Transcription factor – enhancer – promoter based regulatory networks. This project aims to develop new understanding on how multicellular organisms (including humans) develop, and how mutations in distant regions of the genome can affect human traits. The way the human genome is interpreted by the cellular machinery is still a mystery. We have a reference sequence and know where the majority of coding genes are, but we are far from understanding how the genome is regulated to generate the divers ....Transcription factor – enhancer – promoter based regulatory networks. This project aims to develop new understanding on how multicellular organisms (including humans) develop, and how mutations in distant regions of the genome can affect human traits. The way the human genome is interpreted by the cellular machinery is still a mystery. We have a reference sequence and know where the majority of coding genes are, but we are far from understanding how the genome is regulated to generate the diversity of cell types in our bodies. Enhancer regions interact with proximal promoters to regulate gene expression level and tissue-specificity. This project aims to develop transcriptional regulatory network models using high throughput chromatin interaction data and expression perturbation to link promoter and enhancers genome-wide.Read moreRead less
Next generation high throughput lipidomics using adaptive modelling. This project aims to develop a unique high-throughput method to capture the lipidomic profile of human plasma suitable for large human population screening. Lipids are fundamental to every biological system, but our understanding of their regulation in humans have been largely superficial. By incorporating a new lipidomics approach, with genomic data, this project aims to expand our understanding of human biology by identifying ....Next generation high throughput lipidomics using adaptive modelling. This project aims to develop a unique high-throughput method to capture the lipidomic profile of human plasma suitable for large human population screening. Lipids are fundamental to every biological system, but our understanding of their regulation in humans have been largely superficial. By incorporating a new lipidomics approach, with genomic data, this project aims to expand our understanding of human biology by identifying regulators of lipid metabolism. The large diversity in humans necessitate sufficient sample sizes to identify true genetic regulators, but to date techniques capturing phenotypic data (lipids) have been largely limited. It is anticipated that this study will identify new regulators of lipid metabolism in humans.Read moreRead less
Evolution of the dermomyotome in vertebrates. The project seeks to understand how different muscle populations within the embryo form and have evolved within the vertebrate phylogeny. All amniote muscles, except that of the head, derive from a transient embryonic structure termed the dermomyotome. The formation of muscle from the dermomyotome of amniotes uses a highly conserved mechanism that is distinct from that deployed by bony fish and amphibians. How the dermomyotome evolved to generate th ....Evolution of the dermomyotome in vertebrates. The project seeks to understand how different muscle populations within the embryo form and have evolved within the vertebrate phylogeny. All amniote muscles, except that of the head, derive from a transient embryonic structure termed the dermomyotome. The formation of muscle from the dermomyotome of amniotes uses a highly conserved mechanism that is distinct from that deployed by bony fish and amphibians. How the dermomyotome evolved to generate the distinct types of locomotor systems we see deployed throughout the vertebrate phylogeny remains unresolved. This project aims to contribute to an understanding of how different locomotor strategies deployed at important evolutionary transitions were generated.Read moreRead less
Fins to Limbs: Investigating the Evolution of complex Limb Musculature. This application aims to investigates the basis of the fin-to-limb transition, an event that set the stage for the entire tetrapod radiation. This project expects to generate new knowledge concerning the natural history of vertebrates using a multidisciplinary approach that combines paleontology and embryology of unique Australian fauna. While the skeletal changes associated with the move from water to land have been investi ....Fins to Limbs: Investigating the Evolution of complex Limb Musculature. This application aims to investigates the basis of the fin-to-limb transition, an event that set the stage for the entire tetrapod radiation. This project expects to generate new knowledge concerning the natural history of vertebrates using a multidisciplinary approach that combines paleontology and embryology of unique Australian fauna. While the skeletal changes associated with the move from water to land have been investigated, little is known about the origin of tetrapod limb muscles. This proposal has as an expected outcome, a determination of how limb muscles arose during evolution. This knowledge should provide significant benefits by transforming our understanding of the origins of the tetrapod body plan and our own natural history.Read moreRead less
The structure in four-dimensions of a mammalian nuclear body. The project aims to develop a working model of a micron-sized molecular machine implicated in numerous aspects of gene regulation. Bodies in the mammalian cell nucleus are larger than macromolecular complexes and smaller than organelles. Recent developments in structural, molecular and cell biology are allowing us to begin to interpret their structure-function relationships. This project capitalises on a wealth of structural and funct ....The structure in four-dimensions of a mammalian nuclear body. The project aims to develop a working model of a micron-sized molecular machine implicated in numerous aspects of gene regulation. Bodies in the mammalian cell nucleus are larger than macromolecular complexes and smaller than organelles. Recent developments in structural, molecular and cell biology are allowing us to begin to interpret their structure-function relationships. This project capitalises on a wealth of structural and functional data on nuclear bodies termed paraspeckles with the aim of developing a structural model. It aims to track tens of proteins and long non-coding RNA from paraspeckles as they proceed through the cell cycle, by combining genome engineering, super-resolution microscopy, proteomics and in vitro interaction studies.Read moreRead less
