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
Australian Heritage: constructing the first Aboriginal reference genome. This project aims to use DNA sequencing technologies to generate the first complete and accurate Aboriginal genomes, along with maps of genomic variation around Australia. It will combine a range of advanced analytical methods to integrate past and present indigenous genetic diversity from human populations around the world into a new pan-human reference genome. This project will lead to a step change in our understanding o ....Australian Heritage: constructing the first Aboriginal reference genome. This project aims to use DNA sequencing technologies to generate the first complete and accurate Aboriginal genomes, along with maps of genomic variation around Australia. It will combine a range of advanced analytical methods to integrate past and present indigenous genetic diversity from human populations around the world into a new pan-human reference genome. This project will lead to a step change in our understanding of global human genomic variants and provide a range of new targets relevant to medical biology, while significantly improving our knowledge of human genetic history and its consequences in the modern day.Read moreRead less
Adaptation to life in the dark: genomic analyses of blind beetles. This project aims to utilise a unique Australian model system based on multiple, independently-evolved subterranean water beetles to explore the adaptive and regressive changes in the genome that occur when surface species colonise subterranean habitats. This project focuses on the evolution of Heat Shock protein (Hsp) genes that play critical roles in adaptation to environmental stress and the process of de-canalisation, the rel ....Adaptation to life in the dark: genomic analyses of blind beetles. This project aims to utilise a unique Australian model system based on multiple, independently-evolved subterranean water beetles to explore the adaptive and regressive changes in the genome that occur when surface species colonise subterranean habitats. This project focuses on the evolution of Heat Shock protein (Hsp) genes that play critical roles in adaptation to environmental stress and the process of de-canalisation, the release of cryptic genetic variation that can allow novel morphologies to evolve in new environments. The project expects to provide further understanding of how species may potentially adapt to environmental stresses in the future, including climate change.Read moreRead less
Whole-genome multivariate reaction norm model for complex traits. This project aims to develop a multivariate whole-genome genotype-covariate correlation and interaction model that can be applied to a wide range of existing genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets. Genotype-covariate correlation and interaction (GCCI) are fundamental in biology but there is no standard approach to disentangle interaction from correlation in the whole-genome analyses. This project will address the key featur ....Whole-genome multivariate reaction norm model for complex traits. This project aims to develop a multivariate whole-genome genotype-covariate correlation and interaction model that can be applied to a wide range of existing genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets. Genotype-covariate correlation and interaction (GCCI) are fundamental in biology but there is no standard approach to disentangle interaction from correlation in the whole-genome analyses. This project will address the key feature in biology, which relates to dissecting the complex mechanism of association and interaction. The proposed statistical model implemented in a context of a novel design based on multiple GWAS data sets is a paradigm shifting-tool with applications to multiple industries.Read moreRead less
Development of efficient CRISPR gene drives in mice. This project aims to generate new tools for vertebrate pest management through development of cutting-edge gene drive technology in mice. Vertebrate pests cost Australia over $1 billion each year in agricultural losses and environmental damage and novel strategies are required to tackle this challenge. Newly developed “gene drives”, which can rapidly spread through populations, have enormous potential for the sustained management and even erad ....Development of efficient CRISPR gene drives in mice. This project aims to generate new tools for vertebrate pest management through development of cutting-edge gene drive technology in mice. Vertebrate pests cost Australia over $1 billion each year in agricultural losses and environmental damage and novel strategies are required to tackle this challenge. Newly developed “gene drives”, which can rapidly spread through populations, have enormous potential for the sustained management and even eradication of pests. This project aims to develop gene drive technology in mice as a prototypical vertebrate pest species. The project will potentially deliver valuable tools that directly impact Australia’s Science and Research Priority on Food.Read moreRead less
Defining how molecular switches program cell identity during development. Aims: This project aims to investigate how molecular switches known as transcription factors, work together to turn genes on or off to program cell identity during development.
Significance: This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of genetics and developmental biology using collaborative, cutting edge technologies.
Outcomes: Expected outcomes of this project include the identification of new genes impor ....Defining how molecular switches program cell identity during development. Aims: This project aims to investigate how molecular switches known as transcription factors, work together to turn genes on or off to program cell identity during development.
