THE UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Schools Pathways Program Category: Defence

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Energy and carbon-efficient CO2 electrochemical reduction in strong... Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Developing a Step Change in Bulk Material Handling and Transportation Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Energy and carbon-efficient CO2 electrochemical reduction in strong acids. This project aims to develop efficient CO2 electroreduction to multi-carbon products in strong acids, coupled with high CO2 utilisation. The key concept is to explore covalent organic framework functionalised catalysts to promote multi-carbon formation in acidic local condition. This project expects to generate new knowledge in catalyst microenvironment control. Expected outcomes include a new class of composite electrocatalysts, an in-depth understanding of acidic CO2 reduction mechanism, and a demonstration of practically viable electrolyser prototypes. This should provide significant benefits such as advancing Australia's CO2 capture and utilisation and accelerating the transformation of its energy industry to achieve net zero emission. Field of research: 4016 - Materials Engineering The global transition to sustainable development and carbon neutralisation has created significant challenges for Australia. Electrochemical conversion of CO2 offers an opportunity to leverage Australia’s rich renewable energy capacity and resources to convert waste CO2 into value-added multicarbon products such as ethylene and ethanol. Commonly derived from oil extraction, these products are widely used chemicals and raw materials in industry, e.g., ethylene is the precursor of polyethylene, a plastic used in everyday products from packaging to pharmaceuticals. However, the current CO2 conversion technology requires too much energy and wastes too much CO2 input when making these products. The proposed method differs from all previous CO2 conversion methods as it uses an acidic – not alkaline or neutral – reactive chemical, overcoming the energy and CO2 utilisation challenges. The process can potentially be scaled up and easily integrated into industrially existing water splitting electrolysers, significantly reducing the operation and facility costs in future commercialisation. The proposed technology is promising to create fully circular carbon economies, significantly reducing the reliance of oil extraction to create useful products like ethylene. It will not only cut down carbon emissions but also store Australia’s rich renewable electricity within useful fuels, supporting Australia’s sustainable development. These findings will be disseminated broadly via social media.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

A multifunctional platform for advanced materials characterization. The proposed facility provides unique capabilities for the understanding of mechanisms, dynamics and kinetics in catalysis, carbon capture, energy storage and conversion and investigating interactions between semiconductor devices under external stimuli of electric field, magnetic and optical light at various temperatures in functional materials. The platform offers both in-situ spectrum functions to assess the electrochemical reaction of different materials and the measurement of property by external stimuli under extreme environment. It will facilitate multidisciplinary research collaborations between academics and industries to advance clean energy, energy storage and conversion, carbon neutral and next-generation semiconductor devices, Field of research: 4016 - Materials Engineering The proposed facilities integrate the capabilities of materials and devices with in-situ spectrum function under the well-controlled environment, such as humidity, pressure, vaccum and various external stimuli including electric field, magnetic field and optical light in the big Sydney basin. The proposal offers a general platform capable of investigating the physical and chemical properties of various functional materials for the applications of catalysis, carbon capture and conversion, energy storage and semiconductor devices. It will support the Science and Research Priority “Advanced Manufacturing”, and the research outcomes will facilitate the development of catalysis, energy and electronic technologies. The global semiconductor sector's revenue was $573B in 2022, while the clean energy market will reach $1977 B by 2030. It will build capacity in Australia for research in clean energy, advanced materials and functional devices. This unique platform will also fill a major gap in the currently available facilities in Australia, enhancing Australia's global position as a leader in renewable energy, carbon neutral and net zero emission, energy storage and conversion as well as next-generation semiconductor devices.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

