Neurobiology Of Childhood Speech Disorders: Improving Detection, Diagnosis And Clinical Care
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$994,575.00
Summary
One in 20 children have a speech disorder at school entry, with lifelong deficits in psychosocial, academic and employment outcomes. Little is known about the aetiology of speech disorders, preventing targeted care. We combine expertise in speech pathology, gene discovery and brain imaging, to advance knowledge on gene and brain contributions to speech disorder. We will have direct impacts on clinical care including detection, diagnosis and counselling, optimising outcomes for affected children.
Molecules and mechanisms regulating axonal degeneration and regeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans neurons. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying nerve degeneration and regeneration is essential to tackle and provide treatment for neurodegenerative diseases and injury of the nervous system. This project aims to discover, using a genetic approach and a simple animal model system, the molecules regulating these crucial biological processes.
Morphological development of the kidney – a paradigm for organogenesis. This project aims to shed new light on how the kidney develops, how normal adult function is established and how congenital kidney malformations occur. It aims to investigate a mathematical pattern that has been discovered in the program of branching morphogenesis which dictates kidney development. By combining cutting-edge genetic approaches, morphological analysis and mathematical modelling, this project plans to explore h ....Morphological development of the kidney – a paradigm for organogenesis. This project aims to shed new light on how the kidney develops, how normal adult function is established and how congenital kidney malformations occur. It aims to investigate a mathematical pattern that has been discovered in the program of branching morphogenesis which dictates kidney development. By combining cutting-edge genetic approaches, morphological analysis and mathematical modelling, this project plans to explore how this pattern is established, how it dictates kidney development and whether it constitutes an ancient mechanism central to organ formation. Project outcomes may improve understanding of fundamental developmental processes and developmental disease and variation. Project findings may also be important for understanding the development of other organ systems.Read moreRead less
Effectiveness of social skills training for children with autism. Our industry partner, Aspect Australia, is one of the world's largest providers of educational and other services for people with autism. The demonstration of effectiveness of the program in Aspect classes will likely lead to widespread use and benefit of the program in the education sector nationally and internationally. This in turn would lead to potential lessening of disability in children with autism with improvements in thei ....Effectiveness of social skills training for children with autism. Our industry partner, Aspect Australia, is one of the world's largest providers of educational and other services for people with autism. The demonstration of effectiveness of the program in Aspect classes will likely lead to widespread use and benefit of the program in the education sector nationally and internationally. This in turn would lead to potential lessening of disability in children with autism with improvements in their mental health and significant cost savings to the community.Read moreRead less
Genetic analysis of lymphatic vascular development. This project investigates the fundamental molecular components that regulate lymphatic vascular system development in the zebrafish embryo. Lymphatic vessels play critical roles in vascular diseases and cancer metastasis. This study will identify and examine key new molecules that will further our basic understanding of lymphatic development.
The molecular control of lymphatic vascular differentiation. This project aims to improve our understanding of how a new vascular system forms and the molecules that control this process. Lymphatic vasculature plays roles in fluid drainage, inflammation, obesity, metastasis and tissue repair, yet we cannot readily promote or inhibit lymphatic vessel formation. This project aims to build new knowledge that is expected to improve our ability to generate lymphatic vessels for stem cell application ....The molecular control of lymphatic vascular differentiation. This project aims to improve our understanding of how a new vascular system forms and the molecules that control this process. Lymphatic vasculature plays roles in fluid drainage, inflammation, obesity, metastasis and tissue repair, yet we cannot readily promote or inhibit lymphatic vessel formation. This project aims to build new knowledge that is expected to improve our ability to generate lymphatic vessels for stem cell applications, tissue engineering, tissue repair and regeneration. This project will use zebrafish embryos, new genomic datasets and novel tools to uncover the genetic control of this process, and should have implications in stem cell biology, tissue engineering, repair and regeneration.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101290
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Age-related reorganisation of cortical networks subserving memory retrieval. This research project will use brain imaging to understand how the brain reorganises working memory when it ages. It will provide a framework for understanding age-related memory decline in the brain, which will in turn provide key information for understanding memory difficulties in clinical populations.
Systems analysis of a critical regulatory hub in sex determination. This project seeks to better understand regulatory mechanisms of embryonic development. A key challenge in biology is to understand how genes act in regulatory networks to coordinate the formation of complex organs during embryo development. Although several genes influence embryo sex determination and gonad development, Sox9 has emerged as a master regulator in this system. This project plans to use new systems biology technolo ....Systems analysis of a critical regulatory hub in sex determination. This project seeks to better understand regulatory mechanisms of embryonic development. A key challenge in biology is to understand how genes act in regulatory networks to coordinate the formation of complex organs during embryo development. Although several genes influence embryo sex determination and gonad development, Sox9 has emerged as a master regulator in this system. This project plans to use new systems biology technologies and transgenic mice to identify the suite of Sox9 target genes and partner proteins. Anticipated outcomes include insights into sex determination, stem cell differentiation, and development of many other organ systems that depend on Sox9 function, providing proof-of-concept for high-throughput analysis of molecular control networks in the embryo.Read moreRead less
Modelling stem cell decisions in mouse germ cells. A fundamental problem in biology is how cells transition from pluripotency to lineage commitment. The aim of this project is to study this problem, in vivo, by dissecting the mechanisms active during normal development of primordial germ cells (PGCs, gamete stem cells) in the mouse fetal testis. Using molecular, cellular and whole animal assays three central hypotheses will be addressed regarding genes likely to be important in the process. This ....Modelling stem cell decisions in mouse germ cells. A fundamental problem in biology is how cells transition from pluripotency to lineage commitment. The aim of this project is to study this problem, in vivo, by dissecting the mechanisms active during normal development of primordial germ cells (PGCs, gamete stem cells) in the mouse fetal testis. Using molecular, cellular and whole animal assays three central hypotheses will be addressed regarding genes likely to be important in the process. This research will reveal the molecular nature of bipotential switches in cell identity and will inform some of the most important biological issues of our time, including tissue regeneration, aging and cancer biology.Read moreRead less
Molecular regulation of the mitosis-to-meiosis switch in germ cells. This project will build on our recent major discoveries to study how sperm and oocyte production begins during fetal life. This issue is critical for understanding fertility and infertility in animal species and humans. The answers generated will lay the groundwork for fertility control in humans, pets, pests and endangered animals.