UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Drag Prediction over Rough Surfaces using Hardware-Accelerated Simulations. This project aims to uncover the relationship between roughness topography and drag by utilising high-performance and efficient hardware acceleration. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of rough-wall turbulent boundary layer by using state-of-the-art hardware accelerated high fidelity simulations and machine learning techniques to identify important roughness parameters. Expected outcomes of this project include the development of a novel, more accurate, and robust model to predict drag. This would lead to improved data-driven policies for more sustainable and profitable airline and maritime industries. Field of research: 4012 - Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Engineering Australia’s global trade relies heavily on sea and air transport and half or more of fuel used in ships and planes is to overcome friction drag arising from surface roughness of the vessels (from corrosion on aircrafts or barnacles and biofouling on ships). The cost of this is called drag penalty, and operators need accurate information on this to ensure surface cleaning schedules are cost-effective. Current predictions of drag penalty are unreliable as changes in surface roughness are variable and unpredictable. Using high quality simulations of whole ships and planes and machine learning, this study will create an accurate tool to predict drag penalty allowing operators to minimise fuel costs and CO2 emissions, providing significant economic and environmental benefits for Australia. These data-driven decisions will improve efficiency of transport operations through optimized scheduling, and project outcomes could contribute to the development of drag reducing surfaces, with potential commercialisation opportunities.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Identifying biases in news using models of narrative framing. This project aims to develop tools to detect biased narratives and one-sided framing in news stories using novel natural language processing methods to understand the text more deeply. Unlike existing methods, which overly rely on surface word co-occurrences patterns, the novel methods will be able to capture narratives in a more holistic and intuitive manner. Expected outcomes include new modeling techniques grounded in theory and a tool to highlight biases with recommendations for diverse sets of news articles. By raising awareness to biased news reporting, the project will benefit Australians through more balanced public discourse on global challenges, such as climate change and health pandemics. Field of research: 4602 - Artificial Intelligence Systematic exposure to false or one-sided information has polarised society and hindered the response to crises ranging from climate change to health pandemics. In a culturally diverse country like Australia, a diverse media landscape is important. This project will develop techniques to detect systematic reporting biases in large collections of news articles. It will contribute tools and methods to expose these biases with the aim to better understand its nature, and increase media literacy. By incorporating social science theories of media bias into machine learning models, it will enable transparent and theoretically grounded bias detection at a large scale. On this basis, it will develop tools and a browser plugin as practical devices to promote awareness of media bias and a more balanced discourse around timely issues. The well-being of a liberal democracy critically hinges on a balanced public discourse incorporating diverse opinions. The tools and methods developed in this project will benefit Australia by understanding patterns of reporting bias and promoting a diverse news consumption.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Indigenous Policy and Political Relationships in Settler Colonial States. This project aims to study the relationship between Indigenous policy systems and foundational political relationships in Australia, the US, Canada and New Zealand via in depth case studies. Across all four states, policy struggles to substantively improve Indigenous wellbeing, but Australia has the poorest results and weakest formal political recognition. Expected outcomes include a new approach to understanding Indigenous policy that links policy dynamics to conflicts between settler and Indigenous sovereignties and comparative policy data across the English Speaking settler colonial states. It will benefit Australian Indigenous and policy communities by showcasing international best practice in policy collaboration and effectiveness. Field of research: 4407 - Policy and Administration Indigenous disadvantage in health, education, and employment remains one of Australia's most urgent challenges. A key reason behind this disadvantage is a lack of an effective Indigenous policy. This project examines the fundamental challenge of how to better use policy to improve Indigenous wellbeing, by examining for the first time Indigenous policy in the US, New Zealand, and Canada. These countries have stronger political frameworks recognising Indigenous peoples, and better policy results, as seen in a Canadian Indigenous controlled child protection program which prevents the cascading disadvantage caused by family separation. Such programs, incorporating Indigenous knowledge and leadership, could be used in Australia to address similar issues of complex disadvantage. The project will bring together Indigenous organisations, policy makers and researchers through online dialogues, to showcase effective, best practice collaborations to help Australian policy makers formulate innovative, Indigenous led strategies to reduce disadvantage for a more equal and just Australia.