Immunological mechanisms underlying the protective immune responses induced by botulinum oil adjuvanted vaccine. Botulism is recognised as an important bacterial pathogen in commercial beef cattle in Australia and around the world. Development of affective, well-researched vaccine against Clostridium botulinum is a high priority for the cattle industry. A novel oil adjuvanted vaccine (Singvac from Fort Dodge Pty Ltd) has advantage over conventional vaccines as it provides full protection follo ....Immunological mechanisms underlying the protective immune responses induced by botulinum oil adjuvanted vaccine. Botulism is recognised as an important bacterial pathogen in commercial beef cattle in Australia and around the world. Development of affective, well-researched vaccine against Clostridium botulinum is a high priority for the cattle industry. A novel oil adjuvanted vaccine (Singvac from Fort Dodge Pty Ltd) has advantage over conventional vaccines as it provides full protection following a single administration. The aims of this study are to investigate the immunological mechanisms underlying the protective response by this novel vaccine using bovine and murine models. This study will discover new control measures for botulism in Australia.Read moreRead less
A systems approach to dissect the pathogenicity and host specificity of the Fusarium wilt pathogen, Fusarium oxysporum. The pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum causes wilt disease in many plant species, including many that are important for Australian agriculture. Developing environmentally friendly disease protection strategies against this pathogen requires a clear understanding of infection strategies used by the fungus to invade its host. This project, along with a parallel project in host ....A systems approach to dissect the pathogenicity and host specificity of the Fusarium wilt pathogen, Fusarium oxysporum. The pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum causes wilt disease in many plant species, including many that are important for Australian agriculture. Developing environmentally friendly disease protection strategies against this pathogen requires a clear understanding of infection strategies used by the fungus to invade its host. This project, along with a parallel project in host resistance mechanisms, will provide the basis for development of a world leading platform in mechanisms of fungal pathogenicity and virulence and plant disease resistance/susceptibility. Application of the knowledge gained in this project to other host-pathogen interactions will thereby provide opportunities for improved crop protection and biosecurity.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100020
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$520,000.00
Summary
Collaborative high bio-containment immunological research facility. Emerging infectious diseases are a serious threat to animals and humans, with most new human infections originating in animals. Our capacity to study these infections and their effects on the immune system is limited. This Facility will provide core equipment for analysis of immune responses to infection at the highest levels of bio-containment.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347223
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
Quantitative PCR facility for New England region of NSW. The project will deliver the first real-time PCR facility in the New England Region of NSW for use by University, CSIRO and Industry scientists. The facility will be based at the University of New England and be used by animal scientists, molecular biologists, parasitologists, immunologists and botanists at these institutions, in many cases in collaborative research projects. It will also support the training of seven PhD students and a po ....Quantitative PCR facility for New England region of NSW. The project will deliver the first real-time PCR facility in the New England Region of NSW for use by University, CSIRO and Industry scientists. The facility will be based at the University of New England and be used by animal scientists, molecular biologists, parasitologists, immunologists and botanists at these institutions, in many cases in collaborative research projects. It will also support the training of seven PhD students and a post-doctoral fellow. The facility will be unique to the region and will remove our current need to use facilities in Brisbane or Sydney.Read moreRead less
Ion transport in the malaria parasite and parasitised erythrocyte. This work will contribute to the national research effort in parasitology (an area in which the ARC has established a Research Network), as well as laying the groundwork for subsequent efforts (not part of this grant) to develop new antimalarial strategies. Although not yet endemic in Australia, malaria is a serious problem in the local region and, as the major developed nation in the region Australia has an obligation to make ....Ion transport in the malaria parasite and parasitised erythrocyte. This work will contribute to the national research effort in parasitology (an area in which the ARC has established a Research Network), as well as laying the groundwork for subsequent efforts (not part of this grant) to develop new antimalarial strategies. Although not yet endemic in Australia, malaria is a serious problem in the local region and, as the major developed nation in the region Australia has an obligation to make a significant contribution to research in this area. The work proposed here will contribute to Australia's meeting this obligation.Read moreRead less
Amino acid transporters and the chloroquine resistance transporter of the intracellular malaria parasite. This work entails an ongoing collaboration between three independent research groups with highly complementary expertise and experience. It will make a significant contribution to the maintenance of Australia's scientific capabilities and training opportunities. The project will yield important insights into the biology of the causative agent of a major human disease, and the mechanism by ....Amino acid transporters and the chloroquine resistance transporter of the intracellular malaria parasite. This work entails an ongoing collaboration between three independent research groups with highly complementary expertise and experience. It will make a significant contribution to the maintenance of Australia's scientific capabilities and training opportunities. The project will yield important insights into the biology of the causative agent of a major human disease, and the mechanism by which the malaria parasite has developed resistance to antimalarial drugs. Although not yet endemic in Australia, malaria is a serious problem in the local region and this work will help Australia meet its obligations to carry out high-quality research that advances our knowledge in this area.
