Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0452977
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$329,504.00
Summary
Upgrade and expansion of Newcastle Plant Growth Facility. The project will upgrade and expand the Newcastle Plant Growth Facility. The upgrades will improve glasshouse environments for the production of high quality plant material. This outcome will be achieved through increasing solar transmittance and more effective temperature control. Expansion will address unmet demand for standard and PC2 plant growth space. Together the infrastructure additions will enhance productivity and excellence ....Upgrade and expansion of Newcastle Plant Growth Facility. The project will upgrade and expand the Newcastle Plant Growth Facility. The upgrades will improve glasshouse environments for the production of high quality plant material. This outcome will be achieved through increasing solar transmittance and more effective temperature control. Expansion will address unmet demand for standard and PC2 plant growth space. Together the infrastructure additions will enhance productivity and excellence of core areas of plant biology research at Newcastle in nutrient transport, cell development as well as environment management and rehabilitation . In addition, they will underpin new collaborative initiatives at the interfaces between plant biology with transgenic delivery of reproductive vaccines and phytoremediation.Read moreRead less
Plant Transfer Cells - Discovering the Mechanisms of Wall Ingrowth Formation. This project seeks fundamental molecular understanding of how specialized plant cells that are designed for optimum transport of nutrients develop. So-called "transfer cells" are important for efficient nutrient transport and distribution in many crop species of significance to agriculture. Discovering the mechanisms that coordinate development of these specialized cells will maintain Australia's international reputat ....Plant Transfer Cells - Discovering the Mechanisms of Wall Ingrowth Formation. This project seeks fundamental molecular understanding of how specialized plant cells that are designed for optimum transport of nutrients develop. So-called "transfer cells" are important for efficient nutrient transport and distribution in many crop species of significance to agriculture. Discovering the mechanisms that coordinate development of these specialized cells will maintain Australia's international reputation in this field of research, as well as provide technological opportunities to enhance crop yields by manipulating the efficiency of nutrient distribution in crop species. Read moreRead less
Induction of Plant Transfer Cells - Discovering Regulatory Networks. This project seeks molecular understanding of regulatory mechanisms responsible for inducing formation of specialized plant cells that are of central importance in controlling nutrient transport. These so-called "transfer cells" play pivotal roles in determining crop nutrition and hence yield under normal and stressful environments such as soil nutrient deficiencies and salinity. Discovering regulatory mechanisms that control f ....Induction of Plant Transfer Cells - Discovering Regulatory Networks. This project seeks molecular understanding of regulatory mechanisms responsible for inducing formation of specialized plant cells that are of central importance in controlling nutrient transport. These so-called "transfer cells" play pivotal roles in determining crop nutrition and hence yield under normal and stressful environments such as soil nutrient deficiencies and salinity. Discovering regulatory mechanisms that control formation of these specialized cells will maintain Australia's international reputation in this field of research. In addition, the information platform generated may provide technological opportunities to optimise nutrient flows in healthy plants, combat certain environmental stresses and control pathogen attack.
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Mechanisms Of Glucocorticoid Resistance In Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$547,970.00
Summary
Glucocorticoids are extremely active drugs used in the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), yet a proportion of patients respond poorly to therapy and exhibit resistance at relapse. Clinically relevant mechanisms of glucocorticoid resistance are poorly understood, principally due to lack of appropriate experimental models. This project will reveal novel mechanisms of drug resistance in childhood leukaemia and lead to novel therapeutic strategies to improve outcome.
Deciphering Mechanisms Of Liver Allograft Tolerance
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$520,964.00
Summary
The liver has paradoxical properties: it is the site of effective immune responses to pathogens, but under some circumstances, it is known to induce harmless immune responses. Liver transplants are more readily accepted than other organ grafts in the absence of immunosuppressive drugs but little is known about the mechanisms that prevent an effective response. This proposal aims to unravel these mechanisms. This project will have important implications for transplantation studies.