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Redefining how T cell recognition drives T cell activation. This proposal aims to define the key mechanisms that determine how T cells recognise and respond to foreign antigens; a critical feature that defines effective immunity. To achieve this goal, this proposal will leverage multidisciplinary collaborations and innovative methods to understand how structural and biochemical features of T cell receptor recognition influences T cell mediated immunity and development. In turn, this project will facilitate further research and development in the burgeoning field of T cell biology and advance life science research in Australia. Furthermore, as T cell biology is relevant to all vertebrates, this research will greatly benefit the conservation of threatened animal species and agriculture. Field of research: 3204 - Immunology T cells are an important class of immune cells, present in all animals with a backbone, including humans. These cells protect against disease caused by various pathogens including bacteria and viruses. As a part of normal maintenance processes in the body, T cells also form the mechanism by which vaccination works. This project aims to gain a better understanding of what makes an effective T-cell immune response, including how these cells are turned on, how they work and how they develop. This knowledge will offer new tools that can be used by biotechnology companies to design improved strategies for generating maximum immune protection, including better vaccines and related products. The outcomes of this project could also be applied in the veterinary and animal health sector to solve problems such as controlling new and emerging infectious diseases in animals, specifically filling an unmet need for livestock and threatened animal species.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Developing tunable nanoporous graphene membranes for resource recovery. This project aims to advance the development of atom-thick nanoporous graphene molecular filters (membranes) to tackle challenging separations in the chemical industry and open new pathways to recover valuable materials from waste streams. The extreme thinness of these membranes allows them to separate molecules with a fraction of the energy typically used by commercially available technologies. The proposed electrochemical platform is expected to fabricate and operate fit-for-purpose membranes with unprecedented control. Significant new knowledge in the areas of material engineering, nanofluidics, and membranes is expected from exploiting this platform to study ion transport under confinement and make membranes for resource recovery. Field of research: 4018 - Nanotechnology Membrane technology is a versatile technology for the mechanical separation of substances; examples of its application include haemodialysis in artificial kidneys and purification of waste water. Current state-of-the-art commercial membranes for separations can remove particles from liquids but cannot select which particles are removed. This project builds on prior research that identified nanoporous graphene as a promising material for making membranes to select targeted molecules from a mixture. While graphene is an extremely thin impermeable barrier, this project will focus on developing technology to transform it into a membrane filter by drilling tiny pores of any size on demand. These filters could be used in resource recovery from waste, such as sewerage, mining and e-waste, which contain valuable resources such as fertilizer, lithium, gold and rare earth minerals. Advancing resource recovery will bring significant benefits to the Australia economy and environment and contribute to our resource security and independence.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Glass-box Deep Machine Perception for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence. Explainability and Transparency are the key values for development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Australia’s AI Ethics Framework for industry and governments. This project aims to build new tools to make the central technology of AI - deep learning - transparent and explainable. Its expected outputs are novel theory-driven algorithms and unconventional foundational blocks for deep learning that will allow humans to clearly interpret the reasoning process of this technology, which is currently not possible. It is expected to significantly advance our knowledge in machine intelligence and perception. Due to their fundamental nature, the project outcomes are likely to benefit industry and scientific frontiers alike. Field of research: 4603 - Computer Vision and Multimedia Computation Australia’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ethics Framework guides businesses and governments to responsibly develop and deploy AI. A key principle of this framework is ‘Transparency and explainability’ of AI, which also has significant implications for Australian Government’s AI Action Plan. Currently, the most promising technology in AI, i.e. deep learning, is neither transparent nor explainable. This project aims to address this by making this technology inherently human-interpretable. It strongly complements the Government’s strategic vision “to establish Australia as a global leader in developing and adopting trusted, secure and responsible AI.” AI is expected to contribute more than 20 trillion dollars to the global economy by 2030. Australian Government’s AI Action Plan is a key feature of its Digital Economy Strategy to seize this opportunity. By enabling the central technology of AI to conform to Australian AI guidelines for businesses and governments, this project is expected to have a significant downstream economic, commercial and social impact on the Australian community.