Can an anti-HIV gene in blood stem cells protect from immune depletion by HIV? Approximately 15,000 individuals in Australia are currently HIV infected. Gene therapy has the capacity to remove antiretroviral treatment related issues, dramatically decrease treatment costs and simplify treatment of HIV.
In this study we will model a new approach to treat HIV in which the patient's own cells are used as the therapy by incorporating an anti-HIV gene. These cells are then re-introduced into the p ....Can an anti-HIV gene in blood stem cells protect from immune depletion by HIV? Approximately 15,000 individuals in Australia are currently HIV infected. Gene therapy has the capacity to remove antiretroviral treatment related issues, dramatically decrease treatment costs and simplify treatment of HIV.
In this study we will model a new approach to treat HIV in which the patient's own cells are used as the therapy by incorporating an anti-HIV gene. These cells are then re-introduced into the patient.
The strong mathematical focus of this project, and its application to a promising approach against HIV, will place Australia at the forefront of the mathematics of gene research and contribute to the National Priority Area of Promoting and Maintaining Good Health and the Priority Goal of Preventative Healthcare.
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New Directions in Non-linear Mathematical Asymptotics. Major challenges such as predicting epidemics or modelling cancer rely on our understanding of simple mathematical models with extremely complicated solutions. The first and only model in the literature to reproduce the three-phase cycle of immune response in HIV/AIDS was based on cellular automata. Its results are extremely sensitive to infinitesimally small changes in parameters. Yet, no technique exists to study such variation in cellular ....New Directions in Non-linear Mathematical Asymptotics. Major challenges such as predicting epidemics or modelling cancer rely on our understanding of simple mathematical models with extremely complicated solutions. The first and only model in the literature to reproduce the three-phase cycle of immune response in HIV/AIDS was based on cellular automata. Its results are extremely sensitive to infinitesimally small changes in parameters. Yet, no technique exists to study such variation in cellular automata. This research will provide new methods for prediction and analysis of such models. Read moreRead less
Who acquires infection from whom across international borders? New approaches for control of emerging infections through understanding travel patterns. Mathematical modelling of data on travellers traversing Australia's borders and their contact patterns can be used to understand the pathways by which infectious diseases enter and spread in Australia. Currently available social contact data which informs models are inadequate and outdated. Gathering new data relevant to modern society will help ....Who acquires infection from whom across international borders? New approaches for control of emerging infections through understanding travel patterns. Mathematical modelling of data on travellers traversing Australia's borders and their contact patterns can be used to understand the pathways by which infectious diseases enter and spread in Australia. Currently available social contact data which informs models are inadequate and outdated. Gathering new data relevant to modern society will help control future infectious disease threats to our society. Our aim is to collect detailed, unique data on demography, behavioural and social patterns of travellers and residents, and use this to develop mathematical models to evaluate effective control measures for emerging infections in Australia. This study will make a unique contribution to national disease control policy.Read moreRead less
Computational Reconstruction of Cardiac Pacemaker Activation and Atrial Propagation. This study seeks to develop accurate computer models of electrical activity in pacemaker and atrial cells of the heart, in order to understand how the heartbeat originates and propagates across the atria during normal and abnormal rhythms. In Australia, atrial fibrillation represents the most common form of chronic cardiac arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice, as well as being a major risk factor in strok ....Computational Reconstruction of Cardiac Pacemaker Activation and Atrial Propagation. This study seeks to develop accurate computer models of electrical activity in pacemaker and atrial cells of the heart, in order to understand how the heartbeat originates and propagates across the atria during normal and abnormal rhythms. In Australia, atrial fibrillation represents the most common form of chronic cardiac arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice, as well as being a major risk factor in stroke. Accurate computer modelling of normal and abnormal heart rhythms will provide greater insights into the development of antiarrythmic drugs as well as advancing knowledge of key electrical phenomena in the heart.Read moreRead less
Geometric structures in representation theory. Mathematics underpins every aspect of people's interactions with nature (e.g. physics) and with each other (e.g. finance). Its uses range from formulating physical laws in order to understand and predict nature, to analysis of financial concepts and transactions. This project will formulate and develop three new fundamental mathematical concepts: cellular algebras, eigenspace geometries, and diagram algebras. Benefits include enhancement of Australi ....Geometric structures in representation theory. Mathematics underpins every aspect of people's interactions with nature (e.g. physics) and with each other (e.g. finance). Its uses range from formulating physical laws in order to understand and predict nature, to analysis of financial concepts and transactions. This project will formulate and develop three new fundamental mathematical concepts: cellular algebras, eigenspace geometries, and diagram algebras. Benefits include enhancement of Australia's position at the very frontier of world class mathematical research, and a myriad of potential applications to physics, coding theory, information technology, electronic security and experimental design.Read moreRead less
The geometry of exotic nilpotent cones. This research will describe the geometry of some important objects which sit at the boundary of algebra, geometry, and combinatorics. It has intrinsic value as a significant addition to the heritage of mathematical thought, and will strengthen Australian traditions in these areas of mathematics.