Neurotrophic factors for pelvic autonomic neurons: the role of neurturin. This project is about pelvic parasympathetic neurons, which are responsible for involuntary activities such as bladder voiding and penile erection. We are interested in the neurotrophic factors that determine survival of these neurons during early mammalian development and keep them healthy in adults. Little is known about ?parasympathetic neurotrophic factors? in general. However we have recently discovered that the prote ....Neurotrophic factors for pelvic autonomic neurons: the role of neurturin. This project is about pelvic parasympathetic neurons, which are responsible for involuntary activities such as bladder voiding and penile erection. We are interested in the neurotrophic factors that determine survival of these neurons during early mammalian development and keep them healthy in adults. Little is known about ?parasympathetic neurotrophic factors? in general. However we have recently discovered that the protein neurturin is very important in the pelvic parasympathetic system. We will determine exactly how neurturin affects pelvic neurons and how it interacts with other neurotrophic factors. Our results will fill a major gap in our knowledge of fundamental neurobiology.Read moreRead less
Ageing wild vertebrates from their DNA: an investigation using Humpback Whales as an example. The aim of this project is to estimate the age of individually identified humpback whales and the age structure of humpback whale populations using non-lethal, innovative molecular techniques. Populations of humpback whales in the Southern Hemisphere are slowly recovering from intensive whaling during the 20th century. This project is significant because it will provide the first comparative information ....Ageing wild vertebrates from their DNA: an investigation using Humpback Whales as an example. The aim of this project is to estimate the age of individually identified humpback whales and the age structure of humpback whale populations using non-lethal, innovative molecular techniques. Populations of humpback whales in the Southern Hemisphere are slowly recovering from intensive whaling during the 20th century. This project is significant because it will provide the first comparative information on the age structure of these populations, resulting in improved estimation of recovery and population dynamics of long-lived vertebrates. The results of this project will revolutionise research on ageing in whales and dolphins, providing an important alternative to lethal scientific whaling.Read moreRead less
Bacterial Proteomics: From Cell Division to Novel Antibiotic Targets. When a cell divides it is essential that each newborn cell gets a complete copy of the DNA. To ensure that this happens, cell division must be tightly controlled. It is not known how this occurs in bacteria. However, if we knew what molecules were involved in this control, we could target them to kill harmful bacteria. This project aims to identify such regulatory molecules as candidate targets for antimicrobial agents, with a ....Bacterial Proteomics: From Cell Division to Novel Antibiotic Targets. When a cell divides it is essential that each newborn cell gets a complete copy of the DNA. To ensure that this happens, cell division must be tightly controlled. It is not known how this occurs in bacteria. However, if we knew what molecules were involved in this control, we could target them to kill harmful bacteria. This project aims to identify such regulatory molecules as candidate targets for antimicrobial agents, with a view to developing powerful, novel antibiotics to protect us from the imminent threat of bioterrorism and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
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The effect of age on regulatory T cell control of the innate and adaptive antiviral immune responses. Viral pathogens are a lead cause of infant mortality in the world. This project will define how T regulatory cells limit protective antiviral immune responses in the young. This information is critical for the development of potent antiviral vaccines that are effective from the newborn period without inducing autoimmunity. It will also provide novel insight into the way T regulatory cells can b ....The effect of age on regulatory T cell control of the innate and adaptive antiviral immune responses. Viral pathogens are a lead cause of infant mortality in the world. This project will define how T regulatory cells limit protective antiviral immune responses in the young. This information is critical for the development of potent antiviral vaccines that are effective from the newborn period without inducing autoimmunity. It will also provide novel insight into the way T regulatory cells can be manipulated both to dampen immunity, which can be used to develop strategies to reduce immune mediated disease and limit transplant rejection. Read moreRead less
Selective enrichment of proteins using micro-Gradiflow technology and characterisation of proteins using LC-MS/MS. This project describes crucial areas for the technology development of protein enrichment and fractionation. While current techniques are powerful, the usefulness to identify and characterise proteins of low abundance from massively complex samples in the presence of abundant proteins is limited and requires up to mililitre volumes. We intend to develop the micro-Gradiflow technolog ....Selective enrichment of proteins using micro-Gradiflow technology and characterisation of proteins using LC-MS/MS. This project describes crucial areas for the technology development of protein enrichment and fractionation. While current techniques are powerful, the usefulness to identify and characterise proteins of low abundance from massively complex samples in the presence of abundant proteins is limited and requires up to mililitre volumes. We intend to develop the micro-Gradiflow technology in association with Gradipore as a means of protein fractionation using microlitre volumes of sample. This technology will be applicable to all areas of proteomic research and in particular to the study of cell differentiation. The outcome for Australian industry, our competitiveness both industrial and scientific, and the potential for economic advancement is tremendous.Read moreRead less