THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Advancing 3D Generative Foundation Model for Multi-scale Biomedical Images. This project aims to enhance 2D multi-scale biomedical image analysis by leveraging 3D information through advanced generative artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. While 3D biomedical imaging offers detailed insights, its high-cost limits accessibility, making 2D imaging more common. We propose developing a 3D generative foundation model for multi-scale biomedical images (3DGBio), trained on extensive multi-scale 2D-3D images, to generate 3D images from 2D counterparts. Our goals include creating a 2D-3D generative algorithm, fine-tuning it for specific biological scales. This approach will make advanced 3D insights more accessible and practical for various research applications and lead to potential long-term health sector benefits. Field of research: 4603 - Computer Vision and Multimedia Computation This project aims to revolutionise biomedical image analysis by developing a 3D generative foundation model (3DGBio) that leverages advanced generative artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to transform 2D images into 3D image volumes. Given the high cost and limited accessibility of 3D biomedical imaging, the project will democratise access to 3D images that offer detailed spatial insights and make them available for a broader range of research applications. By training the proposed model on extensive multi-scale biological images, the project will create a tool that allows researchers to generate 3D images from 2D scans quickly and accurately for novel biomedical applications. This innovation will significantly enhance the depth of biomedical image analysis research, potentially leading to improved quantification and understanding of biomedical image data. This research brings potential long-term benefits to the health sector including better disease models, improved decision support tools, and reduced healthcare costs. This project promotes Australia’s leadership in AI and biomedical innovation, aligning with national priorities in healthcare and technology. Outcomes will be shared through open-source tools, partnerships with medical and research organisations, and public engagement to support widespread use and benefit across sectors.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Frozen frontiers: Exploring Australia's oldest high-altitude occupation. Partnering with an Indigenous team, this project will examine the earliest evidence for high-altitude occupation in Australia to deliver new insights into cultural practices in cool-climate landscapes. High-altitude archaeology remains under-represented in Australia, limiting understandings of First Nations deep-time history. Expected outcomes include novel ice-age cultural and environmental data which will illuminate First Nations history and contribute new perspectives to global understandings of frozen mountain adaptation. Project benefits include increased cultural values recognition in the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, strengthened research collaborations and employment opportunities for Indigenous partners. Field of research: 4501 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culture, Language and History This inter-disciplinary research project will generate new knowledge critical to understanding early high-altitude occupation in Australia, while also enhancing cultural conservation outcomes and Indigenous and ECR research capacity. Focusing on the upper Blue Mountains, Australia’s most archaeologically significant, yet under-researched, high-altitude region, this project will use archaeological and environmental science techniques to reveal details on occupation from the last ice-age to the recent past. Australia plays a pivotal role in understanding long-term human adaptation to periods of extreme climate change through frameworks of continuous Indigenous practice. By combining contemporary Aboriginal approaches with high-resolution stone artefact and environmental analyses, this project will chart how tools were made, used and traded between groups across this mountain landscape over the last 20,000 years as Aboriginal people responded to the onset and amelioration of the last ice-age. To support UNESCO World Heritage (cultural) values listing, project results will be presented in accessible form to the Blue Mountains World Heritage Indigenous Advisory Board and State (NPWS) and Federal (DCCEEW) managing agencies to maximise their potential for direct translation. On-Country presentations and media outputs will ensure widespread engagement with our research outcomes.