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Unifying Foundations for Intelligent Agents. This project aims to drive forward the development of rigorous foundations for intelligent agents. The agent framework, the expected utility principle, sequential decision theory, and the information-theoretic foundations of inductive reasoning and machine learning have already brought significant order into the previously heterogeneous scattered field of artificial intelligence. This project aims to investigate an information-theoretic approach towar ....Unifying Foundations for Intelligent Agents. This project aims to drive forward the development of rigorous foundations for intelligent agents. The agent framework, the expected utility principle, sequential decision theory, and the information-theoretic foundations of inductive reasoning and machine learning have already brought significant order into the previously heterogeneous scattered field of artificial intelligence. This project aims to investigate an information-theoretic approach towards a unifying foundation for intelligent agents, which has recently spawned impressive applications. The theory is expected to provide a gold standard and valuable guidance for researchers working on smart software.Read moreRead less
Ross River virus - identification of virulence determinants in clinical isolates from across Australia. In Australia, Ross River virus (RRV) is the most common insect borne virus that affects human health. There were more than 60,000 confirmed cases of RRV between 1993 and 2008. While not fatal, the disease is responsible for significant morbidity that has both social and economic costs for the individual, their family and the community. The project has several national benefits. It will elucida ....Ross River virus - identification of virulence determinants in clinical isolates from across Australia. In Australia, Ross River virus (RRV) is the most common insect borne virus that affects human health. There were more than 60,000 confirmed cases of RRV between 1993 and 2008. While not fatal, the disease is responsible for significant morbidity that has both social and economic costs for the individual, their family and the community. The project has several national benefits. It will elucidate whether there is any association between RRV strain and the severity of human disease. It will also identify viral markers that could assist public health officials in determining likely disease outcomes of outbreaks and could provide new avenues for the design of antiviral strategies.Read moreRead less
Feature reinforcement learning. Agent applications include speech recognition systems, vision systems, search engines, auto-pilots, spam filters, and robots. The research outputs from this project will enable agents to adapt to their environment and automatically, during deployment, acquire much of the knowledge that is currently required to be built in by agent designers.
How do apicomplexan parasites steal amino acids from their hosts? The single-celled parasites that cause malaria and toxoplasmosis are adept at stealing nutrients from the host animals that they infect. How they do this is, however, poorly understood. This project seeks to identify the processes by which these parasites scavenge amino acids, an essential class of nutrient, from their hosts. Using innovative experimental approaches, the project aims to identify and characterise the parasite prote ....How do apicomplexan parasites steal amino acids from their hosts? The single-celled parasites that cause malaria and toxoplasmosis are adept at stealing nutrients from the host animals that they infect. How they do this is, however, poorly understood. This project seeks to identify the processes by which these parasites scavenge amino acids, an essential class of nutrient, from their hosts. Using innovative experimental approaches, the project aims to identify and characterise the parasite proteins that mediate the uptake of different amino acids into the parasite. The intended outcomes of the project are to provide comprehensive insights into a fundamental aspect of parasite biology, and inform strategies to treat the diseases caused by these parasites by cutting off their nutrient supply.Read moreRead less