and other major cereals including wheat and oats. This should provide significant economic and social benefits to the Australian grains industry through yield stability amidst climate variability.Read moreRead less
Australia’s first Green Biopharm . Protein-based medicines and vaccines represent the fastest growing sector of the pharmaceutical market, but their production by Australian small and medium enterprises is prohibited by the high infrastructure and operating costs of traditional manufacturing systems. This project aims to develop advanced methods to produce protein-based medicines using a native plant. The power of this technology will be demonstrated by making a biologic anti-parasite treatment, ....Australia’s first Green Biopharm . Protein-based medicines and vaccines represent the fastest growing sector of the pharmaceutical market, but their production by Australian small and medium enterprises is prohibited by the high infrastructure and operating costs of traditional manufacturing systems. This project aims to develop advanced methods to produce protein-based medicines using a native plant. The power of this technology will be demonstrated by making a biologic anti-parasite treatment, as an alternative to outdated chemical treatments. Expected outcomes include a unique scalable technology which will support Australia's sovereign capacity to produce high-value proteins, rapidly, affordably, and at scale, and with less complexity than current plant-based systems. Read moreRead less
Protein biosensors for detecting smoke exposure of grapes. Bush fires and controlled burns that take place in the vicinity of vineyards can lead to grape contamination with tasteless phenolic glucosides. Their hydrolysis during wine making leads to “smoke taint” – an unpleasant medicinal taste that can render wine undrinkable. We will apply a combination of organic synthesis, protein engineering and directed evolution to develop protein-based biosensors of phenolic glucosides. These biosensors w ....Protein biosensors for detecting smoke exposure of grapes. Bush fires and controlled burns that take place in the vicinity of vineyards can lead to grape contamination with tasteless phenolic glucosides. Their hydrolysis during wine making leads to “smoke taint” – an unpleasant medicinal taste that can render wine undrinkable. We will apply a combination of organic synthesis, protein engineering and directed evolution to develop protein-based biosensors of phenolic glucosides. These biosensors will be used to devise a simple portable colorimetric test that can be performed in the vineyard or the winery. The ability to rapidly determine the level of grape contamination with phenolic glucosides would give Australian wine growers and wine makers a powerful tool to mitigate the effects of bushfires.Read moreRead less
In vitro expression of macrocyclic peptides. This project aims to develop a novel strategy for the production of polypeptides with unnatural chemical groups using a sense codon reassignment approach. Novel peptides could be used in a range of pharmaceutical applications. Peptides made of 20 natural amino acids cover only a very small fraction of the available chemical and functional space. While a peptide’s functionality can be extended with unnatural amino acids, the methods for their site-sele ....In vitro expression of macrocyclic peptides. This project aims to develop a novel strategy for the production of polypeptides with unnatural chemical groups using a sense codon reassignment approach. Novel peptides could be used in a range of pharmaceutical applications. Peptides made of 20 natural amino acids cover only a very small fraction of the available chemical and functional space. While a peptide’s functionality can be extended with unnatural amino acids, the methods for their site-selective incorporation are inefficient. The project’s strategy relies on the depletion of selected tRNAs from an in vitro protein translation system and their replacement with synthetic tRNAs, charged with unnatural amino acids. It is expected that the developed technology could be used to rapidly generate and screen highly diversified macrocyclic peptide libraries.Read moreRead less
TraitCapture: Genomic modelling for plant phenomics under environmental stress. This project aims to develop software to integrate new hyper-spectral and 3D growth models of plant phenomics with population genomics to identify heritable developmental traits across varied environments. Genome wide association studies aim to then be used to identify causal genes. Functional structural plant models incorporating genetic variation will be used to predict growth under simulated stress environments. ....TraitCapture: Genomic modelling for plant phenomics under environmental stress. This project aims to develop software to integrate new hyper-spectral and 3D growth models of plant phenomics with population genomics to identify heritable developmental traits across varied environments. Genome wide association studies aim to then be used to identify causal genes. Functional structural plant models incorporating genetic variation will be used to predict growth under simulated stress environments. The research team unites international industry, the Australian Plant Phenomics Facility, and university statistical geneticists. TraitCapture software will use open standards applicable to both controlled and field environments enabling plant breeders to pre-select adaptive traits to increase crop productivity under environmental stress.Read moreRead less
The first integrated multimodal assay for the ultrasensitive detection of dengue contamination of blood. This project will develop the first screening test to check for dengue contamination of blood donations in Australia. This will help ensure safe, continued supply from blood donors, particularly in Queensland where dengue is on the rise.
Targeting the delivery of cytotoxic agents to tumour cells using novel minicells as drug delivery vehicles and engineered, bispecific antibodies. Cancer persists as a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally. A major problem is the non-specific action of drugs used for treatment. The minicell is a drug delivery vehicle, capable of packaging a variety of drugs. The project will develop tumour-specific antibodies that will target minicells to tumours, improving cancer survival rates.