Increasing the effectiveness of quantitative verification. The ability to analyse the performance of complex systems and protocols is a vital part of the development of large-scale computer applications. Methods that improve the effectiveness of the analysis task would increase the competitiveness of the software industry, and would attract future development work (in complex systems) to Australia. The results of this project will have a direct influence on currently available design tools; the ....Increasing the effectiveness of quantitative verification. The ability to analyse the performance of complex systems and protocols is a vital part of the development of large-scale computer applications. Methods that improve the effectiveness of the analysis task would increase the competitiveness of the software industry, and would attract future development work (in complex systems) to Australia. The results of this project will have a direct influence on currently available design tools; the fact that Australian institutions will be (in part) responsible for key theoretical results in this growing field will strengthen Australia's position worldwide as an international centre for computer science.Read moreRead less
Knowledge Based Model Updating for the Correctness of Security Protocols. This project will fundamentally provide a new paradigm of the security protocol verification and modification. As such, it will significantly enhance Australia's already leading role in the cutting edge research on information security. By applying the new methodology and technology, Australian IT industry will be able to develop more secure communication systems in real world domains. With a very strong research team acro ....Knowledge Based Model Updating for the Correctness of Security Protocols. This project will fundamentally provide a new paradigm of the security protocol verification and modification. As such, it will significantly enhance Australia's already leading role in the cutting edge research on information security. By applying the new methodology and technology, Australian IT industry will be able to develop more secure communication systems in real world domains. With a very strong research team across different areas such as knowledge reasoning, temporal logics and information security, and a collaborative research training environment, this project will further enhance Australia's international reputation as a leader in computing and IT research.Read moreRead less
Pyramids and decomposition numbers for the symmetric and general linear groups. This project takes a novel approach to the decomposition number problem for the symmetric and general linear groups by setting up a new framework for computing them using the combinatorics of pyramids. The decomposition numbers of an algebra are an important statistic which gives detailed structural information about its representations. These numbers can be used to compute the dimensions of the irreducible represen ....Pyramids and decomposition numbers for the symmetric and general linear groups. This project takes a novel approach to the decomposition number problem for the symmetric and general linear groups by setting up a new framework for computing them using the combinatorics of pyramids. The decomposition numbers of an algebra are an important statistic which gives detailed structural information about its representations. These numbers can be used to compute the dimensions of the irreducible representations of the algebra and they play an important role in the applications of representation theory to other fields such as knot theory and statistical mechanics.Read moreRead less
Algebras with Frobenius morphisms and quantum groups. In this digitalized world, our life relies on mathematics more than ever. Counting and numbers are just one example of this. Another is the public key codes for online payments and transactions. Mathematics is of enormous importance in this technology dominated age. This proposal is to carry out high level mathematical research in Australia. Basic research on quantum groups underpins applied research and certain areas such as quantum mechanic ....Algebras with Frobenius morphisms and quantum groups. In this digitalized world, our life relies on mathematics more than ever. Counting and numbers are just one example of this. Another is the public key codes for online payments and transactions. Mathematics is of enormous importance in this technology dominated age. This proposal is to carry out high level mathematical research in Australia. Basic research on quantum groups underpins applied research and certain areas such as quantum mechanics and string theory. Some structure of quantum groups is too complicated to be seen by even a professional mathematician. A possible interpretation by using representations over a finite field would make it more usable and accessible by computer.Read moreRead less