UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

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

Improving the wellbeing and retention of early-career teachers in... Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

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

Making a habitable planet: tracking Earth’s thermostat with marine... Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Evolution of comammox bacteria and their contribution to soil N2O emissions. Complete ammonia oxidation bacteria (comammox Nitrospira) are newly-discovered nitrifiers under oligotrophic environments. However, they are widely distributed in nitrogen rich agricultural soils. This project aims to understand evolutionary features of comammox Nitrospira from oligotrophic to eutrophic nitrogen environments and their relative contribution to N2O emissions compared to other key nitrification microorganisms in agricultural ecosystems using enrichment culturing and cutting-edge multi-omics and stable isotope approaches. The expected outcomes will include a mechanistic understanding of the contribution of comammox bacteria to nitrogen cycling and providing basis for mitigating N2O emissions from agricultural ecosystems. Field of research: 4106 - Soil Sciences This project aims to study the functional activities and metabolic pathways of comammox Nitrospira, a recently discovered bacterium, in agricultural soils, and how it produces nitrous oxide (N2O) — a potent greenhouse gas that drives climate change. Although these bacteria are common in fertilized and grazed soils, we do not yet understand how they have evolved to survive in these environments, how they produce N2O, or how much they contribute to emissions, especially under nitrogen-rich conditions from fertilizers and livestock urine. This project will fill a major gap in our understanding of soil microbes and greenhouse gas emissions. The project will benefit Australia environmentally and economically by helping farmers find better ways to use nitrogen fertilizer efficiently, reduce N2O emissions, and prevent nitrogen losses that damage soil, water, and air quality. These advances will support more profitable, productive, and sustainable farming, cutting costs while protecting the environment. To ensure real-world impact, we will work with farmers, industry groups, environmental agencies, and policymakers to share findings through workshops, policy advice, and practical guidelines, supporting solutions to reduce agricultural emissions and meet Australia’s climate goals.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Understanding Hunger: A New Perspective on Brain-Body Communication. This project investigates how the hypothalamus communicates with the body by secreting proteins during hunger and fullness. Using a world-first transgenic mouse model developed in the CI’s lab, we aim to identify novel proteins secreted by the hypothalamus, map their target tissues (liver, fat, and muscle), and determine their role in metabolic regulation. The outcomes will provide unprecedented insights into how the brain governs metabolism and energy balance, benefiting Australia by contributing to new knowledge, training future scientists in innovative technologies, and positioning Australian science at the forefront of this field. Field of research: 3109 - Zoology Hunger is a critical driver of survival, prompting the search for sustenance to fuel our bodies. Despite this fundamental biological role, how brain cells signal to the tissue of the body to coordinate hunger remains unidentified. This project aims to identify novel proteins secreted by the hypothalamus, map their target tissues (liver, fat, and muscle), and determine their role in metabolic regulation. This project will benefit Australians by generating fundamental new knowledge regarding how the brain regulates and adapts metabolism to sustain life. Dysfunction in this process leads to obesity and diabetes, which has implications for both humans and animals. The findings will support biotechnological innovations, aligning with national science and research priorities. Further benefits will be offered by the development of novel tools and technologies for understanding how hormones work in the brain, which will offer a strategic advantage to Australian neuroscience. These innovations will be shared globally, fostering technological advancement. The project will expand Australia’s skill base in cutting-edge science through the training of scientists and students to provide a strong grounding for careers in research, industry, and education. Beyond academia, our findings will be presented at public events and promoted through the media.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Streamlining Antarctic Icebreaker Operations with Smart Sea Ice Mapping. This project aims to develop new methods to improve how sea ice is mapped and measured using satellite and ship-based images. It will develop and apply advanced image analysis techniques to a large collection of photos from satellites and Australia’s Antarctic ship, the "RSV Nuyina", to generate accurate, easy-to-use sea ice maps. These innovations will support safe and efficient navigation for icebreaker crews, improving the efficiency of scientific missions and logistical operations in the Antarctic. The outcomes will strengthen Australia’s ability to operate in the Southern Ocean. This will help to uphold our national interest and preserve these regions for future generations. Field of research: 3709 - Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience Australia has sovereignty over 42% of Antarctica and adjacent offshore areas and plays a leading role in Antarctica’s environmental protection and support of safe, sustainable activities. Interpreting sea ice conditions is vital to maintain critical marine operations and environmental monitoring, but