Characterising inheritance patterns of whole genome DNA methylation. This project aims to characterise epigenetic diversity and inheritance patterns in whole genome sequencing data from a unique human population. The project will employ the well-characterised Norfolk Island genetic isolate, cost-effective whole genome bisulphite sequencing technologies and advanced bioinformatics pipelines and statistical models. It will involve cross-discipline collaboration between human geneticists, epigeneti ....Characterising inheritance patterns of whole genome DNA methylation. This project aims to characterise epigenetic diversity and inheritance patterns in whole genome sequencing data from a unique human population. The project will employ the well-characterised Norfolk Island genetic isolate, cost-effective whole genome bisulphite sequencing technologies and advanced bioinformatics pipelines and statistical models. It will involve cross-discipline collaboration between human geneticists, epigeneticists, statistical geneticists and bioinformaticians. This project will advance our understanding of the interaction of genetics and epigenetics and their relationship to diversity and inheritance in humans.Read moreRead less
Genomic Control of Human Complex Trait Variation. This project aims to address knowledge gaps in our understanding of the genetic and environmental control of complex human trait variation. This project will use innovative approaches that combine molecular genomic information with data from large biobank sized cohorts to generate new knowledge of the mechanisms underlying ancestral and sex differences in humans. Expected outcomes include the development of novel methods for the integrative analy ....Genomic Control of Human Complex Trait Variation. This project aims to address knowledge gaps in our understanding of the genetic and environmental control of complex human trait variation. This project will use innovative approaches that combine molecular genomic information with data from large biobank sized cohorts to generate new knowledge of the mechanisms underlying ancestral and sex differences in humans. Expected outcomes include the development of novel methods for the integrative analysis of genomic data and building Australia’s capacity in a highly demanded field, ensuring the capability to realise the translation of this knowledge to positively impact society and human well-being.Read moreRead less
Dynamic DNA structure states and memory formation. Activity-induced gene expression is central to neural plasticity, learning, and memory; however, the underlying mechanisms of these processes in the brain have yet to be fully resolved. The aim of this proposal is to obtain a deeper understanding of the functional relationship between genes and brain function. By elucidating the full repertoire of epigenetic mechanisms in the brain during learning and the formation of memory, it is hoped that t .... Dynamic DNA structure states and memory formation. Activity-induced gene expression is central to neural plasticity, learning, and memory; however, the underlying mechanisms of these processes in the brain have yet to be fully resolved. The aim of this proposal is to obtain a deeper understanding of the functional relationship between genes and brain function. By elucidating the full repertoire of epigenetic mechanisms in the brain during learning and the formation of memory, it is hoped that the true nature of brain adaptation across the lifespan will be revealed. Findings which may then provide new opportunities to strengthen, maintain and optimise cognitive function.Read moreRead less
Defining novel neuroepigenetic pathways that influence learning and memory. This project aims to better understand the functional relationship between epigenetic mechanisms and regulatory RNAs in the brain and how they influence learning and the formation of memory. Activity-induced gene expression is central to neural plasticity, learning, and memory. However, efforts to elucidate the underlying mechanisms in the brain have not been fully resolved. By elucidating the full repertoire of epigenet ....Defining novel neuroepigenetic pathways that influence learning and memory. This project aims to better understand the functional relationship between epigenetic mechanisms and regulatory RNAs in the brain and how they influence learning and the formation of memory. Activity-induced gene expression is central to neural plasticity, learning, and memory. However, efforts to elucidate the underlying mechanisms in the brain have not been fully resolved. By elucidating the full repertoire of epigenetic mechanisms in the brain during learning and memory formation, the findings of the project will be broadly applicable and create new opportunities for understanding the true nature of brain adaptation.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101226
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$423,000.00
Summary
Testing Effects of Environmental Exposures on Subsequent Human Generations. This project aims to develop new statistical models to determine how environmental exposures in pregnancy, such as smoking, alcohol consumption and diet, can impact the first and second generations of children. The project will fill a void in unbiased tools to disentangle genetic and environmental components in the inheritance of complex traits, and will be the first to determine objectively if and how effects from envir ....Testing Effects of Environmental Exposures on Subsequent Human Generations. This project aims to develop new statistical models to determine how environmental exposures in pregnancy, such as smoking, alcohol consumption and diet, can impact the first and second generations of children. The project will fill a void in unbiased tools to disentangle genetic and environmental components in the inheritance of complex traits, and will be the first to determine objectively if and how effects from environmental exposures can be inherited. Through international collaborations and advanced interdisciplinary approaches, this project will generate new knowledge in the emerging field of multigenerational inheritance to drive the future design of interventions and influence positive behaviours during pregnancy.Read moreRead less
Molecular definition of cellular states in the vascular endothelium. The endothelium is the main cell type forming blood vessels and spans across multiple cell states from stem/progenitor to a variety of terminally differentiated cells. How each of these cell states are defined at the molecular level is not known preventing the optimal formation and integration of blood vessels in bioengineered tissues. Using innovative single cell gene expression and chromatin accessibility studies combined wit ....Molecular definition of cellular states in the vascular endothelium. The endothelium is the main cell type forming blood vessels and spans across multiple cell states from stem/progenitor to a variety of terminally differentiated cells. How each of these cell states are defined at the molecular level is not known preventing the optimal formation and integration of blood vessels in bioengineered tissues. Using innovative single cell gene expression and chromatin accessibility studies combined with innovative analysis, we propose to define and validate each cell state at the molecular level.
