Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989226
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$340,000.00
Summary
Multi-photon imaging for infection, immunity, and self recognition. This proposal will address a gap in our imaging capabilities, allowing us to visualise the movement of immune cells and infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses within living tissues. This will immensely improve our capacity to understand interactions between the immune system, invading organisms and the rest of our body. The intravital imaging system will provide novel insights into how the immune system works, which will ....Multi-photon imaging for infection, immunity, and self recognition. This proposal will address a gap in our imaging capabilities, allowing us to visualise the movement of immune cells and infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses within living tissues. This will immensely improve our capacity to understand interactions between the immune system, invading organisms and the rest of our body. The intravital imaging system will provide novel insights into how the immune system works, which will benefit the design of vaccines, the treatment of cancer, and our understanding of allergy. This state-of-the-art facility will also provide vital training in an emerging technology that will have application in many areas of biology.
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Investigation of the fundamental roles of class Ib MHC (major histocompatibility complex) molecules in immunity. The proposed research program, using laboratory-based and synchrotron-based radiation, will provide insight into the roles of a poorly understood class of immune molecules. This will improve our understanding of the regulation of immunity, and the knowledge gained will increase Australia's international research profile.
A Regional Perspective on Work & Family Balance and Changes in Employment Regulation. Work/family balance is a focus of significant attention at the community, national and international level. This project will generate new knowledge about the ways in which employment regulation directly and indirectly impacts on employee work/family balance outcomes within different regional and industry contexts. A growing body of research recognises the linkages between employment regulation and effects on c ....A Regional Perspective on Work & Family Balance and Changes in Employment Regulation. Work/family balance is a focus of significant attention at the community, national and international level. This project will generate new knowledge about the ways in which employment regulation directly and indirectly impacts on employee work/family balance outcomes within different regional and industry contexts. A growing body of research recognises the linkages between employment regulation and effects on child and parent well-being and health, labour force supply and economic outcomes. However, little is known about how geographical location shapes work/family balance. The research will thus contribute to improved understandings and to better social policy at the local, state and federal levels.Read moreRead less
Identification of Biological pathways regulated by circular RNAs. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a, recently discovered molecule. circRNAs are highly abundant and expressed in a tissue and disease specific manner. Yet, currently the understanding of how circRNAs regulate biological processes is very poor. This project aims to use pooled shRNA libraries to screen a large panel of cell lines and systematically identify cellular activities that are regulated by circRNAs. The expected outcome of this ....Identification of Biological pathways regulated by circular RNAs. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a, recently discovered molecule. circRNAs are highly abundant and expressed in a tissue and disease specific manner. Yet, currently the understanding of how circRNAs regulate biological processes is very poor. This project aims to use pooled shRNA libraries to screen a large panel of cell lines and systematically identify cellular activities that are regulated by circRNAs. The expected outcome of this study will be a catalogue of functionally active circRNAs. Over the past decades, the wealth of knowledge on the function of linear mRNAs has had a significant impact on medicine and agriculture. Similarly understanding how circRNAs regulate cellular activities may have an analogous impact on humans.Read moreRead less
Investigating the evolution of innate and adaptive cellular immunity. This proposal aims to assess the impact of geographical and genetic isolation of the Australian Indigenous population on adaptive and innate immune systems. The project will use novel DNA sequencing approaches to generate the high resolution sequences of two genetic loci that regulate innate and adaptive immune responses, the major histocompatibility complex locus and the killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor locus. In an i ....Investigating the evolution of innate and adaptive cellular immunity. This proposal aims to assess the impact of geographical and genetic isolation of the Australian Indigenous population on adaptive and innate immune systems. The project will use novel DNA sequencing approaches to generate the high resolution sequences of two genetic loci that regulate innate and adaptive immune responses, the major histocompatibility complex locus and the killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor locus. In an initial screen, distinct variants and combinations of these genes were identified. This project aims to interrogate how variation in these critical genes impacts on the function of cytotoxic lymphocytes, providing insights into the evolutionary drivers of immune recognition mechanisms.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775673
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,200,000.00
Summary
