Validating protozoa-specific drug targets using peptides from biodiverse gene fragment libraries. Cryptosporidium and the trypanosomes are protozoan parasites, which have a global impact on the health, survival and economic development of millions of people and animals world wide. New therapies for the diseases they cause are urgently required. We describe a novel means of identifying protozoa-specific peptides that will inhibit the formation of essential protein complexes, which have no effect ....Validating protozoa-specific drug targets using peptides from biodiverse gene fragment libraries. Cryptosporidium and the trypanosomes are protozoan parasites, which have a global impact on the health, survival and economic development of millions of people and animals world wide. New therapies for the diseases they cause are urgently required. We describe a novel means of identifying protozoa-specific peptides that will inhibit the formation of essential protein complexes, which have no effect on the mammalian host. Candidate peptides will then be used to validate these protein complexes as new targets for the development of peptide-based therapeutic compounds. This project will validate novel targets for the development of new treatments for these diseases.Read moreRead less
Elucidation of genetic and physiological factors controlling biosynthesis of sesquiterpenoids in sandalwood, Santalum spp. Plantation sandalwood removes pressure from natural populations and is a profitable long term investment. Australia is in a highly competitive position with regards to market supply but this cannot be taken for granted. This research seeks to understand the complex biology of sandalwood using the latest genomic and molecular technologies. This knowledge will be applied thro ....Elucidation of genetic and physiological factors controlling biosynthesis of sesquiterpenoids in sandalwood, Santalum spp. Plantation sandalwood removes pressure from natural populations and is a profitable long term investment. Australia is in a highly competitive position with regards to market supply but this cannot be taken for granted. This research seeks to understand the complex biology of sandalwood using the latest genomic and molecular technologies. This knowledge will be applied through directed, marker-assisted tree selection and improved plantation management. Ultimately we are developing a highly advanced production system with which Australia can lead Sandalwood production. Sandalwood plantations use a variety of native perennial hosts, increase biodiversity, help manage underground water resources and address carbon sequestration demands.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354715
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$40,000.00
Summary
The Australian Plant Nutriomics Network. The Australian Plant Nutriomics Network will link Australian scientists investigating aspects of the plant nutriome - the summation of processes that deliver nutrients and water from soil to plants. The network will establish a coordinated approach to understanding genes, proteins and metabolites involved in element acquisition and how their functions are linked to soil conditions to maximise food quality and overcome soil environmental challenges. Inter ....The Australian Plant Nutriomics Network. The Australian Plant Nutriomics Network will link Australian scientists investigating aspects of the plant nutriome - the summation of processes that deliver nutrients and water from soil to plants. The network will establish a coordinated approach to understanding genes, proteins and metabolites involved in element acquisition and how their functions are linked to soil conditions to maximise food quality and overcome soil environmental challenges. International articulation will ensure information exchange and enhance postgraduate and postdoctoral training by reciprocal visits and focused workshops. A major goal will be a strategy to integrate research using a complex systems approach to problems.Read moreRead less
Circular Plant Proteins with Pharmaceutical Applications. The proposed research will develop methods for using plants as protein production factories. Initially I will use plants to create engineered cyclotides that incorporate peptides with proven therapeutic activity against cancer and multiple sclerosis. Successful production of therapeutic proteins in plants will benefit Australians by making treatments for these and other diseases more accessible. It also has the potential for a major econo ....Circular Plant Proteins with Pharmaceutical Applications. The proposed research will develop methods for using plants as protein production factories. Initially I will use plants to create engineered cyclotides that incorporate peptides with proven therapeutic activity against cancer and multiple sclerosis. Successful production of therapeutic proteins in plants will benefit Australians by making treatments for these and other diseases more accessible. It also has the potential for a major economic benefit from the sales of Australian-based drugs. This proposal will also provide outstanding research training for graduate students in multidisciplinary methods that constitute state-of the-art structural and plant molecular biology.Read moreRead less
Toward a Female Stoic Tradition: Women's Writings in England, 1600-1800. This project aims to investigate the neglected history of women’s engagement with Stoic ideas in early modern England. It expects to generate new knowledge of a distinctive strand of women’s Stoic thought by taking a novel interdisciplinary approach to different genres of early modern writing. The intended outcomes include a new understanding of women’s valuable contributions to philosophy, literature, and politics in the p ....Toward a Female Stoic Tradition: Women's Writings in England, 1600-1800. This project aims to investigate the neglected history of women’s engagement with Stoic ideas in early modern England. It expects to generate new knowledge of a distinctive strand of women’s Stoic thought by taking a novel interdisciplinary approach to different genres of early modern writing. The intended outcomes include a new understanding of women’s valuable contributions to philosophy, literature, and politics in the period, as well as a greater appreciation of the gender-inclusivity of Stoic philosophy. This should provide significant benefits, such as the development of Stoic therapeutic techniques informed by women’s experiences, and the promotion of gender equality through the recognition of women’s intellectual history.Read moreRead less