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Metabolic Phenotyping for Predicting Pharmacotherapy Response in Type 2... Category: Medical Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Cellular targets and mechanisms of action of C. barnesi Irukandji venom. This project investigates the cellular targets and mechanisms of action of Carukia barnesi venom, the cause of Irukandji Syndrome, a life-threatening condition linked to severe pain and autonomic dysfunction. With warming waters expanding the habitat of C. barnesi toward populated areas, understanding its venom is crucial. Using cutting-edge functional genomic and CRISPR screening technologies, we aim to identify bioactive peptides in the venom and their mammalian targets. This globally unique research combines expertise in venom biology, genomics, and toxin biology to address a critical knowledge gap, advancing venom science and informing strategies to manage and mitigate the impacts of Irukandji Syndrome. Field of research: 4103 - Environmental Biotechnology This project will uncover how the venom of Carukia barnesi—a jellyfish responsible for Irukandji syndrome—affects the human body. This venom triggers intense physiological and psychological symptoms, including extreme pain and a sense of impending doom, yet no specific treatments exist. As ocean temperatures rise, the geographic range of this species is expanding toward densely populated coastlines, increasing the risk to Australians. Using globally unique genomic technologies developed by the research team, this project will identify the biologically active toxins in C. barnesi venom and determine their effects on human cells. It will also identify the specific human genes targeted by the venom, providing the molecular insight needed to guide antivenom development or the creation of new bioactive tools. The research addresses an urgent national need in environmental health and marine toxinology. Findings will support Australia’s emergency medicine and public health preparedness and may also create commercial opportunities in drug discovery. Outcomes will be disseminated via high-impact publications, international conferences, public media, and open-access platforms. Key tools and data will be made available to researchers and industry worldwide, ensuring broad translation, uptake, and long-term benefit.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Toxic Living: Exposure and Immunity in the Time of ‘Forever Chemicals’. This project aims to develop new sociological understanding of exposure and immunity in the time of ‘forever chemicals’. Using innovative qualitative methods and research translation strategies, it will adopt a person- and community-centred approach to investigate experiences of a) living with forever chemicals, and; b) the various forms of autoimmunity with which they have been linked. This will generate foundational knowledge, leading the international scholarship in health sociology. The project will create significant benefit through improved understandings, publicly accessibly resources and targeted policy advice to reduce the inequities and harms of living with pervasive chemical risk in the often toxic conditions of late capitalism. Field of research: 4410 - Sociology ‘Forever chemicals’ – a class of >14,000 synthetic compounds that have been used extensively in industry, textiles, food packaging and consumer products since the 1940s – are now a durable and pervasive part of our world. Because they do not break down in the body or in nature, forever chemicals have been found to contaminate virtually every natural environment worldwide and virtually every bodily system, too. Up to 98% of the world's population are thought to have detectable levels of PFAS in their blood. Yet very little is known about how people understand or experience exposure to forever chemicals or the many negative health effects which with they have been linked. Using innovative qualitative methods, stakeholder engagement and research translation strategies, this project will develop urgently needed person- and community-centred understandings of the growing problem of living with forever chemicals to inform policy improvements, advance health equity and environmental justice and promote wellbeing. Project findings will be widely disseminated among scholarly networks, positioning Australia as a research leader in the field, and among public audiences and policy stakeholders via a public exhibit, informational and advocacy resources, and policy reports. This will yield considerable social and environmental benefits aligned with Australian Government priorities areas supporting healthy and thriving communities and restoring and protecting Australian Environments.

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Beyond Connectionism: Rethinking the Nature of Learning Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Understanding the interplay between chromatin architecture and DNA repair. Chromatin architecture is crucial for many biological processes, the most well described being transcriptional regulation; however, the interplay between 3D chromatin organisation and DNA repair pathway engagement remains to be characterised. The overarching aim of this project is to investigate how chromatin architecture regulates DNA repair. We will focus on the role ATR-activating proteins play in recruiting the nucleosome remodelling and deacetylase (NuRD) chromatin remodelling complex to promote long-range chromatin interactions and homologous recombination (HR)-mediated repair. This project will create new knowledge of how DNA repair pathways are activated, and characterise a level of DNA repair regulation not previously comprehended. Field of research: 3105 - Genetics Accurate DNA repair is of central importance to biology across all domains of life. Cells constantly face endogenous and exogenous threats that can cause DNA damage. To counteract