Targeting chloroplasts to enhance crop salt tolerance. Yield losses in crop plants due to increasingly saline soils are linked to the effects of salt on chloroplasts. By comparing chloroplast water- and salt-transport mechanisms of closely related salt-loving and salt-sensitive plants, this Fellowships aims to discover how chloroplasts maintain function in saline conditions. Novel biophysics and molecular techniques will be used to characterise transporters in model plants, and proof-of-concept ....Targeting chloroplasts to enhance crop salt tolerance. Yield losses in crop plants due to increasingly saline soils are linked to the effects of salt on chloroplasts. By comparing chloroplast water- and salt-transport mechanisms of closely related salt-loving and salt-sensitive plants, this Fellowships aims to discover how chloroplasts maintain function in saline conditions. Novel biophysics and molecular techniques will be used to characterise transporters in model plants, and proof-of-concept complementation experiments aim to confer salt tolerance on sensitive plants. These fundamental insights are likely to lead to rapid, step-change improvements in salt tolerance, especially in agriculturally relevant crops, to benefit Australia’s agri-industry and ensure food security in the future.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space. ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space. This Centre aims to create on-demand, zero-waste, high-efficiency plants and plant products to address grand challenges in sustainability for Space and on Earth. Significant advances in plant, food, and sensory science; process and systems engineering; law and policy; and psychology are expected to deliver transformative solutions for Space habitation – and create enhanced plant-derived food and bioresour ....ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space. ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space. This Centre aims to create on-demand, zero-waste, high-efficiency plants and plant products to address grand challenges in sustainability for Space and on Earth. Significant advances in plant, food, and sensory science; process and systems engineering; law and policy; and psychology are expected to deliver transformative solutions for Space habitation – and create enhanced plant-derived food and bioresources to capitalise upon emergent and rapidly expanding domestic and global markets. Anticipated outcomes include industry uptake of innovative plant forms, foods, technologies, and commodities; and an ambitious education and international co-ordination agenda to position Australia as a global leader in research supporting Space habitation.Read moreRead less
Protecting cereal grain development at high temperatures. This project aims to investigate new temperature-responsive factors that regulate cereal grain development to protect grain production under heat stress. The new research will leverage international collaborations with access to cutting-edge genetic and technological resources, and refine novel X-ray imaging techniques in Australia, to observe how temperature affects flower structure and function in barley and rice. Favourable mutations t ....Protecting cereal grain development at high temperatures. This project aims to investigate new temperature-responsive factors that regulate cereal grain development to protect grain production under heat stress. The new research will leverage international collaborations with access to cutting-edge genetic and technological resources, and refine novel X-ray imaging techniques in Australia, to observe how temperature affects flower structure and function in barley and rice. Favourable mutations that optimise plant yield and fitness will be defined and explored in other, more complex, cereals such as wheat. Expected outcomes will be fundamental breakthroughs in understanding how plants respond to, and buffer, the effects of heat to lead to translational breeding strategies that bolster grain yield.Read moreRead less
Screening and responding to domestic violence experienced by refugee women. We will adapt and test an evidence-based intervention to identify and address domestic violence with newly arrived refugee women, partnering with Settlement Services International, one of Australia’s largest providers of settlement programs. Domestic violence is the lead contributor to premature death among Australian women, and costs $22 b each year, with refugee women at heightened risk. This study will compare outcome ....Screening and responding to domestic violence experienced by refugee women. We will adapt and test an evidence-based intervention to identify and address domestic violence with newly arrived refugee women, partnering with Settlement Services International, one of Australia’s largest providers of settlement programs. Domestic violence is the lead contributor to premature death among Australian women, and costs $22 b each year, with refugee women at heightened risk. This study will compare outcomes for women who receive the intervention to controls and culturally sensitive, scaleable tested tools. This intervention should reduce the human and financial cost of domestic violence among refugee and other vulnerable migrant women, providing tools to settlement services to address this complex, hidden problem. Read moreRead less
Australia’s first direct-detection dark matter search, at Stawell Gold Mine. This project aims to develop an underground integrated laboratory at Stawell Gold Mine in Victoria to host the Southern Hemisphere's first-ever direct-detection dark matter experiment. Following the Higgs boson discovery, the direct detection of dark matter is seen as the next major challenge for particle physics. This project sees Australian physicists team up with local and international partners in research and indus ....Australia’s first direct-detection dark matter search, at Stawell Gold Mine. This project aims to develop an underground integrated laboratory at Stawell Gold Mine in Victoria to host the Southern Hemisphere's first-ever direct-detection dark matter experiment. Following the Higgs boson discovery, the direct detection of dark matter is seen as the next major challenge for particle physics. This project sees Australian physicists team up with local and international partners in research and industry to join the search for dark matter. This Australian experiment aims to help to confirm or deny current results from Northern Hemisphere experiments. As the mine nears the end of its working life as a gold mine, this project is expected to benefit the local economy and provide opportunities for education and outreach.Read moreRead less
