Protecting Occupants in Vehicle Rollover Crashes. This project addresses a public health issue involving rollover crashes. It will help prevent 340 deaths, 6000 injuries and save $3.6 billion annually in Australia and many fold this number internationally. A dynamic rollover crashworthiness test protocol, that ensures efficient and economical vehicle rollover protection systems are designed and manufactured, will be provided to consumer and regulatory bodies to consider and implement. In additio ....Protecting Occupants in Vehicle Rollover Crashes. This project addresses a public health issue involving rollover crashes. It will help prevent 340 deaths, 6000 injuries and save $3.6 billion annually in Australia and many fold this number internationally. A dynamic rollover crashworthiness test protocol, that ensures efficient and economical vehicle rollover protection systems are designed and manufactured, will be provided to consumer and regulatory bodies to consider and implement. In addition, much needed Occupational Health & Safety information regarding vehicle rollover crashworthiness, which provide a safe work place environment for professional drivers and employees using vehicles, will be supplied to industry fleet managers, defence and emergency services.Read moreRead less
Comfort and ergonomics: Innovative seating solutions for commercial vehicles. Comfort and ergonomics: Innovative seating solutions for commercial vehicles. This project aims to develop a 6-degree-of-freedom seating system for commercial vehicles, including heavy duty trucks and mobile machinery, to reduce unwanted multiple directional vibrations to the driver’s body. Long-term exposure to vibrations from uneven road surfaces, vibrating tools, and vibrating machinery affects driver comfort, fatig ....Comfort and ergonomics: Innovative seating solutions for commercial vehicles. Comfort and ergonomics: Innovative seating solutions for commercial vehicles. This project aims to develop a 6-degree-of-freedom seating system for commercial vehicles, including heavy duty trucks and mobile machinery, to reduce unwanted multiple directional vibrations to the driver’s body. Long-term exposure to vibrations from uneven road surfaces, vibrating tools, and vibrating machinery affects driver comfort, fatigue and safety, and can also cause neck and shoulder pain, lower back injuries, and spinal injuries. The expected outcome of the project is a comfortable and ergonomic seating system that, agriculture, transportation, mining and construction vehicles, both in Australia and internationally, can widely use.Read moreRead less
Evaluating Cancer Screening: Context, Evidence, Values And Ethics
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$572,460.00
Summary
The research and clinical communities are divided over whether certain forms of cancer screening do more harm than good. This project asks: What is the right thing to do about cancer screening now? Using robust qualitative methodologies, we will study real cases of cancer screening and analyse their ethical implications. Drawing on this data and analysis, we will produce tools to help policy-makers, consumers and professionals make good decisions about cancer screening in future.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100041
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$680,320.00
Summary
National laser-based non-destructive evaluation system. This project aims to establish the first Australian national facility for non-destructive evaluation, consisting of a three-dimensional scanning laser vibrometer, laser shearography, and an optical de-rotator, to enable full-field characterisation of the deformation and damage state of materials and structures. This solution is expected to perform rapid, broad-area scans, characterise dynamic response and wave propagation in human-engineere ....National laser-based non-destructive evaluation system. This project aims to establish the first Australian national facility for non-destructive evaluation, consisting of a three-dimensional scanning laser vibrometer, laser shearography, and an optical de-rotator, to enable full-field characterisation of the deformation and damage state of materials and structures. This solution is expected to perform rapid, broad-area scans, characterise dynamic response and wave propagation in human-engineered or natural structures, and diagnose rotating systems. This will enhance experimental capabilities, with uses spanning many industry sectors including aerospace, naval, automotive and medical.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE180100121
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$384,671.00
Summary
Genomic library infrastructure for ancient environmental samples. This project aims to enable automated genome recovery from diverse environmental samples, without contamination risk. For more than 100 years, environmental scientists have studied diverse organism / environment interactions using a variety of conceptual and technical tools. Recently, studies of ancient and historical DNA have come to complement these tools and to occupy a significant place in environmental studies conducted over ....Genomic library infrastructure for ancient environmental samples. This project aims to enable automated genome recovery from diverse environmental samples, without contamination risk. For more than 100 years, environmental scientists have studied diverse organism / environment interactions using a variety of conceptual and technical tools. Recently, studies of ancient and historical DNA have come to complement these tools and to occupy a significant place in environmental studies conducted over serial time. The project’s addition to the existing dual Ancient DNA complex facility at Griffith University will comprise two liquid handling workstations, each being housed in separate, self-contained, ancient DNA laboratories. The new facility will enable many researchers to have unprecedented access to an ancient DNA facility and a high level of technical support.Read moreRead less
