Identification of causal variants for complex traits. The aim of this project is to identify causal variants for complex traits in cattle and humans. Although most important traits in agriculture, medicine and evolution are complex traits, very few of the genetic variants affecting these traits are known and this undermines our understanding of how genetic variants affect a trait and practical uses of this knowledge. Huge datasets of individuals with genome sequence and phenotypes and new statis ....Identification of causal variants for complex traits. The aim of this project is to identify causal variants for complex traits in cattle and humans. Although most important traits in agriculture, medicine and evolution are complex traits, very few of the genetic variants affecting these traits are known and this undermines our understanding of how genetic variants affect a trait and practical uses of this knowledge. Huge datasets of individuals with genome sequence and phenotypes and new statistical methods provide the opportunity to close this gap. The outcome will be identification of many genomic variants causing variation in complex traits. This will benefit scientific understanding of complex traits and the ability to predict traits for individuals from their genome sequence.Read moreRead less
Prior sensitivity analysis for Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo output. This project aims to develop the first set of techniques to implement an automated output sensitivity analysis for Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation methods. Computationally intense Bayesian MCMC provide a powerful alternative to classical methods for the estimation of economic models. An obstacle to their wider application is that researchers need to specify prior beliefs about model parameters that will affect t ....Prior sensitivity analysis for Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo output. This project aims to develop the first set of techniques to implement an automated output sensitivity analysis for Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) estimation methods. Computationally intense Bayesian MCMC provide a powerful alternative to classical methods for the estimation of economic models. An obstacle to their wider application is that researchers need to specify prior beliefs about model parameters that will affect the results. The expected outcomes will enable researchers to undertake a routine assessment of the sensitivity of the results to prior inputs.Read moreRead less
Molecular design of complex lubricants to reduce friction. We will investigate the molecular level design of friction modifiers for a new generation of industrial lubricants. The goal is to dramatically reduce friction between moving mechanical parts, hence increasing energy efficiency in machines and reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. We will design and test these new friction modifiers by a combination of theoretical and computational methods based in statistical mechanics and nonequili ....Molecular design of complex lubricants to reduce friction. We will investigate the molecular level design of friction modifiers for a new generation of industrial lubricants. The goal is to dramatically reduce friction between moving mechanical parts, hence increasing energy efficiency in machines and reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. We will design and test these new friction modifiers by a combination of theoretical and computational methods based in statistical mechanics and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics and directly compare results with experimental measurements. Our investigations will pave the way to develop new cost-effective friction modifiers without the need for traditional and costly trial and error laboratory based experimentation.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
Robust methods for heteroscedastic regression models for time series. What is the variability of the exchange rate of the Euro to the Australian dollar? Can the use of the electrocardiogram of a patient be improved as a diagnostic tool for heart disease? A well-known limitation of the existing statistical methods for answering these types of questions is that a small proportion of extreme observations have the potential to lead to results that are more in agreement with the outliers than with bu ....Robust methods for heteroscedastic regression models for time series. What is the variability of the exchange rate of the Euro to the Australian dollar? Can the use of the electrocardiogram of a patient be improved as a diagnostic tool for heart disease? A well-known limitation of the existing statistical methods for answering these types of questions is that a small proportion of extreme observations have the potential to lead to results that are more in agreement with the outliers than with bulk of the data. As a consequence, the statistical analyses may lead to wrong conclusions. This project aims to develop new methodologies to solve this problem for a large class of studies. Applications to stock market risk, exchange rate, and diagnosis of heart diseases will illustrate the new methods.Read moreRead less
Identification Power and Instrument Strength in Discrete Outcome Models. This project aims to develop new econometric and statistical techniques to quantify causal effects in treatment models with discrete outcomes. Expected outcomes include a much-needed weak instrument test, a measure for identification strength in partial identification setting, and an instrument-covariate selection procedure for high dimensional discrete models based identification power. The benefits include advanced knowle ....Identification Power and Instrument Strength in Discrete Outcome Models. This project aims to develop new econometric and statistical techniques to quantify causal effects in treatment models with discrete outcomes. Expected outcomes include a much-needed weak instrument test, a measure for identification strength in partial identification setting, and an instrument-covariate selection procedure for high dimensional discrete models based identification power. The benefits include advanced knowledge in econometrics and statistics, and enhanced tools for program evaluation and policy assessment in empirical causal analysis using observational data. The project falls into the category of smarter information use and is relevant to any national priority areas where policy interventions require assessment.Read moreRead less