Saving Nemo: Reducing animal use in toxicity assessments of wastewater. Every day, Australians produce ~5 billion litres of wastewater, which contains a cocktail of chemicals. Industries that discharge wastewater are required to assess chemical risks to the receiving environments by conducting whole animal direct toxicity assessments (DTA), which are expensive and pose an ethical dilemma. Our preliminary research shows that new in vitro bioassays provide an ethical and cost effective alternative ....Saving Nemo: Reducing animal use in toxicity assessments of wastewater. Every day, Australians produce ~5 billion litres of wastewater, which contains a cocktail of chemicals. Industries that discharge wastewater are required to assess chemical risks to the receiving environments by conducting whole animal direct toxicity assessments (DTA), which are expensive and pose an ethical dilemma. Our preliminary research shows that new in vitro bioassays provide an ethical and cost effective alternative that could be incorporated into DTA programs if their ecological relevance can be demonstrated. This project will develop and validate a new and internationally significant suite of in vitro bioassays for incorporation into DTA programs, leading to more ethical, cost effective and improved environmental protection.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE210100098
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,974,000.00
Summary
Enabling the Future of the Australian Collider Physics Program. The project aims to fund the continuation of Australia’s very successful experimental particle physics program to explore how the universe works at it's fundamental level. We interrogate subatomic matter at the energy frontier at CERN's Large Hadron Collider and the intensity frontier at Japan's SuperKEKB collider. The basic contributions required for Australian membership of these two key programs will enable scientists to continue ....Enabling the Future of the Australian Collider Physics Program. The project aims to fund the continuation of Australia’s very successful experimental particle physics program to explore how the universe works at it's fundamental level. We interrogate subatomic matter at the energy frontier at CERN's Large Hadron Collider and the intensity frontier at Japan's SuperKEKB collider. The basic contributions required for Australian membership of these two key programs will enable scientists to continue capitalising on decades of hard work and accumulated expertise, significant project outcomes and benefits include: access for Australia to advanced instruments and international research facilities; training of the next generation of researchers in detector construction and operation; and a rich science program.Read moreRead less
How do plant roots align nitrogen uptake to soil opportunities? Improved nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in crop plants is required to achieve sustainable plant agriculture practices that maximise productivity while minimising nitrogen fertiliser-dependent pollution. Current high-input monoculture plant production systems suffer from poor NUE and can contribute to local and global nitrogen pollution outcomes. Improving how plants manage their nitrogen uptake will improve NUE and help support Aust ....How do plant roots align nitrogen uptake to soil opportunities? Improved nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in crop plants is required to achieve sustainable plant agriculture practices that maximise productivity while minimising nitrogen fertiliser-dependent pollution. Current high-input monoculture plant production systems suffer from poor NUE and can contribute to local and global nitrogen pollution outcomes. Improving how plants manage their nitrogen uptake will improve NUE and help support Australian plant agriculture. This project will investigate novel technologies that re-engineer nitrate transport activity. The project will also investigate the biochemical and molecular links between nitrogen uptake on root development required for improved plant growth.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC170100016
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,123,492.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Personalised Therapeutics Technologies. The ARC Training Centre for Personalised Therapeutics Technologies aims to create and develop the skills and technology to benefit from the transformative impacts that cell/organ-on-a-chip technology will have on the medtech/pharma industries. By combining microfluidics-based/real-time technologies with personalised medicine the Training Centre will provide industry growth opportunities through improved screening of potential therap ....ARC Training Centre for Personalised Therapeutics Technologies. The ARC Training Centre for Personalised Therapeutics Technologies aims to create and develop the skills and technology to benefit from the transformative impacts that cell/organ-on-a-chip technology will have on the medtech/pharma industries. By combining microfluidics-based/real-time technologies with personalised medicine the Training Centre will provide industry growth opportunities through improved screening of potential therapeutics. The use of an individual patient’s cellular and molecular research findings will ultimately enable personalised diagnostic and therapeutic decisions.Read moreRead less