The roles of stress and immunocompetence in biological invasions. Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity worldwide; and within Australia, cane toads are widely viewed as one of the biggest such problems. Building on recent studies that reveal weakened immune systems in invasion-front toads, this project will provide a comprehensive understanding of immune responses in cane toads and native frogs, with the aim of exploiting the toads' immunocompromised state to develop new and more ....The roles of stress and immunocompetence in biological invasions. Invasive species pose a major threat to biodiversity worldwide; and within Australia, cane toads are widely viewed as one of the biggest such problems. Building on recent studies that reveal weakened immune systems in invasion-front toads, this project will provide a comprehensive understanding of immune responses in cane toads and native frogs, with the aim of exploiting the toads' immunocompromised state to develop new and more effective control measures. The project will develop a new paradigm about the roles of stress and immunity in biological invasion, applicable to the control of other invasive species and to understanding processes at work when environmental changes force species to shift their ranges.Read moreRead less
A Parent Education And Skills Training Early Intervention For Children With Autism
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$305,674.00
Summary
Autism is a severely handicapping disorder adversely affecting social interaction, communication, and behaviour, interests and activities. Over the past 9 years our team has conducted a follow-up study of a large group of 111 Australian children and adolescents with autism. The young people have continued to have very high levels of emotional and behavioural disturbance and generally do not improve. Parents of children with autism are under significant amounts of stress; reporting high levels of ....Autism is a severely handicapping disorder adversely affecting social interaction, communication, and behaviour, interests and activities. Over the past 9 years our team has conducted a follow-up study of a large group of 111 Australian children and adolescents with autism. The young people have continued to have very high levels of emotional and behavioural disturbance and generally do not improve. Parents of children with autism are under significant amounts of stress; reporting high levels of disturbed family functioning and mental health problems. Although there is no cure, children benefit most when early help is provided (under 5 years). There are several promising interventions based on intensive behaviour and educational management, for example requiring 40 hours per week of therapist contact over 2 years. Such programs are costly and impractical as widely available treatment options. Training parents to understand and manage their child also shows promise. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of a parent skills training and education treatment program compared to supportive therapy, and to generally available community services. The therapists will follow a treatment manual that will ensure a consistent and replicable approach. The progress of the children with autism and their families will be reassessed immediately after treatment, and at 1 and 2 years post-treatment in order to ascertain immediate and long-term effects of the treatment. If treatment proves to be of use, we will have established a defined, cost efficient, practical and effective model of early treatment that can be easily taught to professionals and widely disseminated throughout early childhood services.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989384
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$233,000.00
Summary
High-speed, three-dimensional, x-ray fluoroscopy for accurate measurement of human joint motion. This proposal addresses one of the most difficult and long-standing problems in the field of biomechanics: How can human joint motion be measured accurately and non-invasively during common activities such as walking, stair ambulation and running? Low-dose, high-speed, three-dimensional, x-ray fluoroscopy provides an excellent solution to this problem and, in so doing, can play a pivotal role in heal ....High-speed, three-dimensional, x-ray fluoroscopy for accurate measurement of human joint motion. This proposal addresses one of the most difficult and long-standing problems in the field of biomechanics: How can human joint motion be measured accurately and non-invasively during common activities such as walking, stair ambulation and running? Low-dose, high-speed, three-dimensional, x-ray fluoroscopy provides an excellent solution to this problem and, in so doing, can play a pivotal role in healthcare, through clinical gait analysis and gait rehabilitation (diagnosis, prevention and treatment of movement disorders); in sports, through the development of personalized training programs for elite athletes; and in entertainment, through the creation of physics-based animations for the video/digital games industry.Read moreRead less
Development of a multivariate physiologic state space analysis framework for characterising functional properties of the cardiovascular system. Pathologies of the cardiovascular system arising from heart diseases make a major contribution to morbidity and mortality in the Australian community. This project will provide new diagnostic modalities based on advanced noninvasive bioinstrumentation, signal processing and model-based analytical methods to identify early signs of developing disease or t ....Development of a multivariate physiologic state space analysis framework for characterising functional properties of the cardiovascular system. Pathologies of the cardiovascular system arising from heart diseases make a major contribution to morbidity and mortality in the Australian community. This project will provide new diagnostic modalities based on advanced noninvasive bioinstrumentation, signal processing and model-based analytical methods to identify early signs of developing disease or the acute exacerbation of existing disease. The impact of these new technologies on the early diagnosis and improved triaging of patients in emergency departments is potentially profound and could result in improved healthcare outcomes for the patients and reduced admissions to hospital as well as the development of a substantial international market.Read moreRead less
The Australian naturalistic driving study: innovation in road safety research and policy. A revolutionary new approach, the naturalistic driving study, will investigate what people actually do when they drive, in normal and safety-critical situations. It will provide Australia with answers to some intractable, high priority, road safety problems that cannot be answered using current methods, thereby saving hundreds of lives.