The developmental and evolutionary origins of vertebrate fins and limbs. This project aims to investigate the origin of paired appendages, a major event in early vertebrate history that changed ecological opportunity and fuelled the radiation of jawed vertebrates. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the mechanism that drove this innovation, which despite over a century of debate, remains one
of the great unknowns of comparative vertebrate evolution. Expected outcomes of this projec ....The developmental and evolutionary origins of vertebrate fins and limbs. This project aims to investigate the origin of paired appendages, a major event in early vertebrate history that changed ecological opportunity and fuelled the radiation of jawed vertebrates. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the mechanism that drove this innovation, which despite over a century of debate, remains one
of the great unknowns of comparative vertebrate evolution. Expected outcomes of this project include uncovering the anatomical changes underpinning the origin of the vertebrate appendicular system. This should provide significant benefits as it will inform our own natural history and provide a paradigm for studying gene network
conservation, phylogenetic modifications, and the acquisition of novel structures.Read moreRead less
Strategic evaluation model for business-to-business electronic marketplace participation. Striving to become a knowledge-based nation is dependent upon the effective adoption, diffusion and implementation of ICT throughout the business community. The developing world markets, brought about by e-commerce and the increased ability to trade globally facilitated by e-markets, have created significant opportunities for Australian organisations. This research will produce a dynamic model that can be ....Strategic evaluation model for business-to-business electronic marketplace participation. Striving to become a knowledge-based nation is dependent upon the effective adoption, diffusion and implementation of ICT throughout the business community. The developing world markets, brought about by e-commerce and the increased ability to trade globally facilitated by e-markets, have created significant opportunities for Australian organisations. This research will produce a dynamic model that can be used to not only evaluate e-marketplace participation but a wide range of Internet applications. The research will provide Australian managers with the foundation of knowledge needed to guide and support their decision-making when implementing new technology.Read moreRead less
Dynamic Life Cycle Evaluation of Customer Relationship Management Systems. Striving to become a knowledge based nation is dependent upon effective adoption, diffusion and implementation of information and communication technology thoughout the business community. This research will produce a dynamic model that can be used to evaluate enterprise wide applications such as electronic Customer Relationship Management (CRM) so that managers can examine the impact of new tehnology on business processe ....Dynamic Life Cycle Evaluation of Customer Relationship Management Systems. Striving to become a knowledge based nation is dependent upon effective adoption, diffusion and implementation of information and communication technology thoughout the business community. This research will produce a dynamic model that can be used to evaluate enterprise wide applications such as electronic Customer Relationship Management (CRM) so that managers can examine the impact of new tehnology on business processes. In addition, the research will provide managers wit the foundation of knowledge needed to guide and support their decision-making when implementing new technology. Read moreRead less
Classifying the indirect costs of information systems and information technology in business. Many businesses are increasing their expenditure on IS/IT to obtain a strategic competitive advantage. Traditional approaches to IS/IT appraisal are unable to accommodate the costs associated with deploying 'organisational-wide' IS/IT solutions because of their qualitative characteristics. The inability of managers to determine the 'true' costs of IS/IT are attributable to a lack of knowledge and unders ....Classifying the indirect costs of information systems and information technology in business. Many businesses are increasing their expenditure on IS/IT to obtain a strategic competitive advantage. Traditional approaches to IS/IT appraisal are unable to accommodate the costs associated with deploying 'organisational-wide' IS/IT solutions because of their qualitative characteristics. The inability of managers to determine the 'true' costs of IS/IT are attributable to a lack of knowledge and understanding of IS/IT related costs. This research will extend the myopia of traditional 'direct' financial cost analysis by identifying 'indirect' cost factors. A model that integrates cost taxonomies and performance measures/metrics of IS/IT will be developed as a frame of reference for IS/IT decision-makers.Read moreRead less
Designing an Intelligent Process Operation Management System. The complexity and sophistication of current generation of industrial processes, and the growing need for autonomous agents that control physical systems, motivate the need for the development of an intelligent process operation management system. In this project, the innovative integration of theories from different scientific fields (computer systems, process engineering, systems and control engineering) provides an excellent platfo ....Designing an Intelligent Process Operation Management System. The complexity and sophistication of current generation of industrial processes, and the growing need for autonomous agents that control physical systems, motivate the need for the development of an intelligent process operation management system. In this project, the innovative integration of theories from different scientific fields (computer systems, process engineering, systems and control engineering) provides an excellent platform for development of a smart data management tool, to oversee the major operational tasks within the plant and help the operators and engineers to make more informed decisions. Direct application of the techniques developed in this study to a pilot case study, could be used as a benchmark to show the potential benefits that can be gained through smart information use and data management.Read moreRead less