Econometric methods for distributional policy effects. This project aims to develop new econometric methods that can measure distributional policy effects by accounting for heterogeneous policy impacts among observationally equivalent individuals. The project expects to develop quantile regression methods under a difference-in-differences framework that accommodates issues of censoring and sample selection. The outcomes of this project are expected to substantially broaden the scope of the stand ....Econometric methods for distributional policy effects. This project aims to develop new econometric methods that can measure distributional policy effects by accounting for heterogeneous policy impacts among observationally equivalent individuals. The project expects to develop quantile regression methods under a difference-in-differences framework that accommodates issues of censoring and sample selection. The outcomes of this project are expected to substantially broaden the scope of the standard mean difference-in-differences approach and have significant contributions to empirical studies in the future. The project intends to provide statistically valid inferential procedures and conduct simulation exercise and empirical studies relevant to policy evaluation for the benefit of Australia and other jurisdictions.Read moreRead less
Control of vascular form and fate by a novel pre-mRNA splicing mechanism . Vertebrate vasculature forms elaborate, branched networks essential for life. As developing vessels permeate tissues and organs, dynamic and spatiotemporally regulated cellular signalling determines the fate, patterning and distribution of new vascular networks. This project follows the recent discovery of a mechanism whereby RNA diversification through alternative splicing controls complex signalling patterns in forming ....Control of vascular form and fate by a novel pre-mRNA splicing mechanism . Vertebrate vasculature forms elaborate, branched networks essential for life. As developing vessels permeate tissues and organs, dynamic and spatiotemporally regulated cellular signalling determines the fate, patterning and distribution of new vascular networks. This project follows the recent discovery of a mechanism whereby RNA diversification through alternative splicing controls complex signalling patterns in forming vessels. This project investigates this molecular mechanism in embryo and tissue development. The project will produce fundamental knowledge in RNA diversification, vascular fate, growth and cell signalling. New knowledge generated may lead to new approaches in stem cell biology, tissue engineering and regenerative biology.Read moreRead less
Hippo signalling control of transcription in lymphatic vascular development. Lymphatic vasculature forms complex, branched networks present in almost all vertebrate tissues and organs. Signalling in lymphatic endothelial cells determines the fate, structure and function of these complex and essential networks. This project follows our recent discovery of a major role for the Hippo signalling pathway in lymphatic vascular development. It aims to investigate how Hippo signalling regulates essenti ....Hippo signalling control of transcription in lymphatic vascular development. Lymphatic vasculature forms complex, branched networks present in almost all vertebrate tissues and organs. Signalling in lymphatic endothelial cells determines the fate, structure and function of these complex and essential networks. This project follows our recent discovery of a major role for the Hippo signalling pathway in lymphatic vascular development. It aims to investigate how Hippo signalling regulates essential target genes that drive lymphatic development. The project expects to generate fundamental knowledge in vascular signalling, transcription and the control of vascular network growth and expansion. Outcomes may provide significant benefits in new approaches in stem cell biology, tissue engineering and regenerative biology. Read moreRead less
Transformative simulation techniques for complex polymer networks. The study of long chain polymers like DNA using computer simulations has uncovered exciting insights over many years. Generally these have been limited to simple topologies, interactions, and environments. This project aims to develop the next generation of simulation techniques to tackle a new frontier of polymer models, including those with complex topologies like stars, knots, and links, which have hitherto been inaccessible. ....Transformative simulation techniques for complex polymer networks. The study of long chain polymers like DNA using computer simulations has uncovered exciting insights over many years. Generally these have been limited to simple topologies, interactions, and environments. This project aims to develop the next generation of simulation techniques to tackle a new frontier of polymer models, including those with complex topologies like stars, knots, and links, which have hitherto been inaccessible. Expected outcomes include new simulation methods which harness modern computational clusters, leading to greater understanding of polymers with complex topologies and in complicated environments. Important elements of biological processes may be discovered, such as how polymer structure affects DNA transcription.Read moreRead less