Significance: This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of genetics and developmental biology using collaborative, cutting edge technologies.
Outcomes: Expected outcomes of this project include the identification of new genes important for programming the identity of cells that comprise our blood vessels, lymphatic vessels and circulating blood cells.
Benefits: Data generated will underpin the development of approaches to program/reprogram stem cells to produce mature cells for transplantation or tissue engineering purposes ex vivo.Read moreRead less
Action selection in insects: how a microbrain knows what to do. Identifying what to do demands integrating sensory information with our current physiological state and memory of past experience to select the best possible action. This is the action selection problem. Our project aims to discover how tiny insect brains solve this fundamental problem. The project combines neural recordings from animals exploring virtual reality, behavioural analyses and computational modelling. The expected outco ....Action selection in insects: how a microbrain knows what to do. Identifying what to do demands integrating sensory information with our current physiological state and memory of past experience to select the best possible action. This is the action selection problem. Our project aims to discover how tiny insect brains solve this fundamental problem. The project combines neural recordings from animals exploring virtual reality, behavioural analyses and computational modelling. The expected outcome is a new understanding of the brain as an effective behavioural control system. This will benefit systems and comparative neuroscience. Our findings may also inspire solutions for robotic systems that must operate autonomously in remote and challenging environments such as disaster relief or exploration.Read moreRead less
Can parasites cause host population divergence? . Parasites have been proposed to be drivers of population divergence, and ultimately speciation, yet the dynamics of this process are not well understood. This project will utilise new genomic techniques, novel hybrid zone analyses, and data on mate choice, to investigate the hypothesis that parasites drive population divergence through an interaction with immune response genes in the sleepy lizard Tiliqua rugosa. This species provides an unpreced ....Can parasites cause host population divergence? . Parasites have been proposed to be drivers of population divergence, and ultimately speciation, yet the dynamics of this process are not well understood. This project will utilise new genomic techniques, novel hybrid zone analyses, and data on mate choice, to investigate the hypothesis that parasites drive population divergence through an interaction with immune response genes in the sleepy lizard Tiliqua rugosa. This species provides an unprecedented system, backed by 37 years of long term host-parasite and behavioural data, and recent genetic analyses. This project intends to produce significant data to allow an examination of the early stages of host-parasite evolution in action, providing novel insights into the speciation process. Read moreRead less
Investigating differences in decision-making ability in older adults. This project aims to investigate how healthy ageing impacts decision making and its associated neural circuits using computation modelling and neurogenetic methods. Decision-making is a fundamental cognitive ability, allowing us to choose the best course of action. This project will investigate the relationship between genes and decision-making performance across the adult lifespan. Expected outcomes include a deeper understan ....Investigating differences in decision-making ability in older adults. This project aims to investigate how healthy ageing impacts decision making and its associated neural circuits using computation modelling and neurogenetic methods. Decision-making is a fundamental cognitive ability, allowing us to choose the best course of action. This project will investigate the relationship between genes and decision-making performance across the adult lifespan. Expected outcomes include a deeper understanding of how decision-making evolves in healthy ageing, and a tool based on genetic scores and computational modelling to predict an individual's trajectory of cognitive function. This could help identify individuals who are at risk for cognitive decline, which could then inform better interventions.Read moreRead less
What Can You Trust in the Large and Noisy Web? This project will develop innovative techniques to efficiently and effectively distill truthful information from the inherently unreliable and large-scale Web environment, where misinformation has been widely regarded as a grand challenge for the next decade. The results of this project will not only maintain Australia’s leadership in this frontier research area, but also support many important applications that safeguard Australian people and econo ....What Can You Trust in the Large and Noisy Web? This project will develop innovative techniques to efficiently and effectively distill truthful information from the inherently unreliable and large-scale Web environment, where misinformation has been widely regarded as a grand challenge for the next decade. The results of this project will not only maintain Australia’s leadership in this frontier research area, but also support many important applications that safeguard Australian people and economy such as emergency and disaster management and online healthcare. This project also serves as an excellent vehicle for the education and training of Australia’s next generation of scholars and engineers.Read moreRead less