these threats, cells activate a comprehensive and multifaceted DNA damage response. Ineffective or mismanaged DNA repair leads to genome instability. Enacting the DNA damage response requires cells to modify the complex highly-ordered three-dimensional structure of DNA. While we know these modifications occur, we know little about the chromatin remodelling complexes involved. This project will address this critical gap in knowledge through investigating the role of the NuRD chromatin remodelling complex in the DNA damage response. The outcomes of this project will significantly advance our fundamental understanding of the genome repair mechanisms that are essential for maintaining cellular health. This knowledge has wide-ranging benefits, with particular utility in cellular biotechnology and manufacturing, including agriculture, precision fermentation, recombinant DNA, DNA-based data storage, and cellular systems for food manufacturing. Additionally, accumulated DNA damage can impact normal cell function, tissue health, and cellular aging. Knowledge advancement of DNA repair mechanisms is therefore important for understanding how cells preserve genome integrity, and will support healthy aging, longevity, and overall cellular resilience throughout life.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Mitigating Ionising Radiation Errors in Superconducting Quantum Computers. This project aims to protect superconducting quantum computers from ionising radiation errors that limit their performance. The research will measure radiation's effects on qubits, compare quantum computer operation above and underground, and develop protective measures, including shielding and error correction systems. By addressing this challenge, the project will enhance quantum computer reliability and advance Australia's quantum computing capabilities. The outcomes include practical radiation protection tools and new detection systems benefiting both quantum computing and other sensitive quantum technologies, supporting Australia's National Quantum Strategy through infrastructure development and international partnerships. Field of research: 5108 - Quantum Physics This project will bolster the performance of superconducting quantum computers by characterising and mitigating the impact of ionising radiation—a source of error placing an ultimate ceiling on performance. The interdisciplinary approach will provide new insights into radiation-induced errors in quantum computers and devise effective mitigation strategies. The project harnesses Australian and international expertise in quantum error correction, superconducting quantum bits and low-temperature physics in extreme environments—in particular, the newly established Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory. By addressing errors that cannot be easily corrected with current technology, this research will remove a significant obstacle to the development of large-scale quantum computers capable of solving real-world problems. When fully realised, such breakthroughs will benefit the Australian community by enhancing capabilities in areas like national security, pharmaceutical development and machine learning. The project establishes a new collaboration with Rigetti Computing, a multi-billion dollar US company, that will facilitate the rapid translation and integration of fundamental discoveries into leading industrial technologies. By bringing world-leading hardware to Australian shores and marrying local expertise with international industrial efforts to build quantum computers, this project will further Australia's reputation as a global leader in critical quantum technology.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Tackling wage theft through innovative tripartite approaches. This project aims to investigate benefits and challenges of tripartite collaboration - involving labour regulator, representatives of workers and businesses - to tackle widespread wage theft. The project expects to generate new knowledge on how to increase employer compliance using an innovative mixed methods, engaged research design embedded in a novel initiative in state regulation of wage laws. Expected outcomes of the project include enhanced and coordinated capacity for increasing employer compliance with wage laws. This should provide significant benefit for state labour regulators seeking to maximise limited resources, workers expecting correct legal pay, businesses desiring a more level playing field, and for the integrity of laws. Field of research: 4801 - Commercial Law Despite efforts to address widespread wage theft, the problem persists, costing Australia billions of dollars every year. State labour regulators face the challenge of deploying finite resources for ensuring employers comply with wage laws. They have access to, but are not ‘in’, workplaces in the ways that workers and employers are. A new initiative of Australia’s Fair Work Ombudsman (at the direction of the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations), seeks to bring together representatives of workers and businesses, leveraging their common interests and mitigating differences, to maximise compliance. This new initiative provides a unique research opportunity for understanding the potential of tripartism (active engagement between government, businesses and workers) in compliance and enforcement of work laws. Ensuring that businesses comply with laws and pay correct wages to their employees has clear economic and social benefits for all Australians. Additional benefits to Australia include training of early career researchers - a PhD candidate and a Postdoc. The research outcomes will be applied directly to enhancing the operations of the Fair Work Ombudsman (and to its international equivalents) through sharing understandings of how the mutual benefits of aligning the interests of workers and businesses can maximise wage law compliance.