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Awakening giants in galaxies: Using stars to probe supermassive black holes. This project aims to understand the unexplored population of non-active or quiescent supermassive black holes (SMBHs) using tidal disruption events - the multi-wavelength outburst resulting from a star being ripped apart by the tidal forces of the SMBH. This project will increase our understanding of the transient and accretion properties of SMBHs in a broad range of galaxies, while the expected outcomes include novel techniques for distinguishing different types of extreme SMBH emission and characterisation of the environments where these extreme transient events occur. These outcomes will facilitate the identification of transient SMBH events and enhance the scientific return of the next generation of international optical surveys. Field of research: 5101 - Astronomical Sciences Super massive black holes play an important role in the life of galaxies as they are vital in star death and birth. This project will study the deaths of stars as they are eaten by supermassive black holes at the centres of galaxies, providing insights into the evolution of galaxies. The data-analysis skills developed in this project will be of benefit in other data-intensive industries such as finance and technology, enhancing innovation in these fields. Outcomes include ensuring Australia continues to play a leading international science role in the era of big-data astronomy, capitalising on the Australian Government's significant investments in astronomical science facilities. The project will provide cultural benefit by leveraging public interest in black holes to encourage future generations to pursue education and careers in science and technology, just as projects such as the Hubble and James Webb telescope have done previously.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

New insights into how the brain interprets visceral and somatic sensations. Sensory nerve fibres monitor normal and abnormal stimuli in our body tissues, sending this information to the brain. I study the sensory pathways of the respiratory system which protect the lungs from harmful stimuli, such as inhaled pollutants or smoke. I discovered that respiratory sensory pathways interact with sensory circuits in the brain arising from other body tissues. The goal of this project is to investigate one example of this interaction; the convergence of visceral and somatic sensory pathways onto a brain circuit that regulates the intensity of the sensations that are experienced. This project addresses the fundamental question of how the brain processes two competing noxious sensations. Field of research: 3209 - Neurosciences Our nervous system reacts to harmful factors in the environment by activating different response pathways to protect us from harm. However, it is unknown how the brain prioritises different harmful factors experienced simultaneously in different parts of the body. For instance, protective responses to inhaled pollutants perceived by the lungs are different from the responses (e.g. pain) to sensory stimuli experienced by other tissues. New models and technologies that trace specific nerve pathways will help resolve these different nerve networks and how they interact with each other allowing the brain to prioritise the responses. New knowledge of nerve pathway interactions that protect individuals from harm, will inform our fundamental understanding of behaviour and assist the design and implementation of potential interventions. Project discoveries will create new knowledge, intellectual property and national capability in neuroscience. Translation of innovation will be supported by Venture Services in our Research, Innovation and Commercialisation office.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Geometric Scattering Theory, Resolvent Estimates, and Wave Asymptotics. This project aims to understand how fast the local energy of a wave decays when it propagates in a rough, open system. This projects will generate new knowledge in the mathematical subfields of microlocal analysis and partial differential equations by refining tools such as Carleman estimates, separation of variables, b-vector field analysis, and quasimode constructions. The expected outcome of this project is a novel and comprehensive mathematical treatment of wave propagation in systems with weaker than Lipschitz regularity. This research should provide significant benefits such as informing predictions about waves in rough systems, including the propagation of seismic waves, and lead to advances in medical and geological imaging. Field of research: 4904 - Pure Mathematics Monitoring and interpretation of waves as they travel through their environment is essential to a range of fields. For example, seismic waves from earth tremors can be used to image the interior of the Earth while hospital imaging devices such as MRIs use waves in magnetic fields as a basis of medical diagnosis. However, interpretation of the waves relies on assumptions about the body they are passing through. Currently it is often assumed that the body is uniform but in real environments (known as rough, open systems) waves travel, change and eventually die. This project will develop the new mathematics needed for these environments and will help to improve these critical health and safety technologies. The methods also have applications such as cloaking objects from electromagnetic detection as well as in photography, facial recognition, and advanced microscopy, all of which are areas where Australian industry can directly benefit.