Elucidating the post-transcriptional regulation of mast cell proteases. Mast cells (MCs) are immune cells that protect against pathogens but may induce deleterious inflammation. MC function is mediated by specific proteases that are pre-formed and stored in granules. These proteases have unique yet poorly understood mechanisms of regulation. The aim of the project is to use a novel suite of molecular tools and genetically modified mice to identify the critical regions of transcripts that post-tr ....Elucidating the post-transcriptional regulation of mast cell proteases. Mast cells (MCs) are immune cells that protect against pathogens but may induce deleterious inflammation. MC function is mediated by specific proteases that are pre-formed and stored in granules. These proteases have unique yet poorly understood mechanisms of regulation. The aim of the project is to use a novel suite of molecular tools and genetically modified mice to identify the critical regions of transcripts that post-transcriptionally regulate the production and storage of these proteins. The project aims to identify the RNA binding proteins, microRNAs and other novel factors that also regulate them. This is expected to elucidate the post-transcriptional mechanisms of regulation of MC proteases.Read moreRead less
In-vivo detection of airway injury and disease using phase contrast X-ray velocimetry. Currently diagnosis of lung disease, a major cause of death in humans, is based on clinical symptoms that do not usually manifest until the disease is well advanced. This project will develop a novel imaging technique, X-ray velocimetry, to detect changes in tissue before symptoms arise, potentially leading to strategies for managing lung diseases.
Innovative hands-free technology to give the severely disabled greater mobility control. Half of the serious neurological injuries in Australia result in tetraplegia. Combined with other disabilities that involve severe mobility impairments the cost to the community economically, psychologically and socially is huge. This new Australian technology will facilitate effective sharing of control between a disabled person and a computer control system, taking advantage of their unique strengths and e ....Innovative hands-free technology to give the severely disabled greater mobility control. Half of the serious neurological injuries in Australia result in tetraplegia. Combined with other disabilities that involve severe mobility impairments the cost to the community economically, psychologically and socially is huge. This new Australian technology will facilitate effective sharing of control between a disabled person and a computer control system, taking advantage of their unique strengths and enabling each to aid the other in areas of weakness. The social and personal benefits are potentially very large. Scope also exists to significantly reduce healthcare costs and to develop a new industry in hands-free technology.Read moreRead less
Discrete particle simulation of powder dispersion in pharmaceutical aerosol inhalers. A successful completion of the project will i) greatly enhance the Australian R&D profile and capabilities of both computational modelling and pharmaceutical aerosol research in the world; ii) provide an improved delivery of therapeutic dose to patients via inhalers with better performance to enhance the therapeutic benefits; iii) enable wide availability of inexpensive and effective pharmaceutical inhalation p ....Discrete particle simulation of powder dispersion in pharmaceutical aerosol inhalers. A successful completion of the project will i) greatly enhance the Australian R&D profile and capabilities of both computational modelling and pharmaceutical aerosol research in the world; ii) provide an improved delivery of therapeutic dose to patients via inhalers with better performance to enhance the therapeutic benefits; iii) enable wide availability of inexpensive and effective pharmaceutical inhalation products to the Australian community for the treatment of asthma and other diseases, iv) facilitate environmentally friendly technology since powder aerosol delivery does not require any harmful organic solvents to operate.Read moreRead less
Synthesis of nanoparticles by impinging liquid-jet precipitation for inhalation drug delivery. The project aim is to develop a state of the art technology for the efficient, reliable and economical production of nanoparticles of drugs suitable for inhalation delivery to the lung. Nanoparticles can penetrate deeper into the lung where they deposit and dissolve faster for enhanced therapeutic effects. The project will focus on both the production process and the particle properties for aerosol a ....Synthesis of nanoparticles by impinging liquid-jet precipitation for inhalation drug delivery. The project aim is to develop a state of the art technology for the efficient, reliable and economical production of nanoparticles of drugs suitable for inhalation delivery to the lung. Nanoparticles can penetrate deeper into the lung where they deposit and dissolve faster for enhanced therapeutic effects. The project will focus on both the production process and the particle properties for aerosol administration. Successful development of the technology will not only gain new knowledge in the key area of nanotechnology, but also lead to better inhalation therapy to benefit patients.Read moreRead less