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Dynamic cell membrane remodelling regulates nutrient homeostasis Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Revealing the Virosphere using Metagenomics and Artificial Intelligence. Our knowledge of the global virosphere is biased and fragmentary. This project will combine metatranscriptomic sequencing with artificial intelligence (AI) to reveal the hidden diversity of RNA viruses, the origins of key virus proteins, and the major mechanisms of virus genome evolution. AI protein structural prediction will identify highly divergent RNA virus capsid and envelope proteins. The origins of virus proteins and the patterns and mechanisms of virus genome evolution will be determined through AI predictions of protein foldomes in major groups of RNA viruses. A new diversity of RNA viruses and protein structures will be revealed by the metatranscriptomic sequencing of marine and freshwater sediments sampled throughout Australia. Field of research: 3107 - Microbiology Viruses are important components of global ecosystems, regulating natural populations and occasionally emerging as devasting infectious diseases. It is critical to determine the biodiversity of viruses within ecosystems, how viruses share genes to create evolutionary novelty, and how viral communities respond to changing climates and the increasing impact of human activities. This project will address these pressing and topical questions by (i) utilising new artificial intelligence-based tools that can identify novel viruses and their divergent proteins from metagenomic sequence data, at the same time determining their evolutionary origins, and (ii) by revealing the diversity of viruses that exist in sediments from iconic Australian marine and freshwater environments that serve as ecosystem markers. The data generated will provide a new knowledge of RNA virus diversity and its determinants both on a global scale and within unique Australian landscapes that have not been sampled to date. It will lead to new insights into the structure of the global virosphere, the evolutionary origins of virus genes and genomes, reveal how new viruses are created, and provide a genomic and computational toolkit for national biosecurity surveillance. By looking for specific virological markers the project will determine whether human activities have influenced viral composition within Australian natural environments, informing ecosystem health.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Catalytic upcycling of carbon dioxide to synthetic fuel. The goal of this project is to develop nanostructured catalysts and a catalytic process for converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into synthetic methane, a green fuel produced through selective hydrogenation with green hydrogen. This strategy targets the production of green synthetic methane while utilizing Australia's current liquefied natural gas infrastructure and transportation network to efficiently deliver green fuels to domestic and global markets. Success in this project could revolutionize green fuel manufacturing and significantly contribute to advancing Australia's carbon neutrality objectives. Ultimately, this project holds the potential to drive a significant transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources across the nation. Field of research: 4016 - Materials Engineering Australia's ambitious aim of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 is met with groundbreaking solutions in this project, devised to address greenhouse gas emissions on a large scale through carbon dioxide (CO2) upcycling. The initiative leverages green hydrogen to selectively transform CO2 into synthetic methane, a green fuel seamlessly aligning with Australia's significant natural gas industry. This project not only contributes to environmental sustainability but also promises substantial economic benefits for energy companies, propelling the growth of the emerging green fuel market. Aligned with national strategies for hydrogen, carbon capture and utilization, and sustainable natural gas development, this project positions Australia as a global leader in clean energy technology. It represents a pivotal stride toward a sustainable, low-emission future, demonstrating the nation's dedication to innovation and leadership in transitioning to a carbon-neutral economy. This comprehensive approach not only fulfills environmental targets but also fosters economic expansion and technological progress on the world stage.

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Improving decision-making in health services: from system-level change... Category: Medical Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Uncovering the biochemical basis for age-dependent myelin loss. Myelin is a fatty substance wrapped tightly around our nerves, providing electrical insulation and metabolic support that are essential for nervous system function. Myelin is a pillar of humans’ advanced cognitive abilities but is lost with ageing, causing a decline in cognitive and physical abilities. This project aims to solve the mystery of why vertebrates lose myelin with ageing, using innovative mass spectrometry methods. Specifically, the project will determine if the generation of new myelin decreases and break-down of existing myelin increases with ageing, and identify the cell types mediating normal myelin turnover with ageing. This will create a technical and knowledge platform to fuel advances in healthy and productive lifespan. Field of research: 3209 - Neurosciences Australia’s population is ageing, increasing the need for aged and health care services while decreasing government revenue. Ageing is associated with a deterioration in nervous system function that reduces our cognitive and physical capabilities. This project employs advanced cell and molecular