Understanding selfie-editing apps in youth visual digital cultures. This project aims to investigate how young people navigate identity and body image concerns online through new digital editing tools provided by selfie-editing apps. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the literacies young people use in reading, evaluating and editing images of themselves, and the role of digital technologies in forming young people’s embodied identities, using an innovative participatory methodo ....Understanding selfie-editing apps in youth visual digital cultures. This project aims to investigate how young people navigate identity and body image concerns online through new digital editing tools provided by selfie-editing apps. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the literacies young people use in reading, evaluating and editing images of themselves, and the role of digital technologies in forming young people’s embodied identities, using an innovative participatory methodology. Expected outcomes include a new evidence base and youth-centred conceptual framework on the connections between youth selfie-editing, body image, and wellbeing. This should provide significant benefits in helping young people to better navigate body image and wellbeing in online cultures.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101382
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$410,154.00
Summary
Nature-culture continuities in medieval philosophy and theology. While nature and culture tend to be opposed to one another in modern philosophy, in medieval thought there are many continuities between the two domains. This project will provide the first sustained historical study of nature-culture continuities in medieval Latin philosophy and theology, examining the areas of: cognition; language; semiotics; ethics and politics; animality; ecology; metaphysics; and God. The project will fill a s ....Nature-culture continuities in medieval philosophy and theology. While nature and culture tend to be opposed to one another in modern philosophy, in medieval thought there are many continuities between the two domains. This project will provide the first sustained historical study of nature-culture continuities in medieval Latin philosophy and theology, examining the areas of: cognition; language; semiotics; ethics and politics; animality; ecology; metaphysics; and God. The project will fill a significant gap in medieval intellectual history, enhance Australia’s research capacity in the history of philosophy and history of theology, and demonstrate how medieval ideas can inform contemporary debates about humanity’s relationship to the natural world. Read moreRead less
Virtue with Aristotle: Recovering an Ancient Ethical Theory for Our Time. This project aims to show how Aristotle’s theory of virtue can guide our individual and collective attempts to live good human lives in challenging times. This project expects to produce the first comprehensive study of Aristotle’s concept of virtue in all three areas of human activity in which he applies it (moral action, theoretical cognition, and craft and artistic production) and to show its relevance for contemporary ....Virtue with Aristotle: Recovering an Ancient Ethical Theory for Our Time. This project aims to show how Aristotle’s theory of virtue can guide our individual and collective attempts to live good human lives in challenging times. This project expects to produce the first comprehensive study of Aristotle’s concept of virtue in all three areas of human activity in which he applies it (moral action, theoretical cognition, and craft and artistic production) and to show its relevance for contemporary ethical theory and practice. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced understanding of the concepts of virtue and flourishing and their historical roots in Aristotle’s ethical writings. This should provide significant benefits, such as building our collective resilience.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the feasibility and effect of using a hospital wide coordinated approach to introduce evidence-based changes for pain management. This project will develop a comprehensive educational program and approach to pain management for public and private hospitals that could be used by other hospitals elsewhere. An educational program for hospitals staff, and specifically for Pain Resource Nurses, will be produced. This project has the potential to minimise the experience of pain and prevent ....Evaluating the feasibility and effect of using a hospital wide coordinated approach to introduce evidence-based changes for pain management. This project will develop a comprehensive educational program and approach to pain management for public and private hospitals that could be used by other hospitals elsewhere. An educational program for hospitals staff, and specifically for Pain Resource Nurses, will be produced. This project has the potential to minimise the experience of pain and prevent widespread complications associated with pain for all hospitalised patients, irrespective of diagnosis or reason for admission. It is also envisaged that this project will establish a model of change that could be used to facilitate evidence-based practice in other aspects of healthcare apart from pain.Read moreRead less
Evolution and the immune system: genetic differences in immune response between human populations due to adaptation to living in different geo-climatic locations. The project, which investigates the genetics of inter-population differences in immune response, will lead to advances in immunology and population genetics research, explain present population specific differences in disease incidence and possibly forecast future population trends of diseases such as asthma and allergy. The study will ....Evolution and the immune system: genetic differences in immune response between human populations due to adaptation to living in different geo-climatic locations. The project, which investigates the genetics of inter-population differences in immune response, will lead to advances in immunology and population genetics research, explain present population specific differences in disease incidence and possibly forecast future population trends of diseases such as asthma and allergy. The study will strengthen ties with collaborators around the world, thus promoting excellence in Australian research and gain Australia prestige in the international community as a country that produces research of global significance. Understanding the immune system's 'recent evolutionary roots' has implications for the health of Australians, especially in light of Australia's increasingly multi-ethnic background.Read moreRead less