Development of a novel process for the formation of particles with controlled surface architecture for respiratory drug delivery. A successful conclusion of this project will enhance substantially the competitiveness of Australia's research in functional nanomaterials and advanced biomaterials. The Australian pharmaceutical industry will gain through the ability to develop proprietary pharmaceutical formulations targeted towards taking advantage of the novel process. Patients of asthma, lung inf ....Development of a novel process for the formation of particles with controlled surface architecture for respiratory drug delivery. A successful conclusion of this project will enhance substantially the competitiveness of Australia's research in functional nanomaterials and advanced biomaterials. The Australian pharmaceutical industry will gain through the ability to develop proprietary pharmaceutical formulations targeted towards taking advantage of the novel process. Patients of asthma, lung infection and other serious health problems will benefit from an improved delivery of therapeutic dose at a much reduced cost. The technology is environmentally friendly as powder aerosol delivery does not require any harmful organic solvent to operate.Read moreRead less
The role of electrostatic charge in airway deposition of aerosols. This project aims to unravel the importance of electrostatic charge in controlling deposition of aerosols in the respiratory tract. The expected outcome is a validated mathematical model for accurately predicting deposition behaviour of charged aerosol particles in human airways. Findings may ultimately be used to underpin novel prevention measures to reduce lung deposition of inhaled hazardous airborne particles to significantly ....The role of electrostatic charge in airway deposition of aerosols. This project aims to unravel the importance of electrostatic charge in controlling deposition of aerosols in the respiratory tract. The expected outcome is a validated mathematical model for accurately predicting deposition behaviour of charged aerosol particles in human airways. Findings may ultimately be used to underpin novel prevention measures to reduce lung deposition of inhaled hazardous airborne particles to significantly reduce health risks and costs. They may also be used to enable the development of new inhalation technologies based on electrostatic charge to improve aerosol drug delivery to the lungs of patients with respiratory diseases.Read moreRead less
Engineering of co-crystal drug molecules for pharmaceutical aerosols. This project will enable Australia to become a world leader in treatment of respiratory diseases. The Australian financial burden of respiratory diseases is currently estimated as $900m with significant impact on infrastructure (through regular clinical visits, hospitalisation and workforce loss). The global market for the treatment of COPD is currently $32 billion and is expected to increase significantly by 2010. The positio ....Engineering of co-crystal drug molecules for pharmaceutical aerosols. This project will enable Australia to become a world leader in treatment of respiratory diseases. The Australian financial burden of respiratory diseases is currently estimated as $900m with significant impact on infrastructure (through regular clinical visits, hospitalisation and workforce loss). The global market for the treatment of COPD is currently $32 billion and is expected to increase significantly by 2010. The positioning of an Australian research as a world leader in the development of new treatments will have significant national benefit, whilst the sector will benefit for scientific advancements that arise during this project.Read moreRead less
Neurons and neurotransmitters that control the apnoeic response to irritation of the larynx. Normal function of the larynx enables breathing, cough, singing, speech and many other normal functions. This project will reveal how nerves in the brain coordinate to achieve these many functions; in particular the way that breathing stops if fluid or smoke enters the larynx.
Learning to Pinpoint Emerging Software Vulnerabilities. This project aims to develop learning-based software vulnerability detection techniques to improve the reliability and security of modern software systems. The existing techniques relying on conventional yet rigid software analysis and testing techniques are ineffective and/or inefficient when detecting a wide variety of emerging software vulnerabilities. The outcomes of this project will be a deep-learning-based detection approach and an ....Learning to Pinpoint Emerging Software Vulnerabilities. This project aims to develop learning-based software vulnerability detection techniques to improve the reliability and security of modern software systems. The existing techniques relying on conventional yet rigid software analysis and testing techniques are ineffective and/or inefficient when detecting a wide variety of emerging software vulnerabilities. The outcomes of this project will be a deep-learning-based detection approach and an open-source tool that can capture precision correlations between deep code features and diverse vulnerabilities to pinpoint emerging vulnerabilities without the need for bug specifications. Significant benefits include greatly improved quality, reliability and security for modern software systems.Read moreRead less