science to understand why the function of our nervous system declines with ageing, resulting in reduced cognitive and physical capability. Specifically, it will explain why myelin, the fatty substance that provides electrical insulation for our nervous system, deteriorates with ageing. Myelin controls cognition, emotion, and movement, and its deterioration is almost certainly a key cause of declining capability with ageing. Future benefits will include the development of interventions to preserve or restore myelin, thereby improving Australians’ productivity and quality of life as we age, and preventing age-related dementia. Outcomes will be highlighted through social media, media releases, and international conferences attended by industry partners and aged care professionals. Australia must maintain its competitive position in cutting-edge, interdisciplinary brain science to keep pace internationally and create opportunities in the AU$1 trillion neuroscience market. The technological innovation in this project will fuel collaborations with biotechnology partners, and students will receive training in interdisciplinary skills that are highly valued in the biotechnology industry.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Designing High-Strength Steels Resistant to Hydrogen Embrittlement. In the emerging hydrogen economy, addressing hydrogen embrittlement (HE), which causes unpredictable fractures in metallic materials, has become a critical priority for safe hydrogen storage, transport, and applications. This project aims to advance the fundamental understanding of the HE mechanism and resolve conflicts in existing theories based on recent breakthrough. Cutting-edge microscopy methodologies will be developed to achieve multi-scale characterisation of the materials, focusing on crack initiation and propagation, and lattice defect-hydrogen interactions. This project aims to design novel HE-resistant, high-strength martensitic steels using a mechanism-based, simulation-guided alloy design approach. Field of research: 4016 - Materials Engineering Hydrogen embrittlement (HE) significantly degrades the mechanical integrity of metal alloys, leading to unexpected failures in essential infrastructure such as pipelines, aircraft, offshore facilities, and hydrogen storage systems. Despite being identified over 150 years ago, the precise mechanisms of HE remain elusive, and the industries lack reliable predictive models to effectively mitigate this phenomenon. This project, in collaboration with two industrial partners, aims to leverage advanced materials design and processing, and characterisation techniques to elucidate the mechanisms underlying HE. Building upon promising prior research, the goal is to develop industrial processes that enhance the performance of steels in hydrogen-rich environments. By addressing this longstanding issue, the project aligns with Australia's national priorities (National Hydrogen Strategy), including combating climate change, ensuring energy security, and revitalising domestic manufacturing. The development of advanced manufacturing and materials technologies is also identified as a critical technology in the national interest, supporting applications such as the safe storage and transportation of hydrogen, the creation of stronger and lighter vehicle components, and utilization in undersea environments. Achieving breakthroughs in producing high-strength, HE-resistant materials will reinforce Australia's leadership in global manufacturing and sustainability initiatives.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Early Career Experiences in Frontline Occupations: A Gender Lens. This project aims to examine how early-career experiences shape workers’ career intentions in frontline occupations. Poor working conditions, including excessive workloads, underpayment, and harassment, reinforce gendered employment patterns and contribute to persistent labour shortages that undermine Australia's economic productivity and growth. Studying 4 occupations with distinct gender compositions, this project provides novel insights into how entry-level conditions influence career retention, progression and gendered labour-market segmentation. Benefits include evidence-based strategies to guide policy and practice to improve job quality and safety in frontline occupations, reducing turnover and strengthening workforce sustainability. Field of research: 3505 - Human Resources and Industrial Relations Australia’s frontline workforce is essential to economic stability and social wellbeing, yet chronic shortages in key occupations—nursing/midwifery, electrical trades, retail, and hospitality—threaten critical services. High turnover and entrenched gender segregation worsen these shortages, reducing economic productivity and increasing costs for consumers, businesses, and governments. There is limited research on how early-career experiences and gender dynamics shape career intentions and retention. This study addresses this gap by examining entry-level workers’ experiences in four occupations with distinct gender compositions. This research will benefit Australia by informing strategies to improve job quality and safety, and foster workforce sustainability in these crucial frontline roles. It will also equip policymakers and industry stakeholders with evidence-based recommendations to reduce turnover, enhance recruitment and training, and improve job security. Strengthening workforce retention will lower replacement costs, support long-term workforce planning, and safeguard essential services. To maximise impact, research outcomes will be widely shared through public reports, policy briefings, and media engagement. Investing in this research ensures a more stable, diverse, and resilient workforce, ensuring the viability of frontline occupations that underpin Australia’s economy and social fabric.