This new knowledge would greatly enhance our ability to control the transition between cell states leading to a more widespread use of endothelial cells in bioengineering of tissues globally for many applications.
Read moreRead less
System-level characterisation of the siphonophore, Indo-Pacific man o' war. The Indo-Pacific man o' war (bluebottle), is a cnidarian from the siphonophore order. These animals frequent Australian beaches in swarms and cause thousands of stings every year. The project proposes to profile the genome, transcriptome, epigenome, and proteome of the bluebottle to gain insight into its life cycle, its behaviour, and toxins. Expected outcomes include the generation of novel information related to bluebo ....System-level characterisation of the siphonophore, Indo-Pacific man o' war. The Indo-Pacific man o' war (bluebottle), is a cnidarian from the siphonophore order. These animals frequent Australian beaches in swarms and cause thousands of stings every year. The project proposes to profile the genome, transcriptome, epigenome, and proteome of the bluebottle to gain insight into its life cycle, its behaviour, and toxins. Expected outcomes include the generation of novel information related to bluebottle gene regulation and its toxin repertoire, which will be highly beneficial for the design of future sting treatment strategies. Given that the bluebottle is a colony made of functionally specialised polyps, this study will also provide significant novel insight into the origins and evolution of animal multicellularity.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100425
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$409,364.00
Summary
Genetic and Molecular Consequences of Non-Random Mating in Humans. This project aims to develop and apply novel statistical methods to quantify the effects on a large number of complex traits of two forms of non-random mating in humans, that is inbreeding and assortative mating. The innovation in this proposal lies in integrating multi-level phenotypes with next-generation sequencing data collected in more than half a million study participants. Expected outcomes of this research include advance ....Genetic and Molecular Consequences of Non-Random Mating in Humans. This project aims to develop and apply novel statistical methods to quantify the effects on a large number of complex traits of two forms of non-random mating in humans, that is inbreeding and assortative mating. The innovation in this proposal lies in integrating multi-level phenotypes with next-generation sequencing data collected in more than half a million study participants. Expected outcomes of this research include advanced analytical methods to perform this integration and dissection of the biological consequences of non-random mating in humans at an unprecedented phenotypically detailed scale. The benefit of this project will be to identify new drivers of mate choice that can contribute to economic, health and social inequalities. Read moreRead less
Dissecting natural variation in sexually dimorphic gene expression. This project aims to understand the origins of sex differences by dissecting heritable variation in sexually dimorphic gene expression. Sexual dimorphism constitutes a large fraction of phenotypic diversity and arises mainly from sex differences in gene expression that permit males and females of a species to escape sexual conflict caused by a shared genome. The project uses multi-population quantitative genetics and allele-spec ....Dissecting natural variation in sexually dimorphic gene expression. This project aims to understand the origins of sex differences by dissecting heritable variation in sexually dimorphic gene expression. Sexual dimorphism constitutes a large fraction of phenotypic diversity and arises mainly from sex differences in gene expression that permit males and females of a species to escape sexual conflict caused by a shared genome. The project uses multi-population quantitative genetics and allele-specific expression assays to merge the studies of sex-specific local adaptation and sexually dimorphic regulatory variation. The project will help to understand how cis- and trans- regulatory factors can affect natural variation differently in males and females, shaping their phenotypic similarities and differences.Read moreRead less