The Fluid-Particle Mechanics of a Synthetic Jet-based Dry Powder Inhaler. This project aims to untangle the fundamental principles that govern the fluid mechanics and particulate interactions in a novel concept chip-based micro-zero-net-mass-flux (micro-ZNMF) jet-assisted dry powder inhaler (DPI). Respiratory diseases affect 6.2 million Australians. The treatment of these diseases is hampered by the poor efficiency of current delivery systems, with conventional DPI devices exhibiting sub-optimum ....The Fluid-Particle Mechanics of a Synthetic Jet-based Dry Powder Inhaler. This project aims to untangle the fundamental principles that govern the fluid mechanics and particulate interactions in a novel concept chip-based micro-zero-net-mass-flux (micro-ZNMF) jet-assisted dry powder inhaler (DPI). Respiratory diseases affect 6.2 million Australians. The treatment of these diseases is hampered by the poor efficiency of current delivery systems, with conventional DPI devices exhibiting sub-optimum performance, delivering typically less than 20% of the loaded dose to the target site, the lungs. The new fundamental knowledge resulting from this research will enable the engineering of a high-efficiency groundbreaking DPI, with the potential to be fully adaptive user-specific benefiting millions of Australians. Read moreRead less
Engineering an environmentally-friendly metered dose inhaler. This project aims to deliver a novel simulation framework to accurately predict the behaviour of metered dose inhaler sprays using advanced numerical methods for flash-evaporating turbulent flows developed by the investigators. The project expects to generate new knowledge of the complex physics which occur in these devices through a first of its kind combination of unsteady non-equilibrium thermodynamics, turbulence and spray models. ....Engineering an environmentally-friendly metered dose inhaler. This project aims to deliver a novel simulation framework to accurately predict the behaviour of metered dose inhaler sprays using advanced numerical methods for flash-evaporating turbulent flows developed by the investigators. The project expects to generate new knowledge of the complex physics which occur in these devices through a first of its kind combination of unsteady non-equilibrium thermodynamics, turbulence and spray models. Expected outcomes of this project include a novel ability to predict and optimise the performance of inhalers to suit environmentally-friendly replacement propellants. This will significantly benefit the pharmaceutical sector as it will accelerate the design of next-generation inhalers and propellants.Read moreRead less
Bridging the gap between global mechanics and regional imaging in the lungs. The detailed mechanics of breathing are not well understood, due to a lack of regional lung measurement techniques. This project aims to develop a powerful analysis tool to image in vivo mechanical properties of the lungs. The expected outcome of this project is a novel platform for investigation and understanding of lung function, enabling information previously only available for the whole lung to be calculated for lo ....Bridging the gap between global mechanics and regional imaging in the lungs. The detailed mechanics of breathing are not well understood, due to a lack of regional lung measurement techniques. This project aims to develop a powerful analysis tool to image in vivo mechanical properties of the lungs. The expected outcome of this project is a novel platform for investigation and understanding of lung function, enabling information previously only available for the whole lung to be calculated for local lung regions within the body. The image analysis methods developed are intended to enable respiratory researchers to investigate lung function in unprecedented detail, leading to new insights into the workings of this complicated and vital organ. Read moreRead less
Enabling precise droplet control in hydrofluorocarbon free sprays. This project aims to investigate the use of blended propellants to replace hydrofluorocarbons in technical aerosols. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of multiphase fluid mechanics and aerosol science through a combination of modeling, optical and synchrotron X-ray measurement techniques. Expected outcomes of this project include a capacity to develop environmentally friendly technical aerosol formulation ....Enabling precise droplet control in hydrofluorocarbon free sprays. This project aims to investigate the use of blended propellants to replace hydrofluorocarbons in technical aerosols. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of multiphase fluid mechanics and aerosol science through a combination of modeling, optical and synchrotron X-ray measurement techniques. Expected outcomes of this project include a capacity to develop environmentally friendly technical aerosol formulations which can match and potentially outperform currently available hydrofluorocarbon based products. This should provide significant benefits to the pharmaceutical industry through the generation of new knowledge regarding the fundamental physics of multicomponent sprays.Read moreRead less
Optimising disease surveillance to support decision-making. COVID-19 has demonstrated the critical role of epidemic data and analytics in guiding government response to pandemic threats, reducing disease and saving lives. The demand for epidemic analytics for response to threats of national significance will only grow. The goals of this project are to 1) determine the combination(s) of surveillance methods that provide the most useful data for epidemic analysis and 2) translate these findings in ....Optimising disease surveillance to support decision-making. COVID-19 has demonstrated the critical role of epidemic data and analytics in guiding government response to pandemic threats, reducing disease and saving lives. The demand for epidemic analytics for response to threats of national significance will only grow. The goals of this project are to 1) determine the combination(s) of surveillance methods that provide the most useful data for epidemic analysis and 2) translate these findings into the blueprint for a next-generation infectious disease surveillance system for Australia. We will use a simulation-evaluation approach, coupling methods from infectious disease modelling with those from information theory optimal design. Outcomes will enable more tailored and effective pandemic response.Read moreRead less