GrantConnect (Australian Government grants) · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Access to kidney transplant waitlisting and transplantation Category: Medical Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Are histones or transcription factors the codemasters in gene regulation? All organisms switch thousands of genes on and off in a precisely orchestrated manner, but through mechanisms that are still mysterious in many ways. This project aims to redefine our understanding of the regulation of gene expression in complex organisms by defining the molecular choreography executed by three essential classes of proteins working in concert. The project will leverage our recent discoveries and use advanced approaches in cellular, molecular and structural biology to challenge existing dogma. The outcome will be a deeper understanding of a process conserved over hundreds of millions of years, which will significantly benefit future efforts to modulate gene activity in fields such as agriculture and medicine. Field of research: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology This application investigates one of the most fundamental and long-standing questions in biology – how does an organism ‘read’ the right parts of its genome at the right times and in the right places to develop and thrive? The answers to this question are largely shared by all complex organisms, ranging from fungi to plants and animals and beyond. The delineation of the mechanisms by which the genome is interpreted will have significant implications across medicine, agriculture and biotechnology. As well as providing a deeper understanding of life on earth, determination of these mechanisms will potentially enable the Australian agricultural industry to deliver more efficient and higher-quality agricultural production and provide new avenues for the Australian biotechnology sector to develop innovative approaches for the treatment for a range of human disorders. Important examples already exist of such applications and a stronger grasp of the underlying mechanisms will significantly expand opportunities to have economic, therapeutic and agricultural impact. As one example, the outcomes of this project will be used as the foundation for translational research projects aimed at modulating gene expression patterns in agricultural pests, through engagement with Rural Development Corporations and their stakeholders.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Causal Representation Learning for Controllable Text-To-Image Generation . This project aims to improve the controllability of existing text-to-image generation models. It expects to generate new knowledge for multimodal generative models by leveraging causal representation learning and contributes to the development of more trustworthy, interpretable, and controllable generative AI. Expected outcomes include the creation of a new large-scale multimodal benchmark dataset, the development of multiple practical controllable text-to-image generation models, and the establishment of theoretical guarantees for these models. This research will provide significant benefits by enabling safer AI applications across different domains and mitigating risks associated with unreliable or biased AI outputs. Field of research: 4603 - Computer Vision and Multimedia Computation Australia’s rapid adoption of generative AI presents both opportunities and risks for industry, society, and government. This project will directly strengthen Australia’s role in the global digital economy by developing safer, more interpretable text-to-image AI capable of generating coherent and accurate imagery. By ensuring images align exactly with user intent, these advancements benefit sectors such as design, advertising, healthcare, scientific visualization, and accessibility technologies, enhancing productivity and lowering costs for local businesses. In doing so, the project meets national objectives around fostering innovation, growing advanced technology industries, and ensuring responsible AI development. Further, the research addresses key concerns around AI reliability and trustworthiness by embedding causal reasoning into generative models, making them more transparent and predictable. This aligns with Australia’s commitment to ethical AI, reducing potential biases and misinformation. By building essential expertise in causal representation learning and training the next generation of AI researchers, the project solidifies Australia’s reputation for leading-edge AI innovation. As a result, it attracts international collaboration, supports skilled job creation, and contributes to the broader public interest, ensuring Australia remains competitive and secure in an evolving global digital landscape.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Beyond Connectionism: Rethinking the Nature of Learning. All animals, including people, learn how to predict or control important events based on prior experience with cues or actions that precede those events. But how do animals learn these relations, and how does that learning affect behaviour? The current project moves beyond the century-old view, still at the heart of modern AI, that learning is just the strengthening of connections. It describes learning and responding within the formal mathematical framework of Information Theory, objectively quantifying how much information can be learned and how much certainty the learner can have about the outcome. This will refocus our understanding of what learning is and provide new insights into how the learner’s experience shapes their learning. Field of research: 5202 - Biological Psychology All animals, including humans, acquire the ability to predict or control events by learning which cues or actions precede those events. An understand of this learning, based on decades of research, underpins most practice in developmental and clinical psychology. It is also foundational in the development