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Contested Geographies of Terrestrial Carbon. National pledges to tackle climate change rely heavily on land to sequester and store carbon. How competing ideas about land use are negotiated and institutionalised in the climate regime is critical to effective, just and legitimate climate responses. This project aims to explain the political economy of the science and policy of land-based climate mitigation, generating new knowledge on who promotes carbon sinks and why. The expected project outcomes include guidelines to advance more just and sustainable land use through improved carbon accounting practices, using an innovative approach that combines stakeholder interviews, discourse analysis, and expert elicitation. These outcomes will notably benefit rural communities and farmers. Field of research: 4408 - Political Science The land sector is central to delivering Australia’s Long-Term Emissions Reduction Plan for lowering CO2 emissions. Proposals for carbon removal and offsetting by sequestering carbon in soil, agricultural crops or forests need to be credible and legitimate to effectively contribute to tackling climate change and to garner wide public support. This project will study the political economy, science and the policy agenda to keep carbon out of the atmosphere through these “carbon sinks”. The project outcomes will unravel the logical underpinnings of land-based climate mitigation, including carbon sinks, leading to sustainable land use and improved carbon accounting practices. These goals will be achieved using a combination of stakeholder interviews, discourse analysis, and broad consultation. The project will have social benefit, particularly in rural communities involving farmers, by communicating how competing ideas about land use are negotiated and institutionalised in the process of creating effective, fair and legitimate climate responses.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Digital citizenship and girls’ gender empowerment. Employing youth participatory action research in Indonesia, this project investigates the digital tools, resources, and strategies used by female youth to advocate for social change. The existing strategies used by development organisations rely on traditional, top-down advocacy approaches, overlooking the innovative ways girls and young women in developing countries use digital technologies to teach one another about gender-based violence and empowerment. Expected outcomes include youth-centred digital strategies and publicly accessible resources. The project's findings will be used to improve the design of gender empowerment programs that can be scaled up to enhance the Australian government’s aid distribution. Field of research: 4702 - Cultural Studies Young people increasingly use digital communication to connect with their peers. This new generation of ‘digital citizens’, also use digital tools, such as social media, to influence social values, such as greater awareness of environmental issues. But we do not know enough about how these digital strategies achieve positive social changes. This project will explore how young women use digital media to advocate for gender equality, particularly approaches to reduce gender-based violence. It focusses on young people in Indonesia, a country of strategic importance for Australia, and will provide evidence on youth civic engagement and digital learning that is relevant to policy makers and aid agencies in deciding funding priorities to support equity initiatives. Outputs will include accessible resources for NGOs and agencies to support youth-led and digital programs for gender equity. Findings will have potential applications for youth and gender equity policy and programs in Australia.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Linguistic discrimination and migrant youth in regional Australia . Linguistic discrimination is among the critical factors in migrant youth’s dissatisfaction with their lives in regional Australia. This project aims to investigate migrant youth’s experiences and management of such discrimination, and its impact on their linguistic citizenship (sense of belonging associated with language), using an interpretative research approach. Expected outcomes include new knowledge, theory development, and policy recommendations for supporting migrant youth to counteract such discrimination and empower them as more capable citizens. Expected benefits include improving migrant youth’s wellbeing and their connection with regional areas, as well as enhancing understandings of linguistic discrimination in Australia. Field of research: 4704 - Linguistics Linguistic discrimination against migrant youth in regional Australia is a serious problem that discourages them from settling in the regions and feeling part of the community. This project will bring important social benefits to migrant youth populations, regional areas, and Australian society. It will generate new knowledge to inform policy and interventions to help reduce such discrimination, in order to improve youth’s wellbeing and enhance their connection with regional areas. The project outcomes will also help inform strategies for improving social cohesion in the regions. The research will contribute to greater public understanding of linguistic discrimination and foster intercultural dialogue in today’s Australia. The project will generate multiple strategic and practical outcomes, including academic publications, newspaper articles, a Language Equity booklet, and a research report, to deliver these benefits.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