Genetic architecture and evolution of complex traits across populations. Most human traits have a genetic component and display substantial diversity within and among populations. How natural selection changes and maintains genetic variation in human traits is a long-standing question in evolution that the proposed project aims to answer. Using innovative statistical methods and largest genomic “big” datasets ever across populations of different ancestral backgrounds, this project expects to gen ....Genetic architecture and evolution of complex traits across populations. Most human traits have a genetic component and display substantial diversity within and among populations. How natural selection changes and maintains genetic variation in human traits is a long-standing question in evolution that the proposed project aims to answer. Using innovative statistical methods and largest genomic “big” datasets ever across populations of different ancestral backgrounds, this project expects to generate new knowledge on the roles of natural selection in shaping the genetic variation in traits and identify key factors that drive the differentiation of human populations. These outcomes will significantly improve our understanding on the evolution of human traits and adaptation of populations to changing environments.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100730
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$448,000.00
Summary
Strategies to minimise the societal impacts of zoonotic pandemics. The continuing pandemic has had unprecedented effects across society. Population mobility restrictions have been effective in slowing transmission, but are only effective while in place and have dramatic adverse effects. Despite Australia’s relative success, we have lacked a clear national strategy to guide the optimal deployment of such restrictions. During this fellowship, I will use robust software development practices to dev ....Strategies to minimise the societal impacts of zoonotic pandemics. The continuing pandemic has had unprecedented effects across society. Population mobility restrictions have been effective in slowing transmission, but are only effective while in place and have dramatic adverse effects. Despite Australia’s relative success, we have lacked a clear national strategy to guide the optimal deployment of such restrictions. During this fellowship, I will use robust software development practices to develop a unified software platform that integrates semi-mechanistic, particle filter and agent-based methodologies. I will then use this platform to quantify the effects of mobility restrictions and define the optimal strategic response that should be selected based on the characteristics of a newly emerged pathogen.Read moreRead less
Using AI to reveal the true extent & context of alcohol exposure in videos. This project aims to extend an artificial intelligence algorithm to automatically identify and quantify alcohol prevalence in videos. The project is expected to generate significant new knowledge about alcohol’s exposure in these videos’ social, emotional, and environmental contexts. The expected outcomes include a more efficient and automated method of revealing alcohol pervasiveness and its context in the 1000 most wat ....Using AI to reveal the true extent & context of alcohol exposure in videos. This project aims to extend an artificial intelligence algorithm to automatically identify and quantify alcohol prevalence in videos. The project is expected to generate significant new knowledge about alcohol’s exposure in these videos’ social, emotional, and environmental contexts. The expected outcomes include a more efficient and automated method of revealing alcohol pervasiveness and its context in the 1000 most watched videos in Australia, making costly manual coding redundant. Anticipated benefits include enabling governments to better monitor compliance to alcohol product placement guidelines and increased public awareness of the frequency and harmful effects of being exposed to alcohol in videos.Read moreRead less
Reducing health disparities for culturally and linguistically diverse peoples. This project aims to develop a greater understanding of migrants and the factors that predict poor health outcomes related to blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections. The delayed access by migrants to healthcare from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds results in late diagnosis, low treatment uptake, and poorer health outcomes, with enhanced risk of infection and increased burden on the h ....Reducing health disparities for culturally and linguistically diverse peoples. This project aims to develop a greater understanding of migrants and the factors that predict poor health outcomes related to blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections. The delayed access by migrants to healthcare from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds results in late diagnosis, low treatment uptake, and poorer health outcomes, with enhanced risk of infection and increased burden on the health system. The data collected in this project will assist in developing health services to meet these needs.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100977
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$419,016.00
Summary
How ecology shapes the viromes of wild birds. This project will reveal the host factors associated with the diversity, evolution and dynamics of viruses using state-of-the-art metatranscriptomics in Australian wild birds. The structure of virus communities and their associated ecological drivers in wild animal hosts remain a black-box, even though they are the largest source of viral diversity in nature. This project expects to generate key insights into host-associated drivers of viral communit ....How ecology shapes the viromes of wild birds. This project will reveal the host factors associated with the diversity, evolution and dynamics of viruses using state-of-the-art metatranscriptomics in Australian wild birds. The structure of virus communities and their associated ecological drivers in wild animal hosts remain a black-box, even though they are the largest source of viral diversity in nature. This project expects to generate key insights into host-associated drivers of viral community dynamics and the subsequent effect of anthropogenic factors such as urbanisation and poultry production. Identifying host factors that affect viral ecology in wild birds will constitute a cornerstone in understanding the emergence of virulent viruses and/or their spread to poultry or humansRead moreRead less