of the deep neural networks and machine learning algorithms that threaten to revolutionise our lives. However, these applications are based on a century-old view that conceives of learning as changes in connection strength. These connectionist models can learn effectively to make serial predictions, such as an LLM predicting the next word in a sentence. However, they are computationally voracious and, unlike real brains, are poorly suited to computing the rates at which events occur in real time. These are significant obstacles for any AI attempting to learn how to interact in the real world. The current project takes a different theoretical approach, using a branch of mathematics known as Information Theory to understand what is learned and to specify how that learning affects behaviour. Unlike its forebears, this approach ties learning to objectively measurable properties of the events being learned about and provides a means to quantify how learning maps onto behaviour. It will drive new theoretical advances in understanding of this fundamental phenomenon and has the potential to yield new insights into effective ways to intervene in the learning process.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Unravelling the Internal Physics of Stars that have Rotational Twists. This project aims to study a newly discovered class of astronomical objects — stars with rotational 'twists', whose insides and outsides rotate around different axes. These stars remain poorly understood, as they have only just been discovered. This project expects to observationally characterise and search for more such rotationally twisted stars, to describe their physical features, and to study the astrophysical implications of their internal rotational misalignment. In order to do so, this project will develop and deploy novel analysis techniques for measuring the internal structure and rotation of stars. This will qualitatively advance the state of the art in both the theory and observations of internal stellar rotation. Field of research: 5101 - Astronomical Sciences All stars spin; this drives their magnetism and shapes their internal structure. Astronomers measure this spin using starquakes, just as seismologists use earthquakes to study the Earth's interior. Using this, we have found that the insides of some stars not only spin more quickly than their outsides, but might even be "twisted": their insides and outsides might rotate around different directions altogether. Because we have only discovered one instance of this in the wild, we do not know for sure how this physical situation might come about, or how common (or rare) it might be. It could signify that stars like this may have previously eaten their planets, experienced severe tides from stellar companions, or been influenced by close gravitational encounters with interstellar objects. Alternatively, it may suggest that certain kinds of waves may behave more violently, deep in the interiors of stars, than previously imagined. This project will study unusually rotating stars of this kind. It will search for more specimens of core-envelope rotational misalignment using measurements from space telescopes of thousands of these stars, and study the physical consequences of this misalignment using state-of-the-art computational hydrodynamics. It will qualitatively advance our understanding of stellar astrophysics, and cement Australia's global research leadership in it.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

The multiscale, adaptive brain: neuromodulatory control of information flow. This project will investigate how the brain coordinates its activity across different scales to support flexible cognition and behaviour. By integrating physics-inspired analysis, biophysical modelling, and existing cross-species imaging datasets, this research will reveal how neuromodulatory systems regulate information flow and neural organisation. These insights will advance our understanding of the fundamental principles governing brain function. Expected outcomes include next-generation multiscale models, high-impact publications, and international collaborations. This research will strengthen Australia’s leadership in computational and systems neuroscience while providing advanced training for the next generation of neuroscientists. Field of research: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology How does the brain coordinate its own neural activity, from individual neurons to whole-brain systems, to support flexible thinking and behaviour? This project will combine theoretical models, empirical data, and physics-inspired analytical techniques to uncover the fundamental principles of brain function. These insights have broad societal implications, including innovations in brain-inspired artificial intelligence and enhanced understanding of behaviour and problem-solving. By strengthening Australia’s global leadership in neuroscience and biophysical modelling, this research will also contribute to the nation’s high-tech and data-driven industries. Additionally, the project will train highly skilled scientists, foster international collaboration, and drive technological advancements that support economic growth.