Mapping networks governing cell state plasticity: how, where and when? Single cell organisms are the basic unit of life, yet, if they had not developed the ability to change cell states we would not exist today. Changing cell states lies at the core of almost every developmental and disease process in multicellular organisms. Building upon our fundamental discovery that stem cells and non-stem cells readily interconvert, we will now incorporate innovative cell systems and the development of our ....Mapping networks governing cell state plasticity: how, where and when? Single cell organisms are the basic unit of life, yet, if they had not developed the ability to change cell states we would not exist today. Changing cell states lies at the core of almost every developmental and disease process in multicellular organisms. Building upon our fundamental discovery that stem cells and non-stem cells readily interconvert, we will now incorporate innovative cell systems and the development of our new multi-layered systems biology strategy to elucidate the first comprehensive understanding of the cell biology that underlies cell state changes. These studies are a major step toward understanding the fundamentals of life. Read moreRead less
Understanding How the Hungry Brain Regulates Metabolism. Energy homeostasis is essential for life as it ensures an adequate supply of fuel to cells of the body. This process is orchestrated by neurons in the hypothalamus of the brain. This project aims to determine the role of the extracellular matrix that surrounds hypothalamic neurons and how this regulates energy homeostasis, an area of science that is completely unexplored. This project expects to identify the composition the extracellular m ....Understanding How the Hungry Brain Regulates Metabolism. Energy homeostasis is essential for life as it ensures an adequate supply of fuel to cells of the body. This process is orchestrated by neurons in the hypothalamus of the brain. This project aims to determine the role of the extracellular matrix that surrounds hypothalamic neurons and how this regulates energy homeostasis, an area of science that is completely unexplored. This project expects to identify the composition the extracellular matrix within the hypothalamus and discover how it regulates energy homeostasis. The outcomes of this project are to provide new knowledge in understanding how the brain regulates metabolism, to promote population health & wellbeing, develop new technologies and training the next generation of researchers.Read moreRead less
Synergistic nanostimulation of nerve cells using atomic force microscopy technology. The research will develop multifunctional nanoelectrodes for neural prosthetic devices of the future. They will be smaller and more effective, enabling integration with single neural networks in the body, to improve the clinical treatment of severe neurological disorders and loss of sensory (hearing and vision) and motor functions.
Microcantilevers for multifrequency atomic force microscopy. This project aims to design a microcantilever with high-performing sensors more sensitive and with better noise performance than the typical optical system used in commercial Atomic Force Microscopes (AFMs). The AFM, a nanotechnology instrument, uses a microcantilever (with an extremely shape probe) to interrogate a sample surface. It has made important discoveries in nanotechnology, life sciences, nanomachining, material science and d ....Microcantilevers for multifrequency atomic force microscopy. This project aims to design a microcantilever with high-performing sensors more sensitive and with better noise performance than the typical optical system used in commercial Atomic Force Microscopes (AFMs). The AFM, a nanotechnology instrument, uses a microcantilever (with an extremely shape probe) to interrogate a sample surface. It has made important discoveries in nanotechnology, life sciences, nanomachining, material science and data storage systems. Despite its success, the technique’s spatial resolution and quantitative measurements are limited. This project could lead to breakthrough technologies such as atomic force spectroscopy to study elastic modulus of nanostructures, and establish Australia's prominence in this emerging field.Read moreRead less
The control of chromosome division during female meiosis. Mammalian eggs are stored life-long and finally mature in the hours before ovulation. This project examines how the chromosomes in the egg are separated properly so as to produce a mature egg capable of being fertilized by a sperm. Often in eggs chromosome division is imprecisely executed, and this project will help us understand why this occurs.
Improving transient performance for systems with multiple inputs/outputs. This project aims to develop and test new mathematical techniques for the improvement of transient performance in tracking control systems. The fundamental problem to be addressed will be the design of controllers to rapidly track constant and time varying target reference signals without overshooting or undershooting for multiple-input multiple-output systems/plants. These new methods aim to offer improved accuracy and sp ....Improving transient performance for systems with multiple inputs/outputs. This project aims to develop and test new mathematical techniques for the improvement of transient performance in tracking control systems. The fundamental problem to be addressed will be the design of controllers to rapidly track constant and time varying target reference signals without overshooting or undershooting for multiple-input multiple-output systems/plants. These new methods aim to offer improved accuracy and speed in many engineering applications.Read moreRead less
Need for Speed: Towards Controller Design Automation for Power Electronics. This project aims to address the need for advanced controller design automation tools for power electronics systems by advocating a novel design paradigm. The project expects to seek breakthroughs in the modelling and optimisation aspects of power electronics systems and generate new automation tools for existing and emerging power electronics applications. Expected outcome include significant reduction of controller dev ....Need for Speed: Towards Controller Design Automation for Power Electronics. This project aims to address the need for advanced controller design automation tools for power electronics systems by advocating a novel design paradigm. The project expects to seek breakthroughs in the modelling and optimisation aspects of power electronics systems and generate new automation tools for existing and emerging power electronics applications. Expected outcome include significant reduction of controller development cycle time and cost, minimisation of human oversight, and maximisation of system performance. Profound benefits include maintaining Australia’s leadership in a wide range of sectors such as renewable energy and electric vehicles demanding rapid development cycles and realisation of Australia’s zero-carbon vision. Read moreRead less
System identification of microstructure in the brain using magnetic resonance. Magnetic Resonance Imaging technologies will be exploited to probe the microstructure of the brain, using powerful Bayesian optimisation techniques and innovative uses of magnetic resonance. The project will in particular develop non-invasive imaging methods to quantify iron content in the brain, important for research on dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Reliable and efficient algorithms for modelling dynamical systems from data. Mathematical and computational models are increasingly important in diverse areas of science and engineering including aircraft and automotive design, robotics, medical sensing, and biology. However, finding an accurate model remains a difficult task. This project will develop new methods to reliably find highly accurate models from recorded data.
A New Approach to High-Performance Control of Nonlinear Systems. The coming generation of robots are highly mobile and will interact significantly with their environment, each other, and human collaborators. However, this leads to highly coupled nonlinear dynamical behaviour, and achieving accurate and reliable control of these systems is pushing current control theory to breaking point. This project aims to develop a new approach to control of nonlinear systems based on contraction theory and c ....A New Approach to High-Performance Control of Nonlinear Systems. The coming generation of robots are highly mobile and will interact significantly with their environment, each other, and human collaborators. However, this leads to highly coupled nonlinear dynamical behaviour, and achieving accurate and reliable control of these systems is pushing current control theory to breaking point. This project aims to develop a new approach to control of nonlinear systems based on contraction theory and convex optimisation, extending the power of optimisation-based control from linear to non-linear systems. The project is expected to lead to new theoretical developments, constructive algorithms and software, and experimental demonstrations on a range of platforms including bipedal walking robots and underwater robots.Read moreRead less