UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

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

Investigating novel determinants of response to CAR T-cell therapy for... Category: Medical Research

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

Developing novel CAR T cells with enhanced metabolic performance for... Category: Medical Research

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

Using cognitive and affective science to dissect in-play gambling... Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

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

Preclinical development of a multidomain vaccine for... Category: Medical Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Closing the gap between integrable models and branching processes. Integrable stochastic lattice models are highly effective for the study of universal phenomena in transport, directed polymers and interface dynamics. This project aims to address a key knowledge gap by developing and studying new integrable models for processes that (i) do not obey particle conservation and (ii) display population-dependent branching mechanisms such as in realistic reproduction dynamics. Such models are mathematically tractable and, as a result, the project will lead to a deeper understanding of key processes such as those that regulate bacterial colonies and proliferating cancer cells, and provide new insights into how interdependence and heterogeneity of individuals affects the late time behaviour of growing populations. Field of research: 4902 - Mathematical Physics This project will explore the deep connections between integrable vertex models in mathematical physics and branching processes in probability theory. Integrable vertex models are crucial for understanding complex systems, while branching processes are pivotal in mathematical modelling. Linking these areas will push the boundaries of mathematical sciences, leading to new insights and methodologies – many of which will have real-world applications. For instance, better understanding of branching processes will improve models used in epidemiology for predicting disease spread, and in environmental science for predicting forest fires and assessing climate change impacts, providing social and environmental benefits for Australia. The researchers trained in these discoveries will be well-prepared for careers in academia, industry, and government sectors, enhancing our workforce in critical STEM areas and providing economic benefits for Australia, as well as positioning our country as a global scientific leader. The mathematical tools developed will be made freely available through open-access repositories and libraries.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Next-Generation Lipid Nanoparticles. Lipid nanoparticles have broad application as carriers in the food, environment, and healthcare sectors. Key to their use is controlling their internal nanostructure and composition, however currently this is achieved by using a small and limited number of lipids. This project aims to produce a new class of lipid nanoparticles with tuneable nanostructures by exploring a library of natural polyphenols and lipid molecules. This project expects to generate new knowledge in polyphenol–lipid nanoparticle interactions to tune their nanostructures and biological interactions via experimental and modelling approaches. The expected outcomes are advanced lipid nanoparticles, which should benefit prospective applications in diverse fields. Field of research: 4016 - Materials Engineering Lipid nanoparticles are of widespread interest because of their ability to deliver encapsulated cargo, such as pesticides, bioactives, and therapeutics in the agriculture, food, and healthcare sectors. Yet, specific and broader applications of lipid nanoparticles are limited by the poor understanding of their interactions with biological systems and the difficulty in controlling their internal structure and composition, all of which determine their function and performance. We will develop a library of a new class of lipid nanoparticles engineered with tuneable internal structure and composition, and then explore their behaviour in biological environments. The design rules for engineering these novel lipid nanoparticles and their biological interactions will be informed through computer simulations. We will promote our results through publications and seminars. Licensing of intellectual property will support the translation and commercialisation of these engineered lipid nanoparticles. We will explore commercialisation opportunities to spin out new technologies. This research will benefit Australia economically, commercially, and environmentally through the development of high-value materials for the future benefit of the Australian agriculture, food, and biomedical sectors by contributing to improved crop productivity, nutrient uptake, food shelf life, and therapeutic delivery.

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

Implementation and evaluation of single dose human papillomavirus... Category: Medical Research

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

Sexual violence against older women: Enhancing recognition and response Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

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

Enhancing CD8+ T cell immunity using microbiota-derived short chain... Category: Medical Research

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

Host factors contributing to norovirus replication and transmission Category: Medical Research

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

Defining how pathogenic bacterial membrane vesicles impact... Category: Medical Research

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

Coaching for Doctors for Clinician Wellbeing, Workforce Sustainability... Category: Medical Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Animal building for a changing world. This project aims to reveal how animal constructions will cope with the damaging effects of global warming. Most animals build structures critical for survival (or that of their progeny) but there is no information on how animal designs will react to modern climate change. Using a powerful integration of experimental and analytical approaches, this project will uncover how animals can adjust their designs in response to temperature within their lifetime and at at evolutionary scale, using bird nests as model system. This project will pioneer the study of animal constructions as buffers of climate change. It will inform predictions of species vulnerabilities in future conditions by assessing animal capacities to modify their constructions. Field of research: 3103 - Ecology There is currently no information on how animal constructions will cope with the novel climatic challenges projected in Australia and the world. Most animals build constructions, such as nests, that are critical to their survival or reproduction. These structures have been refined over millions of years of evolution to protect species from climatic variables, but our climate is changing rapidly. Our project will combine detailed data from Australian species and analyses over thousands of species worldwide to generate a framework to evaluate the capacity of animal builders to adjust their designs to cope with the increasing temperatures forecast. We will focus on birds because their embryos are extremely vulnerable to temperature increases and high nest temperatures are already threatening some populations. Our research will benefit Australian fauna and ecosystems by assessing animal capacities to adapt to increasing temperatures. We will generate a modelling tool that will allow researchers to evaluate the risks of embryo death for different species and locations in Australia. Our global analysis will also enable us to identify vulnerable species where protection from building behaviours is constrained. Partnerships with government agencies will allow the dissemination of this model and information to agencies involved in conservation research and monitoring. Finally, this project will solidify Australia’s leadership in ecology and evolution.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Multifidelity data-driven autonomous precision robotic polymer synthesis. This project aims to develop an automated and autonomous precision polymer synthesis platform by integrating robotic polymer synthesis, online & offline characterisation, molecular simulation, & machine learning feedback loop. This project expects to generate knowledge in areas of materials informatics, accelerated materials discovery, and real-time process monitoring through employing innovative and interdisciplinary approaches. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced capacity in robotic process automation and precision synthesis and new material design and development practices. This should provide significant benefits to Australian manufacturing industries via providing them with a competitive advantage in their market. Field of research: 3403 - Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry A polymer is a chain of molecules. In nature polymers, such as spider webs or keratin in hair, have a wide range of useful attributes. Therefore, engineers synthesize polymers for many different advanced materials. Yet, current synthesis methods are unable to match the qualities and function of natural proteins and biological peptides, particularly in their precision and repeatability. We lack control in synthesising polymer’s lengths, composition and block sequences. This project will develop a new robotic platform to synthesis precise polymers autonomously using machine learning. This new, more efficient pathway can address existing limitations in control and revolutionise the field of materials science. The efficient production of effective advanced materials has many economic, environmental and social benefits for Australia. The project will change our manufacturing processes, providing Australian advanced manufacturers with highly marketable new products, particularly in the project’s showcase area of nanoengineered antimicrobial polymers, as well as in the pharmaceuticals and defence sectors. With potential to develop decomposable green plastic, the project could have significant environmental and social benefits. Project outcomes will create opportunities for start-ups or consulting companies, and be communicated with the team’s extensive contacts in industry accelerating its commercial potential.