current methods using satellite data are limited due to the lack of onsite information about sea ice conditions. In partnership with the Australian Antarctic Division and the Korea Polar Research Institute, this project enhances satellite observation capabilities by leveraging new digital technology on icebreakers, including the Australian “RSV Nuyina”. These technologies will generate onsite information that supports the development of an innovative method for processing satellite images, focusing on sea ice, into user-friendly products like databases and detailed charts, setting a new standard for Antarctic research. This information will boost Australia’s standing in the Antarctic by improving observational capacity, advancing climate research, and enhancing operations for research, logistics, rescue missions, and tourism. Results will be shared with industries through social media, media articles, and international workshops with leading experts. The project will reinforce Australia’s leadership in Antarctic affairs, shaping policies on environmental protection and security, while delivering environmental, economic, and social benefits to the nation.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Advancing Synthetic Biological Intelligence with Carbon-based Interface. This project aims to advance synthetic biological intelligence (SBI) by using 3D brain organoids as the basic organic computational unit, rather than 2D neuronal cultures. Organoids, due to their 3D structure, exhibit dynamics more closely aligned with natural brain function, but require new technologies to interface with them in 3D. Together with our partner CClabs, we aim to develop a carbon-based technology for long-term, high-resolution 3D interfacing with organoids and use it to demonstrate enhanced computational capabilities. Expected outcomes include advanced neural interfaces that diversify existing CCLabs SBI products, strengthen CCLabs' competitive edge, accelerate organoid SBI, and boost Australia’s position in neurotechnology. Field of research: 4003 - Biomedical Engineering Australia can lead the next wave of neurotechnology by transforming tiny 3D brain-like tissues (organoids) into living computers. Yet today’s flat, rigid electrode grids cannot safely penetrate these delicate spheres, leaving most of their electrical “conversation” unheard. Our project fills this critical gap by adapting a soft, flexible carbon-based electrode array invented at University of Melbourne. Designed to reach inside organoids, this array enables neural stimulation and recording with unprecedented fidelity over extended periods. We will partner with CCLabs, a global leader in synthetic biological intelligence. CCLabs brings expertise in culturing, decoding neural networks, machine learning, and a global network eager to commercialise breakthroughs. Together, we will develop a powerful platform to explore organoid intelligence, a vital step in unlocking the full potential of biological computing. This project will deliver economic and social gains for Australia. Domestic manufacturing of organoid-AI devices will create export opportunities, cultivate a skilled workforce and nurture Australian scientific leadership. The platform will provide safer, cheaper tools for drug screening, reduce animal use and accelerate treatment development. Adoption will be driven by co-design with med-techs, licensing, and linking students and start-ups. These initiatives will position Australia at the forefront of biological computing, while creating jobs and an innovation pipeline.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Policy transformations for compound climate disasters. This project aims to identify the capacity of Australia’s current and future disaster policy to address the needs of people who live through multiple climate disasters. Through a groundbreaking analysis that links policy, survivor experiences and the perspectives of policy actors, this project will generate new knowledge on how disaster services can be adapted from the current focus on ‘single disasters’ to better address overlapping, compound disasters. Expected outcomes include an inventory of new policy instruments and enhanced capacity to develop interventions. This should provide significant benefits for improving emergency management services for compound disasters, which are projected to increase with climate change. Field of research: 4407 - Policy and Administration There are a growing number of Australians who experience compound disasters— disasters that overlap, repeat, or occur in quick succession. However, Australian disaster management policy has been designed to support recovery from one disaster at a time. With climate disasters predicted to increase in frequency and severity, Australia’s existing approach to emergency management focused on ‘single’ disasters is unlikely to be able to address the complex recovery needs generated by compound disasters. This project addresses this problem by investigating the ways that current and future emergency management policy at federal, and state and territory levels, can effectively support the public during and after compound disasters. Drawing on policy analysis, longitudinal qualitative research with a cohort of compound disaster survivors, and data drawn from policymaker workshops, this project will benefit the Australian public by identifying new approaches to managing disaster response and recovery. This will include the identification of pathways for improved government programs that are tailored to multi-disaster contexts to reduce social and economic harm to Australian communities. The research outcomes of this project will be communicated with government departments and disaster organisations through policy briefs, workshops and webinars, and to the general public through media releases, webinars and social media.