A high throughput protein crystallization & imaging facility. Protein crystallography is an important field of research that enables us to understand the precise shape of proteins. The precise shape of a protein determines the function of a protein. This information is essential in understanding the physiological role of a protein and may be used for the development of therapeutics, where approrpiate. We aim to develop a high-throughput robotics system that will enable us to determine the sh ....A high throughput protein crystallization & imaging facility. Protein crystallography is an important field of research that enables us to understand the precise shape of proteins. The precise shape of a protein determines the function of a protein. This information is essential in understanding the physiological role of a protein and may be used for the development of therapeutics, where approrpiate. We aim to develop a high-throughput robotics system that will enable us to determine the shape of many proteins more rapidly, thereby greatly accelerating the pace of biomedical research.Read moreRead less
Evolution and function of mammalian sex chromosomes. Research on iconic Australian mammals has profoundly reshaped our understanding of reproductive biology and sex chromosome evolution. In this project we combine unique expertise, international collaboration and novel genetic information about Australia's unique egg-laying mammals (echidna and platypus) to investigate major aspects of reproduction. This work will address fundamental aspects of sex chromosome biology and advance our understandin ....Evolution and function of mammalian sex chromosomes. Research on iconic Australian mammals has profoundly reshaped our understanding of reproductive biology and sex chromosome evolution. In this project we combine unique expertise, international collaboration and novel genetic information about Australia's unique egg-laying mammals (echidna and platypus) to investigate major aspects of reproduction. This work will address fundamental aspects of sex chromosome biology and advance our understanding of mammalian reproduction. The knowledge gained will have application in captive breeding and conservation of these extraordinary Australian mammals. The project also provides opportunity to train research students in cutting edge molecular biology and informatics.Read moreRead less
A model of the mind which explains the role of emotions in normal cognition and affective disorder. Depression is recognised as one of the most burdensome diseases in Australia. Though we of course make no claims, as philosophers, to cure depression our contribution is to engage philosophy productively with a vital national area of empirical research. The other area of national benefit is to consolidate Australia's developing reputation as a site for the involvement of philosophy in interdiscipl ....A model of the mind which explains the role of emotions in normal cognition and affective disorder. Depression is recognised as one of the most burdensome diseases in Australia. Though we of course make no claims, as philosophers, to cure depression our contribution is to engage philosophy productively with a vital national area of empirical research. The other area of national benefit is to consolidate Australia's developing reputation as a site for the involvement of philosophy in interdisciplinary projects which link the humanities to the sciences. Furthermore, with the project's anchoring in the humanities, there is hope that a focus on, and increased understanding of, depression will have flow-on effects in the Australian community that will help ease the stigmatisation that is still felt by many of its sufferers.Read moreRead less
Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of th ....Threats to the water quality and ecosystem of Coffin Bay, South Australia. Coffin Bay (South Australia) is experiencing worsening environmental conditions despite its major economic and ecological importance. Research is needed to understand the cause of this decline, particularly in light of a recent bacterial outbreak that impacted the aquaculture industry. This multidisciplinary project aims to deliver world-leading scientific advice based on novel field techniques and innovative models of this complex inverse estuary system and its surrounding catchment. The new understanding of the sources, fluxes and fate of nutrients within the bay and the surrounding catchment, arising from this project, is expected to benefit management decision-making and establish a new standard in estuarine water quality investigation.Read moreRead less
Early African woodworking and tool use at the transition to modern humans. Our archaeological excavations and preliminary dating of Amanzi Springs (South Africa) to between 515,000 and 163,000 years ago shows that the site covers a critical time period that led to the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Amanzi documents, in never before seen resolution, the technological leaps that our ancestors made during this transition. At ~400,000 years ago this includes the oldest evidence for woodworkin ....Early African woodworking and tool use at the transition to modern humans. Our archaeological excavations and preliminary dating of Amanzi Springs (South Africa) to between 515,000 and 163,000 years ago shows that the site covers a critical time period that led to the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Amanzi documents, in never before seen resolution, the technological leaps that our ancestors made during this transition. At ~400,000 years ago this includes the oldest evidence for woodworking and tool use and >163,000 years ago the oldest heat treatment of rock to make stone tools. The organic preservation at the site means that we can reconstruct changing environment, linked to sea level changes and spring activity, for this period in the evolution of our ancestors at a level of detail not previously possibleRead moreRead less