How eating patterns interact with activity, sleep and mood. This project aims to understand temporal eating patterns (the timing and distribution of food intake and eating occasions across the day) among adults and how these eating patterns interact with activity and sleep patterns. Eating, activity and sleep patterns form a lifestyle triad which may be important for well-being and productivity. The project will study eating, activity and sleep patterns in daily life, to examine their social dri ....How eating patterns interact with activity, sleep and mood. This project aims to understand temporal eating patterns (the timing and distribution of food intake and eating occasions across the day) among adults and how these eating patterns interact with activity and sleep patterns. Eating, activity and sleep patterns form a lifestyle triad which may be important for well-being and productivity. The project will study eating, activity and sleep patterns in daily life, to examine their social drivers, interactions and effect on mood. This project could enable these behaviours to be targeted, with the potential to promote healthy lifestyles and improve health, quality of life and productivity.Read moreRead less
Engineering and expression of recombinant antibodies that interact with plant pathogenic phytoplasma membrane proteins - a model for phytoplasma disease management. . In Australia phytoplasmas are associated with serious diseases including papaya dieback and strawberry lethal yellows. Phytoplasmas cannot be cultured so there is a paucity of knowledge at the genomic level. We have identified the ABC Transporter and FtsH genes and expressed these phytoplasma membrane proteins (MP) in E. coli . We ....Engineering and expression of recombinant antibodies that interact with plant pathogenic phytoplasma membrane proteins - a model for phytoplasma disease management. . In Australia phytoplasmas are associated with serious diseases including papaya dieback and strawberry lethal yellows. Phytoplasmas cannot be cultured so there is a paucity of knowledge at the genomic level. We have identified the ABC Transporter and FtsH genes and expressed these phytoplasma membrane proteins (MP) in E. coli . We will generate antibody fragments that bind these MP and express them in tomato. We will analyse antibody expression in tomato and study their association with the phytoplasma membrane. Transgenic plants will be inoculated with phytoplasma and monitored for resistance. This work represents a major step towards engineering resistance to phytoplasmas.Read moreRead less
Mothers' little helper: Alcohol use in working mothers. This project aims to generate unique insights into the strains that Australian working mothers face in their daily lives and the impact these strains have on their alcohol consumption. Using innovative methods to understand strains resulting from two major life domains, family and work, the project expects to generate new knowledge which can be used to develop interventions to address this important issue. The results of this study can prov ....Mothers' little helper: Alcohol use in working mothers. This project aims to generate unique insights into the strains that Australian working mothers face in their daily lives and the impact these strains have on their alcohol consumption. Using innovative methods to understand strains resulting from two major life domains, family and work, the project expects to generate new knowledge which can be used to develop interventions to address this important issue. The results of this study can provide significant benefits not only to the quality of life of working mothers in Australia but also has society-wide implications. This is due to alcohol use being a leading avoidable cause for productivity loss alongside other social, community and economic costs.Read moreRead less
Minimum sizes and habitat areas for viable populations. This project will address two critical issues in conservation biology: How large do wildlife populations need to be to ensure long-term persistence? How large an area needs to be preserved? At present, no such estimates exist for most species. I will develop realistic population viability analysis (PVA) models (encompassing all threats to persistence) on many bird, mammal, reptile, amphibian, invertebrate and plant species, and estimate the ....Minimum sizes and habitat areas for viable populations. This project will address two critical issues in conservation biology: How large do wildlife populations need to be to ensure long-term persistence? How large an area needs to be preserved? At present, no such estimates exist for most species. I will develop realistic population viability analysis (PVA) models (encompassing all threats to persistence) on many bird, mammal, reptile, amphibian, invertebrate and plant species, and estimate the minimum population sizes and habitat areas required for long-term survival. My prior research has validated the predictive accuracy of PVA. This research will deliver practical guidelines for managing threatened species.Read moreRead less
Can animal dispersal inform fire management for species conservation? This project aims to improve fire management for environmental outcomes in northern Australia. It will address a key knowledge gap in our understanding of the effects of fire on biodiversity, relating to the spatial pattern of fire in the landscape. This is important because changing patterns of fire are not only a risk to humans but have major effects on our environment. This project will involve researchers, environmental ma ....Can animal dispersal inform fire management for species conservation? This project aims to improve fire management for environmental outcomes in northern Australia. It will address a key knowledge gap in our understanding of the effects of fire on biodiversity, relating to the spatial pattern of fire in the landscape. This is important because changing patterns of fire are not only a risk to humans but have major effects on our environment. This project will involve researchers, environmental managers and indigenous land owners to design better fire management strategies for biodiversity. The key benefits include new knowledge and tools to better manage fire and address one of our major environmental challenges, the decline of native wildlife in northern Australia.Read moreRead less