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

Optimising delivery of inhaled agents for chronic respiratory diseases Category: Medical Research

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

Translational Development of an Antibiotic Potentiator for Bacterial... Category: Medical Research

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

Take the money and run: understanding decisions to cash out of a risky... Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

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

DaWinCI - Cochlear drug delivery for flexible treatment of inner ear... Category: Medical Research

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

Novel Nanosensor for Real-Time Fetal Monitoring in Labour: Towards Safer... Category: Medical Research

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

Investigating gravitational lensing in cosmology with numerical... Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Rights for Reefs: Legal Personhood for Australia’s Marine Ecosystems. This project aims to investigate the potential for Australia’s major reef systems—the Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo Reef, and Great Southern Reef—to be recognised as legal entities through environmental personhood. The project expects to generate new knowledge on rights-based reef governance using an innovative, co-designed approach with Traditional Owners, legal scholars, and reef managers. Expected outcomes include strengthened reef governance models, ecological and social indicators of reef health and harm, and pathways for legal guardianship. This should provide significant benefits, such as enhanced Indigenous leadership, policy innovation, and positioning Australia at the forefront of global ocean governance. Field of research: 4802 - Environmental and Resources Law Australia is home to three globally significant reef systems: Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo Reef, and Great Southern Reef. Each faces growing threats from climate change and biodiversity loss. This project explores the emerging legal concept of environmental personhood—recognising ecosystems as rights-bearing entities—and its potential to transform reef governance in Australia. In collaboration with Traditional Owner groups, marine scientists, legal scholars, and environmental organisations, the project will develop culturally grounded, ecologically informed models for recognising reefs as legal entities with guardianship frameworks. Legal personhood has been successfully established in Aotearoa New Zealand and Ecuador to protect rivers and forests. Recently, in Australia, the Yarra/Birrarung river in Victoria has been legally recognised as a ‘living entity’. The Rights for Reefs project will explore if this model could be applied to Australia’s reefs and if it could support stronger, more adaptive governance frameworks. Outcomes include legal and ecological frameworks, criteria for reef health, and tools for public policy engagement. This research addresses critical national priorities: marine conservation, Indigenous co-governance, and innovative legal responses to environmental decline. It positions Australia as a global leader in nature rights and strengthens our ability to protect reef systems that underpin biodiversity, fisheries, tourism, and cultural identity.

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

Dead transposons jump start new life in fungi to drive plant diseases Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

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

Regeneration and plasticity of lymphatic vasculature Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

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

Rise of the molecular machines: A synthetic ribosome for peptide... Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

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

Demand- and Supply-Side Policies for Improving Housing Affordability Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