REFRAMING THE ASCENDING SPINAL SENSORY PATHWAY . This application studies a unique population of spinal cord nerve cells that carry sensory signals to the brain. This cell category has long been considered a passive relay, providing raw signals to the brain, which then assembles perception and sends descending signals back to the spinal cord support survival. In contrast, the cells that we have discovered give rise to an extensive collateral branching system in the spinal cord, allowing them to distribute an early ascending survival signal. This application will define the connectivity and function of these unique nerve cells with benefits including bio-inspired applications in control theory, computing, engineering, and robotics; as well as livestock and endangered species management. Field of research: 3209 - Neurosciences Efforts to understand brain function have become a global mission with billion-dollar initiatives established in North America, Europe and Asia. These investments acknowledge the potential for neuroscience research to deliver major benefits in many areas including health, innovation and quality of life; as well as bio-inspired applications for industry across control systems, computing, engineering, and robotics. The current research proposal seeks to capitalise on and contribute to the technical and theoretical advances flowing from international efforts by advancing our understanding of how the spinal cord uses sensory information to provide early damage/threat control signals not previously appreciated. The innovative approaches to be employed will offer a new perspective on the neural mechanisms underlying spinal sensory processing and how this level of processing precedes and interacts with descending signals from the brain. Communication of these research findings will support Australia’s international standing and be of major benefit to neuroscientists studying how sensory information is processed by the central nervous system. The inclusion of early career researchers, graduate and undergraduate students in the project will also help to keep Australia at the forefront of neuroscience innovation, ensuring these future research leaders are trained in the leading-edge technologies needed to progress our understanding of brain function.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Investigating veterinary nanotechnology to treat sarcoptic mange in wombats. This project aims to develop improved antiparasitic formulations to treat wombats with sarcoptic mange. Sarcoptic mange is a major parasitic disease of Australian wildlife that has particularly devastated the wombat population. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of veterinary medicine and pharmacology using innovative pharmaceutical approaches. Expected outcomes of this project are improved antiparasitic formulations that can effectively treat sarcoptic mange infected wombats, without the need to capture or handle the animals. This should provide significant benefits for wildlife conservation and animal health at a national and global scale and may be adapted for the treatment of other infectious diseases. Field of research: 3214 - Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences This project addresses an urgent and serious animal welfare issue that is rapidly decimating our native wombat population. Sarcoptic mange, a parasitic infection caused by the Sarcoptes scabiei mite, is responsible for hundreds of wombat deaths every year and has led to declines in the wombat population of up to 94% across regions in Australia. Without effective treatment, infected wombats suffer a slow and painful death, usually within 2-3 months. Sarcoptic mange is treatable with antiparasitic drugs. However, current formulations of these drugs are not optimal – with a high failure rate resulting from poor topical drug penetration and absorption through the fur and thickened/crusted skin barriers. The ‘run off’ that occurs contaminates the environment and can potentially lead to mites (and other species) acquiring resistance to the antiparasitic drug. This project aims to develop improved antiparasitic formulations using innovative pharmaceutical approaches that can effectively treat sarcoptic mange infected wombats, without the need to handle or capture the animals. Outcomes will improve disease management for Australian native animals and reduce the threat of environmental contamination. Improved treatment provides significant benefits for wildlife conservation and animal welfare and may be adapted for the treatment of other infectious diseases.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Young at Heart: Vascular mechanisms supporting healthy cognitive ageing. . This project aims to investigate the vascular mechanisms that contribute to individual variability in cognitive ability in mid-late life. It uses novel measures of regional brain arterial integrity and conventional measures of systemic blood flow to experimentally characterise the vascular mechanisms by which lifestyle choices affect brain structure/function and cognitive ability in healthy older adults. The outcomes will inform integrative models of cognitive ageing and strengthen international, cross-disciplinary collaborations in cognitive ageing neuroscience. This knowledge may inform evidence-based lifestyle approaches to promote healthy and engaged living in mid-late life and reduce the social and economic impacts of cognitive ageing. Field of research: 5202 - Biological Psychology As the number of older Australians is expected to double over the next 40 years, we urgently need to understand why it is that some people remain cognitively healthy throughout their lifespan, whereas others show slow and progressive cognitive decline from mid-late life. This project will investigate how the brain’s vascular system impacts a person’s cognitive ageing trajectory, using novel brain imaging techniques that are only available in our lab in Australia. We aim to demonstrate experimentally that lifestyle activities known to improve cognitive functioning, act by improving the brain’s vascular health. The outcomes will produce evidence for a direct mechanism linking variability in the brain’s vascular system, brain structure and function, and cognitive ability in healthy older adults. This work may have significant economic, social and cultural benefits by supporting healthy and engaged ageing, prolonging social and economic participation, and reducing reliance on healthcare resources. It will also build the capacity of young Australian researchers in healthy ageing research. Implications for healthy ageing will be disseminated through the Hunter Medical Research Institute to national and international peak bodies, state and federal government bodies, industry and community to increase knowledge and support translation in program development.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Young People, Fintech Use and Future Financial Security. Young people’s rapid uptake of financial technologies (fintech) impacts their present-day financial wellbeing and capacity to create financially secure futures. This project will be the first to explore how young people navigate and understand the new landscape of fintech platforms and products, and to uncover the hitherto hidden impacts of fintech sorting and classificatory processes. We will use innovative research methods to interrogate the relationship between everyday financial practices and algorithmic platforms, developing a youth-centred approach to understanding the interface between them. This new knowledge will inform ongoing regulatory efforts, support youth sector practice and increase public understanding of fintech platforms. Field of research: 4410 - Sociology This project will create important new knowledge about how young people navigate and understand the unprecedented landscape of fintech platforms and products, and about how fintech platforms are designed to sort, profile, target, and exclude consumers. In so doing it will address a significant knowledge gap. It will benefit the Australian community by providing an evidence base to support current efforts to regulate new and emerging forms of fintech, which have been a focus of The Treasury’s banking and finance consultations in recent years. Understanding and use of the findings of this project outside of academia will be maximised through the project’s strategic research engagement and translation plan, which includes a public research engagement forum, a public-facing report (launched at the forum and disseminated to policy-makers), media articles, animated videos designed for social media dissemination, a publically accessible project website, and regular presentations to share findings with the youth sector. In addition to supporting regulatory efforts this project will increase public knowledge of and awareness about the functionality of fintech platforms. In so doing it will support young people to make critical decisions about the platforms that they engage with, and to better understand how their data may be used.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

