Developing serial crystallography for room temperature structure & dynamics. This project aims to uncover the molecular structural dynamics of a bacterial enzyme responsible for protein folding in bacteria. This project expects to generate new knowledge to guide the development of a new type of antibacterial to circumvent antibiotic resistance. Expected outcomes of this project include new experimental, computational and simulation tools for dynamic X-ray crystallography including new capabiliti ....Developing serial crystallography for room temperature structure & dynamics. This project aims to uncover the molecular structural dynamics of a bacterial enzyme responsible for protein folding in bacteria. This project expects to generate new knowledge to guide the development of a new type of antibacterial to circumvent antibiotic resistance. Expected outcomes of this project include new experimental, computational and simulation tools for dynamic X-ray crystallography including new capabilities at the Australian Synchrotron for very small microcrystals of any biomolecule. This would provide a powerful new tool for the Australian structural biology community that should accelerate fundamental discoveries, including facilitating high-resolution structure determination of membrane proteins and drug development.Read moreRead less
Extending X-ray Crystallography to Allow Structure Retrieval from Highly Disordered Crystals and Nanocrystals. X-ray crystallography is one of the most important tools in structural biology, responsible for over 80 per cent of the protein structures solved today. Obtaining X-ray diffraction data however is critically dependent on having large, high quality crystals. Many proteins, particularly membrane proteins, only form nanocrystals or crystals of poor quality which prevents their structure be ....Extending X-ray Crystallography to Allow Structure Retrieval from Highly Disordered Crystals and Nanocrystals. X-ray crystallography is one of the most important tools in structural biology, responsible for over 80 per cent of the protein structures solved today. Obtaining X-ray diffraction data however is critically dependent on having large, high quality crystals. Many proteins, particularly membrane proteins, only form nanocrystals or crystals of poor quality which prevents their structure being solved. This project aims to combine ideas from X-ray coherent diffraction imaging and X-ray crystallography to develop a method that can be used for structure retrieval from nanocrystals or crystals which are highly disordered. A particular emphasis will be placed on solving the structure of membrane proteins which are of special importance in drug development.Read moreRead less
Improved identification of patients 'at risk' of depression, and optimal targeting of rehabilitation post-stroke through novel brain imaging and biomarkers. Use of novel brain imaging and biomarkers for identification of stroke survivors at risk of depression and recurrent stroke will permit early access to preventative and effective treatments for depression and improve capacity to benefit from rehabilitation. Development of predictive models to guide selection of most optimal rehabilitation st ....Improved identification of patients 'at risk' of depression, and optimal targeting of rehabilitation post-stroke through novel brain imaging and biomarkers. Use of novel brain imaging and biomarkers for identification of stroke survivors at risk of depression and recurrent stroke will permit early access to preventative and effective treatments for depression and improve capacity to benefit from rehabilitation. Development of predictive models to guide selection of most optimal rehabilitation strategies based on viable brain will maximise the capacity for persons with stroke to reach their full potential for recovery and ensure rehabilitation is more targeted and cost efficient. Improved capacity to benefit from treatment will have ongoing benefits for activity participation and productive living in Australians who experience stroke.Read moreRead less
School retention and second chance schooling. This project is concerned with ensuring that students who experience systemic disadvantage are not excluded from the benefits of a formal education. It provides an account and critique of the growth of second chance schooling options catering to such students in both Australia and the UK.