The dynamic interplay between the matrix and cell fate in developing heart. Malformations in the developing heart can lead to catastrophic defects and embryonic loss. The valves play a critical role in blood flow regulation and are made of a stratified matrix that is laid down early in development. This project aims to determine how the cellular fate of the early valve cells establish the layered matrix and in turn how the matrix can influence cell fate by utilising a multi-omics approach to identify unique cell populations and integrate transcriptional and protein changes during matrix disruption. This project expects to generate fundamental knowledge on how matrix structure can influence cell fate in the valves and will advance Australia's knowledge base and research capabilities in developmental biology. Field of research: 3105 - Genetics Heart formation involves interactions between developing cardiac cells and their tissue environment, a process that can go wrong leading to cardiac abnormalities. Congenital heart disease is a significant burden for the affected individuals, their families, the healthcare system, and the economy. Using the heart as a model, this project will explore how developing cells interact with the tissue environment to direct cellular identity and healthy organ formation. The research will examine how the tissue environment affects gene and protein expression underpinning development and differentiation of heart cells. The outcomes will build research skills and capability in developmental biology and lay the foundations for the potential creation of novel diagnostics and therapeutics for the treatment of childhood heart disease, a leading cause of death and hospitalisation in infants.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

How do cytokine receptors transmit signals? This project aims to determine the mechanisms of signal transmission by cytokine receptors using state-of-the-art microscopy techniques. Cytokines are small proteins that act as messengers between cells and play fundamental roles in biology. Cytokines bind to receptors on the surface of cells, producing a response within the cells. Yet, how the message is transmitted across the cell membrane is not well understood. Expected outcomes of this project include discovery of mechanisms general to cytokine signalling and new approaches to investigate cytokine biology. This new knowledge will benefit efforts to understand and modulate cytokine signalling in animals and humans, with future impacts in the agriculture, veterinary, and health sectors. Field of research: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology Cytokines are small proteins that act as messengers between cells and play fundamental roles in biology, including in immunity and inflammation. Cytokines bind to receptors on the cell surface, producing a response within the cells. Yet, how these messages are transmitted across the cell membrane is not well understood. This project will unravel the biochemical mechanisms of cytokine signalling using biochemical approaches to dissect cytokine biology and similar receptor systems. The results will have far-reaching scientific impact and contributions to health, agricultural productivity and veterinary science. For example, it will inform future treatment of many conditions such as fibrosis, cancer, mastitis in dairy cows and dermatitis in pet cats and dogs. The project will strengthen our linkages with scientific and industry researchers, and it will place Australia at the forefront of cytokine biology research. Australian biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors will benefit directly, including through spin-out commercialisation in this area.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Overcoming nonlinearity in short-reach optical communication. This project aims to investigate the equalization methods for nonlinear optical channels applicable to short-reach optical communications. This project expects to significantly improve the transmission capacity of the cost-effective directly detected transceivers. Expected outcomes of this project include advanced equalization techniques for nonlinear channels and associated signal processing algorithms. These advances will have the potential to provide an enabling technology for surging capacity demand from cloud computing and enhance Australia's standing as a leader in optical communications technology. Field of research: 4006 - Communications Engineering High-performance communications, involving cloud computing and video streaming from applications such as YouTube and Facebook, transmit huge volumes of data at great speed, leading to extremely high energy consumption. At the receiving device, distortion in the signal must be cleaned up, and the more efficiently this is done, the greater the potential for even higher data transmission rates. This project will investigate faster, more energy-efficient methods to correct distorted signals in high-speed fibre-optic cables. It will enable data-centre operators and telecom equipment vendors to provide customers with more cost effective ultrahigh-capacity services, essential to sustain the exponential growth of communications traffic from media-rich video and live-streaming applications. We will showcase our technologies to top companies in Australia and overseas, boosting the manufacturing capability for state-of-the-art telecommunication equipment. Project outcomes will enhance Australian technical leadership in meeting the surging demand from cloud computing, one of today's most exciting ICT sectors.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Photonic Computing Architecture Validator. Photonic Computing Architecture Validator will be the first Australian facility - a testbed for accelerated development and validation of photonic implementation of machine learning architectures. This will enable rapid testing of ultrafast machine learning algorithms and applications to solve challenging problems with high-speed spatio-temporal data streams. This photonic computing architecture validator will be a critical enabler for many innovative and diverse research activities including protection of high-speed internet links against cyber-attacks, photonic radars with cognitive processing, biomedical imaging and sensing with parallel data streams, and analysis of high frequency trading in financial markets. Field of research: 4009 - Electronics, Sensors and Digital Hardware This project will build the world's first facility that uses optical communications photonic (light) techniques to test advanced machine learning algorithms. Such ultrafast computing technology is needed to process the huge streams of spatial and real-time data that are now available. Applications of the new capability include testing of algorithms to protect high speed internet links against cyber attacks and fraud analysis of high frequency trading in financial markets. The facility will be widely accessible as a platform for machine learning researchers to test and validate their algorithms. Use of this novel technology will accelerate the translation of Australia's world class expertise in machine learning to practical and measurable outcomes.