New treatments for animal infections, an economic and health imperative. Food security is critical to human social and economic wellbeing. Access to protein (and meat), is considered essential. Despite being major sources of protein 98% of Australia’s commercial chicken flocks are infected with Eimeria; high levels are also found in ruminants. More concerning is the high rates of Toxoplasmosis gondii (T. gondii) in ruminants. Infectious to humans by a faecal-oral route from cats and ingestion of undercooked meat, it can result in blindness, severe lung and brain disease, even death mostly in the pregnant and immunocompromised. Once infected there is no treatment or cure. Our novel compounds are capable of killing both Eimeria and T. gondii parasites. This program will see their development as veterinary drugs. Field of research: 3404 - Medicinal and Biomolecular Chemistry Australians expect ready access to high quality protein, meat, as part of their lifestyle choices. We consume 4 time the global average of chicken (45kg) and meat (24kg) each year. For this to be sustained, healthy livestock are pivotal. Despite this, 98% of commercial chicken flocks are infected with a gut parasite, coccidiosis (Eimeria). As are up to 90% of ruminants (beef, sheep, goats). Ruminants also show high infection rates of another parasite, Toxoplasmosis gondii (T. gondii). This parasite is readily transmitted to humans with an estimated 1/3 of the world’s population infected with T. gondii. Infection occurs via a faecal-oral route from cats (who shed infectious cysts in their faeces), or by ingestion of undercooked meat. Infection can cause blindness, major lung and brain disease. Ingested cysts can lay dormant in humans for decades. The most severe effects are seen in the pregnant and immunocompromised. Infection can be fatal; there is no treatment, no cure. Our team of experts in parasite drug discovery and commercialisation have developed novel compounds that reduce T. gondii transmissibility, by up to 70 times, and kill the parasite. Herein we will leverage our discoveries, and the common features of the T. gondii and Eimeria life cycle to produce world first veterinary drugs against both parasites. This project will usher in a new era of Australian veterinary drug development and a boon to our food security, and thus our social and economic well-being.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Photosynthetic Production of Valuable Microbial Biochemicals. This project aims to develop a sustainable platform for the manufacture of valuable biochemicals from cyanobacteria, including neuroactive, metal-binding, and UV-blocking compounds. Current manufacturing methods are costly, inefficient and detrimental to the environment. This project will adopt a synthetic biology approach to develop a potentially carbon-negative (photosynthetic) process for their industrial-scale production. Improved access to biochemicals, with novel applications in agriculture, bioremediation, environmental monitoring, and health, will strengthen Australia’s emerging biomanufacturing industry, with flow-on improvements to food and water security, the economy and the health of our planet. Field of research: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology Cyanobacteria produce a wealth of potentially beneficial biochemicals with applications in environmental monitoring, agriculture, bioremediation, and health. However, current pipelines for harvesting these valuable compounds from nature, extracting them from slow-growing cultures, or synthesising them in vitro, are costly, inefficient, and detrimental to the environment. Partnering with an Australian biotechnology company, Diagnostic Technology, this Linkage Project will develop a photosynthetic (cyanobacteria-based) platform for the production and optimisation of valuable biochemicals. The proposed platform can be tailored to produce structurally and functionally diverse compounds, including toxins for environmental monitoring and research, UV-blocking compounds for cosmetics and materials science, and metal-binding compounds for agriculture and bioremediation. Powered by sunlight, this cyanobacterial platform is potentially carbon negative, and therefore, eco-friendly. Commercialisation of this clean, green technology through partnerships with Diagnostic Technology and the emerging domestic microalgae industry, will significantly decrease Australia’s dependence on foreign supply chains for valuable biochemical commodities. This biomanufacturing platform will ultimately improve Australia’s food and water security, environmental management, and health care, while advancing a productive and innovative economy.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Observing Water Worlds From Space: New Techniques to Beat the Noise. The quest to characterise atmospheres of rocky, Earth-like planets outside the solar system has made great strides, but instrument systematics and stellar variability impede further progress. This Fellowship will develop advanced analysis techniques to break through these noise floors, with immediate application to space telescope observations of water worlds, a newly discovered missing link between rocky planets and ice giants. Results enabled by these analyses will resolve a central debate about how planets form. Next-generation simulations of water world atmospheres will also be developed, exploiting exascale computing. The Fellowship will enhance Australian leadership in the exoplanet field, including the search for life beyond Earth. Field of research: 5101 - Astronomical Sciences The study of exoplanets – planets that orbit stars outside our solar system – can help us understand how planets form and develop. However, exoplanet research is hindered by telescope limitations and brightness variations across the surfaces of stars, similar to the light and dark spots we intermittently observe on the Sun. This Fellowship will develop advanced analysis techniques to overcome these challenges and enable more detailed study of exoplanet atmospheres. The initial focus will be on a class of exoplanets known as water worlds, which are comprised largely of water and intermediate in size to Earth and Neptune. Key questions on planet formation will be addressed and the foundation for future studies of smaller, Earth-like planets will be laid. The Fellowship will further strengthen Australia’s global standing in space research, through leadership of a major international James Webb Space Telescope program. Collaborations with partners in the UK, US, Germany, Ireland, and Canada will be deepened, bolstering Australia’s global research connections. Notably, this will include adaptation of the UK Met Office climate model for performing simulations of water world atmospheres, which in addition to advancing exoplanet research, will help keep Australia at the forefront of high-performance computing and climate modelling. The project’s findings will be shared beyond academia at public outreach events, through press releases, and engagement with local print and radio media.