Defining the pathways of developmental brain injury, for a healthy start to life. Injury to the developing brain, whether sustained during pregnancy or at birth, is the underlying cause of many cognitive and motor disabilities, including cerebral palsy. This project will identify the cellular pathways that cause developmental brain injury, arising from the three principal complications of pregnancy or birth; intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), preterm birth with/without intrauterine infectio ....Defining the pathways of developmental brain injury, for a healthy start to life. Injury to the developing brain, whether sustained during pregnancy or at birth, is the underlying cause of many cognitive and motor disabilities, including cerebral palsy. This project will identify the cellular pathways that cause developmental brain injury, arising from the three principal complications of pregnancy or birth; intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), preterm birth with/without intrauterine infection and birth asphyxia. This project will utilise this knowledge of the causal pathways leading to brain injury to implement targeted therapies to reduce injury or repair the brain. It will progress fundamental biomedical discoveries into clinical practice to decrease the incidence and severity of newborn brain injury and cerebral palsy.Read moreRead less
The Consequences of the Mental Load for Australian Families. This project aims to investigate the mental load; a structure of household work that combines cognitive and emotional labour. While there are theoretical understandings of the mental load, there is a dearth of quantitative research. This project expects to develop a consistent and reliable measure of the mental load and an understanding of its impacts on Australian families. The expected outcomes of the project include a comprehensive ....The Consequences of the Mental Load for Australian Families. This project aims to investigate the mental load; a structure of household work that combines cognitive and emotional labour. While there are theoretical understandings of the mental load, there is a dearth of quantitative research. This project expects to develop a consistent and reliable measure of the mental load and an understanding of its impacts on Australian families. The expected outcomes of the project include a comprehensive measurement of the mental load both in Australia and abroad. This will allow for the development of policy alleviating its impacts on caregivers, particularly mothers, and assist workplaces and Government in incorporating women into employment to reduce gender inequality.Read moreRead less
Determining the molecular regulation of blood vessel development and angiogenesis. Abnormal blood vessel growth is associated with diseases including cancer, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and chronic inflammation. This project focuses on understanding normal blood vessel growth in order to gather clues to help discover ways of preventing abnormal blood vessel growth during disease.
Sensory orchestration for multimodal literacy learning in primary education. This project aims to advance new learning and pedagogical models of sensory orchestration for the enhanced multimodal and digital literacy learning of primary students. Multimodal literacy is increasingly important in the Australian curriculum and international research, yet research and education largely prioritise visual texts. This project will generate pedagogical and learning models to optimise students’ broadened ....Sensory orchestration for multimodal literacy learning in primary education. This project aims to advance new learning and pedagogical models of sensory orchestration for the enhanced multimodal and digital literacy learning of primary students. Multimodal literacy is increasingly important in the Australian curriculum and international research, yet research and education largely prioritise visual texts. This project will generate pedagogical and learning models to optimise students’ broadened use of the senses in multimodal and digital literacy learning. It will develop new sensory literacy programs with primary schools, community organisations, and art museums.
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Detecting and tracking alertness using speech biometrics. Traditional tests for detecting and tracking alertness are limited by their accuracy and inability to be administered without stopping work. This project aims to investigate how speech can be used to monitor changes in performance resulting from sleep deprivation and successive night shifts. The expected outcomes are 1) new knowledge on how sensitive speech and language features are for detecting change in alertness, and 2) development an ....Detecting and tracking alertness using speech biometrics. Traditional tests for detecting and tracking alertness are limited by their accuracy and inability to be administered without stopping work. This project aims to investigate how speech can be used to monitor changes in performance resulting from sleep deprivation and successive night shifts. The expected outcomes are 1) new knowledge on how sensitive speech and language features are for detecting change in alertness, and 2) development and verification of a highly accurate, cost-effective, speech focussed assay capable of detecting impaired alertness from otherwise healthy individuals. The project should benefit the way fitness for duty is tested and provide new methods for safeguarding Australians working in at-risk environments.Read moreRead less
Molecular signals that regulate the regenerative properties of intestinal epithelial cells. Most cancer deaths are due to the cancer spreading to other organs. Cancer is much more difficult to treat once it has spread to other organs in the body where the cancer cells can exist in a dormant state. Dormant cancer cells evade conventional anticancer treatment and can remain dormant for a very long time before they change back to a 'tumour-growing' state. An understanding of how the cancer initiati ....Molecular signals that regulate the regenerative properties of intestinal epithelial cells. Most cancer deaths are due to the cancer spreading to other organs. Cancer is much more difficult to treat once it has spread to other organs in the body where the cancer cells can exist in a dormant state. Dormant cancer cells evade conventional anticancer treatment and can remain dormant for a very long time before they change back to a 'tumour-growing' state. An understanding of how the cancer initiating (stem cell) property of tumour cells is maintained offers potential novel avenues to eliminate persistent cancer cells. This knowledge will ultimately lead to better management and treatment of cancer, and increase survival. An understanding of stem cell behaviour is also central to the control of degenerative conditions.Read moreRead less