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Geometric approaches to quantum many body problems. The project aims to utilise results from differential geometry and related areas to investigate the physics of interacting many-body quantum systems. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of mathematical physics with broad applications in quantum information, condensed matter physics and statistical mechanics. The key focus will lie on the development of variational methods for the efficient simulation of quantum evolution and the characterisation of suitable quantum state families by their correlation structures. Field of research: 4902 - Mathematical Physics The quantum properties of matter are a fundamental aspect of physics that explain aspects of the world such as light. Understanding of these properties allowed invention of lasers and transistors, and the ability to control and exploit matter at a quantum level underpins a wide range of potential technologies such as new kinds of computing. However, current computational models of quantum properties often cannot describe complex interactions between, for example, multiple atomic particles. This project will develop new mathematical methods to understand the quantum properties in these complex cases. Potential benefits include design of materials for applications such as efficient solar power, or simplification of the technology needed to underpin quantum computing. The project is therefore well aligned with Australia’s strategic $100 million investment in quantum technologies and has the potential for commercial benefits in fields such as telecommunication, artificial intelligence, and manufacturing.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Designing Learning Spaces for Diversity, Inclusion and Participation. This project aims to provide evidence-based guidance on how to design and/or modify mainstream schools to make it easier for students with disabilities to participate. It seeks to inform architects, educators, and policy makers about disabled students' spatial requirements and to develop strategies and tools to support the process of co-designing schools with people with lived experience of disability. The outcomes will include an inclusive learning spaces design framework. This is expected to benefit all students' access and meaningful involvement in learning through the development of more inclusive learning spaces. The research is significant because it integrates previously dissociated knowledge from architecture, education and health. Field of research: 3301 - Architecture This project will improve Australian school facilities to make it easier for students with disabilities to participate in learning/school. It will provide an evidence-based approach to designing/modifying mainstream school facilities to make them more inclusive. Of children with disability who attend school, 89% attend mainstream schools. With improved spatial provision, this could be higher and more supportive of students with disabilities. While inclusion is embedded in education policies, environmental barriers in schools persist that limit the participation and achievement of students with disability, exacerbating long-term disadvantage. Through a unique collaboration between people with disability and academic and industry experts in architecture, education, and health, this research will develop evaluation and design strategies and tools to help architects co-design more accessible, safer, and more welcoming school facilities. The creation of improved environmental conditions in schools will help more students reach their potential, providing long term social and economic benefits to all Australians.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Domestic Politics, States & the Guiding Principles: Insights from Indonesia. States have moved slowly and inconsistently to adopt and implement the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We know little about why, or how to ensure states do more. This project aims to shed light on these issues by examining how domestic politics has shaped the state’s response to the Guiding Principles in Indonesia. Expected outcomes include an analysis of the Indonesian case, a conceptual framework for explaining state responses to the Guiding Principles, policy-related advice for promoting the Guiding Principles, and enhanced understanding of solutions to global governance gaps. Benefits include these outcomes plus enhanced capacity in Australia and elsewhere to address corporate abuses of human rights. Field of research: 4408 - Political Science In 2011, the United Nations endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to combat corporate abuses of human rights, with Australia co-sponsoring the resolution that led to their endorsement. Since then, states have moved slowly and inconsistently to adopt and implement these principles. This project examines the reasons for this, focusing on Indonesia, where corporate activity is a major source of human rights abuses. The first major study of its kind, it aims to enhance our understanding of the domestic political conditions under which the Guiding Principles lead to improved human rights outcomes and the most effective strategies for promoting their adoption and implementation. It benefits Australia by enhancing the capacity of Australian government, civil society, and business actors to promote the Guiding Principles and, in so doing, the capacity of Australian business to establish social licenses to operate in the face of human rights risks. The project incorporates outreach measures to translate findings into policy and practical change.