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Developing a Step Change in Bulk Material Handling and Transportation Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Understanding how forced separation disrupts wellbeing. This Fellowship aims to elucidate the biological, psychological and social determinants of the adverse effects of forced family separation on physical and emotional wellbeing. Through utilizing a novel multi-method experimental and longitudinal design that aligns lab-based studies with the ecological study of refugee separation, new knowledge gained will be disseminated to stakeholders via participatory workshops to guide translation pathways. Expected outcomes will advance a science of separation that harnesses psychological insights to address key social issues. This should benefit Australian society by better supporting people to navigate the harmful effects of forced separation through evidence-based best practice and policy. Field of research: 5205 - Social and Personality Psychology Forcible separation due to war, displacement, migration, pandemics or other events (e.g. imprisonment) adversely affects millions of Australians and people around the world. However, there are significant gaps in our understanding of how forced separation affects the brain and body systems that govern how we feel, think and connect, impeding the development of best-practice efforts to support those enduring forced separation. This Fellowship will address this problem by mapping the biological, psychological and social processes that are negatively impacted or facilitate coping when we are forced to be separated from those we love. Lab-based testing will be combined with the lived experience of refugees to build a scientific model of separation that uncovers new priorities for elevating evidence-based practice. This model will be disseminated to practice, policy and community stakeholders through participatory workshops and briefings to determine how it can shape practice, influence policy and motivate further research. This Fellowship will benefit those separated from family by enabling programs that help to navigate separation with more ease, proactively improve coping and strengthen social resilience. Outcomes will assist providers in their service delivery to reduce the overall burden of separation on Australia’s health system, and contribute to developing healthier, more connected local and global communities that thrive despite adversity.

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

REFRAMING THE ASCENDING SPINAL SENSORY PATHWAY Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Upholding our rights to self-determination in tobacco control policy and... Category: Medical Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Peer nutrition education for healthy child development Category: Medical Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

EXCITATORY PV CELLS: A NEW SWITCH TO TRIGGER SPINAL PAIN Category: Medical Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Identification of novel autoantibodies to unlock targeted treatments and... Category: Medical Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Leveraging Uterine-Targeted Nanoparticles for Preventing Preterm Birth Category: Medical Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Leveraging Uterine-Targeted Nanoparticles for Preventing Preterm Birth Category: Medical Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2024 · 2024-12

Leveraging Uterine-Targeted Nanoparticles for Preventing Preterm Birth Category: Medical Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2024 · 2024-12

Transformative synergies: Using Learning Health Systems for Chronic... Category: Medical Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2024 · 2024-11

2024 Equipment Grants Category: Health and Medical Research

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2024 · 2024-11

Centre of Research Excellence in Transforming Gut Health Category: Medical Research