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Catalytic Air-gap Electrochemistry - a New Way to Fix Nitrogen. Synthetic nitrogen fixation markets have a global value of AUD 400 B/yr and focus predominantly on fertilisers. This project combines catalysis with air-gap electrochemistry [AGE] to pioneer electrified solutions that enable nitrogen fixation directly from air and water. It targets distributed production methods, at ambient conditions, of nitrogenous chemicals in a significantly more sustainable manner, compared to those generated by the industrial Haber-Bosch process. The research will pioneer the fundamental science required to enable catalytic AGE to deliver these nitrogenous compounds efficiently and effectively, to benefit Australia’s agricultural productivity and sustainable chemical production towards a net-zero economy. Field of research: 3406 - Physical Chemistry As it is critical for society to increasingly transition to a net-zero future, its fundamental chemical building blocks will need to be sourced from non-petrochemical feedstocks and manufactured using renewable energy. Fertilizers underpin contemporary agriculture and food security – 50% of the nitrogen in human bodies is derived from synthetic, fossil-based nitrogen fertilizers, releasing more than 2% of all anthropogenic CO2. The project proposed employs electricity (inherently a renewable option) to mimic elements of lightning to activate nitrogen. This electrochemical approach to 'fixing' nitrogen from the air avoids the use of fossil methane as a necessary input and, compared with current industrial and other proposed experimental methods, dramatically lowers the amount of CO2 produced as a by-product. This project will not only expand knowledge in the field of electrochemistry, but potentially enable new approaches for the sustainable manufacture of other commodity chemicals. Beyond the timeline of this project, this approach may lessen Australia's reliance on synthetic ammonia and mitigate the effect of Australian agriculture's contribution to climate change. The results of this research will not only be widely disseminated in the academic sphere, conferences and through student outreach programs, but also shared at policy round table meetings and with industry partners using the team’s domestic and international networks.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

A Novel Platform for the Discovery of High Affinity Mirror Image Peptides. Virtually all biomolecules on our planet are homochiral, including human proteins that bear amino acids with the same ‘L-handedness.’ Peptides possess exquisite biological activity but their use in medicinal chemistry is limited by cleavage of these L-molecules into inactive fragments by protease enzymes. This project aims to use our innovative methods for the synthesis of ‘mirror image proteins’ made entirely of D-amino acids. These will be used in a novel peptide display platform for the discovery of structurally diverse D-peptides with high affinity for natural L-proteins and stability to proteases. This project has the potential to revolutionise future medicinal chemistry efforts by overcoming a key limitation of peptide therapeutics. Field of research: 3404 - Medicinal and Biomolecular Chemistry Peptides and proteins are nature’s functional molecules essential for all life on our planet. Despite their exquisite activities, they are susceptible to degradation and inactivation by natural enzymes called proteases, which limits their practical use in biological systems and in medicinal chemistry. This proposal will path-find a solution to the problem by creating a breakthrough technology called mirror image display to enable the discovery of peptides with non-natural, mirrored structures (“D-peptides”) that possess remarkable activity and stability. D-peptides have the potential to unlock an entirely new area of medicinal chemistry. The display technology this project will develop—leveraging innovative protein synthesis and driving rapid discovery of modified, topologically distinct molecules—will catalyse the discovery of novel classes of D-peptides with exceptional biological activity, high selectivity and excellent degradation resistance. Project success will not only advance scientific knowledge but may stimulate the growth of a new, high-impact industry in peptide-based therapeutics in the future. Dissemination of research findings will span diverse audiences of wide reach (research, industry and popular science), reflecting the ground-breaking mirror image display platform and D-peptide scaffolds this project will advance. There is also strong potential for commercially valuable IP, which will be protected to maximise future benefits to Australia.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Modern sufficient dimension reduction methods for complex dependent data. This project aims to develop a suite of modern statistical theory and methods for sufficient dimension reduction in data exhibiting complex dependence structures. In doing so, it will address a pressing need for statistical tools that can accurately distil high-dimensional regression and classification relationships, with little to no loss of information, into results readily understood by domain experts. The project is expected to unlock valuable insights into how various spatial, temporal, and sampling processes operate together to drive dynamics in bioinformatics and social network data. This will provide important long-term benefits to enhance biological discovery and combat the spread of misinformation in online digital environments. Field of research: 4905 - Statistics As the collection of high-dimensional datasets with complex dependencies in structure, space, and time becomes increasingly common, there is a critical need for statistical methods that can distil the most relevant information from data into readily interpretable and actionable results, and at the same time preserve the ability to make reliable predictions. This project will develop a suite of cutting-edge statistical dimension reduction methods capable of accurately capturing complex relationships within data that evolve with spatial location, time, and data collection design. By translating these methods into software and collaborating with scientists to accelerate their timely adoption, the project will drive breakthroughs in understanding how complex biological mechanisms contribute to disease pathogenesis, and enhance governance of online digital environments through a greater understanding of social network dynamics. Ultimately, the project will deliver an evidence-based, robust decision-making framework for building a healthier and better-informed Australian society.