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Novel mechanisms by which retinal microglia regulate vascular development. This project aims to investigate how immune cells called microglia refine the developing retinal vasculature. New knowledge utilizing state of art imaging techniques is likely to be examine a completely novel mechanism by which vascular development occurs. This information is critical for enhancing our understanding of the role of immune cells in the nervous system and will guide the development of new ways of examining these cells. Expected outcomes include a novel way for assessing microglia in the developing nervous system and new knowledge. In the longer term the information gained in this project may be helpful for understanding scenarios where blood vessels are abnormal, or for using microglia as a target to modify vascular function. Field of research: 3209 - Neurosciences Light lands on the retina at the back of the eye where nerve cells (neurons) send signals to the brain, creating the visual images that we perceive. Retinal neurons obtain essential oxygen and nutrients from a network of blood vessels. The factors directing the development of these crucial blood vessels are not known. We will investigate the completely new idea that immune cells of the retina (called microglia) play a critical role in shaping retinal blood vessels. Using novel ways of imaging the retina of mice, we will directly examine how microglia affect blood vessel development. Understanding the interplay between immune cells and the developing retina is likely to be relevant to the development of the entire nervous system and even other organs, potentially transforming neuroscience. The findings could help researchers better model the nervous system for the Human Brain Project and for studies into regenerative medicine or circulatory system disease.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

CellMechBio: the influence of cellular mechanobiology on organ development. Through a set of collaborative interdisciplinary application projects, with open scientific questions, this project aims to develop cutting edge mechanobiological mathematical models of organ development and function. The expected outcomes of this project are a step-change in the fidelity of multicellular models of three-dimensional tissues and the scientific investigations into the mechanobiological processes regulating organ development, currently not possible, that these models support. In addition to significant benefits from advances in fundamental mathematical and biological knowledge, this project plans to develop a mechanobiological modelling framework made available to the wider scientific community by an open source release. Field of research: 4901 - Applied Mathematics For decades, scientists have been studying the process by which human organs develop, grow and function. Rather than relying on experiments alone, mathematical modelling, specifically multicellular modelling offers a unique pathway to understanding these processes. This project will develop cutting-edge multicellular mathematical models and computational tools that will provide major new insight into how organs in the body develop and function. These models will be used by researchers, in Australia and worldwide, to understand organ development, test biological mechanisms and develop new technologies. This will provide major social and economic benefits for Australia, improving health outcomes for citizens and reducing the long-term costs of health treatment. There are also significant commercial benefits for Australian industries, particularly the health and pharmaceutical industries, who can use these models to reduce the cost of testing technologies and treatments that address organ health.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Using the blackleg fungus as a model for maximising fungicide efficacy. Resistance to chemicals impacts the ability to control many diseases across many crops. This project aims to identify key epidemiological factors contributing to fungicide resistance in an emerging model system, blackleg disease of canola, using innovative approaches. The outcomes of this research will be management strategies for minimising the risk of evolution of fungicide resistance, a key industry need. This will also enhance interdisciplinary collaborations through combining field and molecular research. These management strategies will provide significant economic benefits by ensuring increased canola yields, whilst providing health and environmental benefits through minimisation of unnecessary use of fungicides. Field of research: 3004 - Crop and Pasture Production Fungicides are essential for minimising disease in crops, however plant pathogens can rapidly evolve resistance leading to reduced efficacy, decreased yields and wasted input costs. The major outcomes of this project are to develop fungicide resistance management strategies for farmers to reduce the risk of resistance evolving or minimise its impact if already present. These findings will benefit Australia both economically and environmentally. Economically, Australian farmers will have improved yields through minimising disease as well as reduced input costs through strategic fungicide use. This research will also have commercial outputs for Australia as minimising blackleg disease is essential for reopening canola grain exports to China, who do not currently have blackleg and have banned Australian canola due to this disease. This research will be used in apps that assist famers to select the most effective treatment for blackleg fungus, minimising the unnecessary use of fungicides, which may be harmful to human health and the environment.