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

Strengthening evidence on harmful industries and their influence on... Category: Medical Research

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

Addressing Critical Gaps and Inequities in Australia’s Prenatal Genomic... Category: Medical Research

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

Harnessing tissue-resident memory T cell immunity in gastrointestinal... Category: Medical Research

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

Defining immunotherapy response and resistance mechanisms in cutaneous... Category: Medical Research

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

Defining neural regulation of the tumour immune ecosystem Category: Medical Research

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

A new way to see endometrial receptivity defects and implantation... Category: Medical Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Photonics Computing Enabled Ultra-Broadband Wireless Communications. The goal of this project is to develop photonic reservoir computing (PRC) as the bridging technology to enable cognitive capabilities in ultra-broadband wireless and radar/lidar systems. This project expects to generate innovative PRC configurations to provide unprecedented processing speeds with reduced energy consumption. The expected outcome will pave the way for the high-speed signal processing mandatory for future autonomous platforms not limited to telecommunications and sensing systems. Significant benefits include establishing Australia at the forefront of research in this emerging technology with the potential for future development in beyond 5G wireless systems, cognitive radar/lidar systems, autonomous vehicles and imaging. Field of research: 4006 - Communications Engineering Our world is rapidly transforming into a highly networked society, with seamless access to communications, data, and content. These communications are universal and must be possible anytime and anywhere. Wireless communications have now become an indispensable commodity with end users expecting reliable and high-speed connectivity at all times. As businesses and society can no longer tolerate even minor interruptions to their services, existing infrastructure must be adapted to prevent any service outage. Our research will address this massive challenge. We will investigate and develop solutions to realise intelligent high-speed communication systems that in the event of service interruptions are able to self-configure and quickly restore connectivity without triggering any outages. Our project will use an emerging technique to process signals in real-time to make informed decisions that will reconfigure the network with minimal intervention using low computational power and energy. We will use white papers and presentations to empower practitioners, and engage with groups focusing on standards to help shape policy and guidelines. The outcomes of our project will provide future Australian communication networks with greater protection against and prevention of network failures, providing economic and social benefits to Australia. Wireless payment will be free of costly outages for businesses and our quality of life will be improved.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2025 · 2025-01

Multifocal multicolour super-resolved tracking of biomolecular interactions. Understanding fundamental dynamic biophysical processes occurring inside a live cell environment requires measurement of multiple biomolecules in real-time with nanometre precision in 3D, which current methods cannot achieve. This project aims to solve this problem by advancing and synthesizing the latest developments in super-resolution microscopy (also known as nanoscopy). The intent is to generate new knowledge in the design and construction of super-resolution microscopes used for biophysical studies at the nanoscale. Expected outcomes include the development of advanced manufacturing methods and improved state-of-the-art optical microscopy and nanoscopy instrumentation that can lead to scientific discoveries in structural biology. Field of research: 5103 - Classical Physics To understand the whole of biology we must understand biology at its smallest scale, the nanoscale. Although current microscopes can measure and track biomolecules at the nanometre scale, they cannot measure and track different biomolecules at the nanometre scale within a large specimen volume. Thus, our understanding of nanoscale biology within our three-dimensional cells is limited by the performance of current microscopes. This project aims to use cutting-edge technology in applied optics and micro-technology to design and build advanced microscopes for the study of fundamental biological processes at the molecular level. Inside the cell, biomolecules such as DNA and proteins have important functions. Yet, there is much to learn: how are these biomolecules transported inside the cell, how do they interact, and how are genes expressed? New knowledge about how cells operate can be used to develop better therapies against disease and improve health. The recent success of mRNA-based therapies is one example. State-of-the-art instrumentation would provide economic and commercial benefits to Australia, in addition to social and health benefits gained from a greater understanding of molecular processes in cells. The new instrumentation will be widely reported through relevant scientific and industry networks to find a pathway to commercialisation.

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

Developing a laboratory-based model that mimics oral gonorrhoea... Category: Medical Research

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

Exploiting interactions between microbiota and T cells to improve... Category: Medical Research

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

Advancing Precision Medicine for Lung Cancer Category: Medical Research