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

Unravelling community assembly rules to understand biodiversity... Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Plasmonic nanotweezer quantum sensors: window into the nanoworld. This project aims to expand our understanding of nanoscience by developing a device that uses the forces exerted by light to immobilise single protein molecules above a quantum sensor, so that they can be probed in exquisite detail. Our project expects to generate new knowledge in light-induced immobilisation. It expects to generate new knowledge in quantum sensors with single molecule sensitivity. The expected outcome will be a new tool for nanoscience that could be used to observe the structure and workings of proteins in an unprecedented fashion. This could provide significant benefits to our understanding of fundamental biological processes and the method could also be applied to other fields in nanoscience. Field of research: 5102 - Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is used for precise analysis of molecular structures and interactions. This project aims to improve NMR spectroscopy by extending its sensitivity to the single molecule limit, using quantum sensors and tools called plasmonic tweezers. This increase in NMR spectroscopy sensitivity will have impacts in fields such as precision medicine and drug development (enabling detailed analysis of individual molecules and their interactions), environmental monitoring (detecting pollutants at ultra-low concentrations) and food safety (detecting contaminants with unprecedented sensitivity). This research could thus benefit Australia economically (via reduced burden on the healthcare system), socially (via improved quality of life that could result from improvements to healthcare), environmentally (via tools for monitoring pollution at ultra-low concentrations) and commercially (via industrial exploitation of these technologies). The investigators aim to patent the inventions of this project and licence the technology to industry.

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

The evolution of biological rates in a warming ocean Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Discovering and engineering respiratory chain coupling proteins. This project aims to understand how newly discovered respiratory chain coupling proteins function and why they are important for diverse microbes. It aims to apply this knowledge to generate new enzymes with novel biotechnologically relevant functions. Respiratory chain coupling proteins are widespread in bacteria and archaea, constituting a fundamental but poorly understood mechanism of microbial metabolism. Uncovering this mechanism is key to understanding how microbes functions and will facilitate the use of microbes for industrial and environmental biotechnology. This will provide benefit through both critical insights into an important biological process and the generation of knowledge that can be applied to develop new technologies. Field of research: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology Our research project aims to uncover a newly discovered process that diverse bacteria use to convert food molecules into energy. These bacteria are crucial for life on Earth, playing vital roles in soil health and human digestion. This project will allow us to understand the biochemical processes that bacteria use to convert chemicals into energy, which will address a significant knowledge gap in our understanding of how they function. To perform this research, we will use cutting-edge techniques to analyse the cellular and biochemical structure of diverse bacteria. This will provide an atomic-level understanding of the molecular machines bacteria use to perform this process. This new insight could lead to new approaches to environmental and health challenges, from improving soil quality to enhancing gut health. The potential benefits include innovative biotechnologies for waste management and energy production, processes which cost Australia tens of billions of dollars per year. For example, this research could lead to bacteria that can remediate pollutants or convert industrial waste streams into energy. To maximise the impact and understanding of this research, in addition to publishing our findings in high-quality scientific journals, we will communicate our findings non-technically in the popular media. In addition, we will engage with industry to apply the new knowledge we generate to develop technologies to benefit the Australian economy and the environment.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Deciphering sympathetic neuro-immune communication. Interactions between the nervous and immune systems are increasingly being recognised for their crucial roles in body homeostasis. How this is achieved is poorly understood. We have discovered a new way in which the immune system regulates the sympathetic nervous system. This project aims to identify the fundamental molecular mechanisms underpinning communication between the immune system and peripheral nervous system. Using cutting-edge technologies we will contribute new knowledge to our limited understanding of how immune responses modulate the activity of neurons. The anticipated outcomes of this project are to build Australia’s research capacity and to generate new knowledge of significance for researchers in academia and industry. Field of research: 3209 - Neurosciences Our body is maintained by two key systems working together: the nervous system and the immune system. Together these systems help our tissues adapt, repair, and protect against infections. How these systems communicate, however is poorly understood. Innovative and recent advances now allow us to study how individual neurons and immune cells talk to each other. Our project aims to identify the molecular mechanisms that enable this communication, specifically between the peripheral sympathetic nervous system (which controls our organs) and the immune system. This research will provide new insights into how these two systems influence each other. The findings from this project could lead to new therapies in the future that improve human and animal health by understanding how to control these neuro-immune systems. This could bring significant social and economic benefits to millions of Australians. Our project will also train Australian scientists in the growing field of neuroimmunology, strengthening Australia's leadership in this area. We'll share our findings through open-access journals and media releases to inform the public and spread knowledge widely.

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

Investigating the molecular mechanisms that regulate memory T cell fate Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

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

The brain has a bin; how is it emptied? Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research