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Exploring protease inhibitors in placental development and maturation. The placenta is essential for reproduction in many diverse species. This project aims to elucidate fundamental contributions of protease inhibitors and the proteases they target to placental development and maturation. It is expected to generate new knowledge around whether SPINTS play a fundamental role in disparate animals that independently derived a placenta, suggesting convergent genetic evolution. The project is expected to result in disciplinary collaboration, produce novel models, and promote future projects in many species. The project should result in significant benefits toward advancing knowledge in reproductive biology, have economic and commercial benefits, and further enhance Australia's outstanding reputation in the field. Field of research: 3109 - Zoology The placenta, vital for reproduction in many species, is critical for fetal well-being and development. This project aims to elucidate the intricacies of placental development and maturation across diverse species, encompassing lizards, marsupials, and mammals. The project will focus on decoding how specific molecular pathways control cell function and behaviour. Unravelling placental development's molecular mechanisms holds potential for enhancing reproductive outcomes in placenta-dependent animals. This knowledge potentially bears substantial implications for livestock production, presenting opportunities to enhance economic growth and commercial success in Australia. Furthermore, conservation breeding programs may benefit, fostering the preservation of endangered species and contributing to environmental sustainability. In addition to advancing scientific knowledge, this project fosters scientific and community outreach. We will raise awareness of the integral role of the placenta in reproduction through news articles and social media platforms.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Unlocking Viral Contribution to Terrestrial Nitrogen Cycling. This project aims to investigate how soil viruses steer key nitrogen cycling microorganisms and processes, by utilising emerging approaches of viromes, DNA-stable-isotope probing, and Raman-spectroscopy-based single-cell-sorting technology. This project expects to generate new knowledge in harnessing the potential of soil viruses to improve fertiliser nitrogen use efficiency through manipulating the biological pathways of nitrogen losses from agricultural ecosystems. Expected outcomes of this project include novel and comprehensive evidence for the roles of soil viruses in controlling terrestrial nitrogen cycling processes. This should provide significant benefits to Australian agriculture and environmental management. Field of research: 4106 - Soil Sciences More than 50% of applied fertiliser nitrogen in agriculture is lost to the environment, causing greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, climate change, and environmental pollution. This project will tackle a major scientific knowledge gap for harnessing the power of soil viruses, the most abundant biological entities on Earth, to control the activities of microorganisms leading to nitrogen losses. This project will create novel evidence for a mechanistic understanding of the roles of soil viruses in controlling nitrogen-cycling process, which provide foundation which future studies can build upon to refine strategies to maximise fertiliser nitrogen use efficiency and reduce nitrogen losses in agriculture. The contribution of increased crop nitrogen use efficiency to the Australian economy are increased profitability of primary production, net value added through agribusiness value chains and reduced social cost through mitigation of potent greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2023 · 2023-01

Constructing a framework for early childhood teachers' cultural wellbeing. This project aims to raise early childhood teachers' cultural wellbeing and belonging, by strengthening anti-racist orientations and inclusion in their teaching teams. This project expects to generate new knowledge in this under-researched area, by using innovative, interdisciplinary approaches involving early childhood teachers in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland in sharing their culture stories in multimodal ways. Expected outcomes of the project include a guiding framework to enhance intercultural practices in early childhood settings, enhanced international collaborations, and significant benefits to the educational outcomes, cultural understandings and social wellbeing of Australia’s very young children. Field of research: 4702 - Cultural Studies The wellbeing of early childhood teachers is one of the most under-researched and crucial elements in the education of Australia’s youngest children. It is recognised as critical to stem high rates of teacher attrition and burnout, especially in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and other national and international crises. This project examines early childhood teacher cultural wellbeing, belonging and identity. It addresses National Research Priorities by improving health, economic and cultural outcomes for early childhood teachers, building new scientific knowledge by elevating and drawing on early childhood teachers’ culture stories, to develop anti-racist, inclusionary intercultural relationships and strategies. The project strengthens young children’s educational success by recognising the pressures on early childhood teachers at the forefront of Australia’s educational pathways. Addressing teachers’ sense of wellbeing, cultural belonging and worth, the project raises the capacity of early childhood teachers to preserve communities, infrastructure and the Australian economy in its post-Covid recovery.