MONASH UNIVERSITY

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

The integrated monolithic on-chip microscope Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Identification and characterization of cellular derived immunogenic RNA. Cellular RNAs traverse the cytoplasm during their lifecycle and must be distinguishable from pathogenic RNA (e.g. virus) by the innate immune sensing system. A-to-I RNA editing of cellular RNA by ADAR1 is a critical mechanism in establishing and maintaining self-tolerance to cellular double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). However, despite a detailed understanding of the pathway mediating sensing and response to unedited cellular dsRNA, we lack definitive experimental evidence of the identity of the immunogenic dsRNA. This project directly addresses this by bringing together world leading fundamental knowledge and tools to define and experimentally validate the identity, features and characteristics of immunogenic cellular dsRNA. Field of research: 3102 - Bioinformatics and Computational Biology How can the cell differentiate between its own RNA, that needs to be tolerated, from foreign RNA like a virus that is a threat? We now know that cells mark their own RNA through a process called A-to-I RNA editing. This editing is done by an enzyme called ADAR1. This changes the structure of the cells own RNA, making it invisible to the cells defence system. We have a detailed understanding of the genetics and pathways involved in reacting when ADAR1 is lost, but we do not know what the specific RNAs are that are causing the cell to react. This international collaboration will use the unique tools and methods the applicants have to identify and then experimentally demonstrate the identity of the cells own potentially immunogenic RNAs. Knowing this will allow us to understand features that can make an RNA more or less immunogenic, foundational knowledge in the field. This project will enhance Australia’s research capacity by combining RNA immunity with computational biology to expand our understanding of how cells tolerate their own RNA. Our results will be shared via publications and presentations (e.g. A-RNA, AIMS - both industry attended), and news, social media and public lectures, it will boost Australia’s profile and direct future research. This project aligns closely with multiple priorities of Australia's RNA Blueprint (Depart of Industry). While discovery focussed, this research could eventually bolster Australia’s biotechnology sector via new knowledge and tools.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Hiding in nooks and crannies: critical metals in mineral-water systems. This project aims to support Australia's future as a bespoke, sustainable provider of “critical minerals” for the transition to a carbon-neutral economy by deciphering the complex physico-chemical affecting the deportment of these elements in the Earth's crust and in processing plants. This project will generate fundamental physico-chemical data and innovative thermochemical models using interdisciplinary approaches across geochemistry, chemical thermodynamics, and computational chemistry. Expected outcomes include improved prediction of the deportment of critical metals in natural and engineered systems, enabling the specific targeting and extraction of critical metals. This should provide significant benefits to the Australian economy. Field of research: 3406 - Physical Chemistry Critical minerals like germanium, cobalt, and rare earths are vital for clean energy (e.g., solar panels, electric cars) and defence technologies. Yet global shortages and foreign monopolies threaten Australia’s economic security and green energy transition. Commercial success requires a new approach that minimises capital investment, maximises agility, and respects the highest sustainability and social responsibility standards. This project tackles this challenge by creating predictive tools that enable scientists and engineers to uncover how these minerals form in rocks and how to extract them more efficiently—while minimising environmental harm. Our research will create new tools to: • Locate hidden mineral deposits, boosting Australia’s exploration industry. • Optimize mining processes, cutting costs and waste for companies extracting critical minerals. • Safeguard the environment by predicting how mining byproducts (e.g., uranium) behave long-term. To ensure real-world impact, we will: • Share models with industry via partnerships with mining companies and government agencies (e.g., CSIRO, Geoscience Australia) to guide exploration and processing. • Train the next workforce through workshops for geologists and engineers, and science communication (e.g., The Conversation articles). By making Australia a leader in clean, efficient mineral supply chains, this research will strengthen our economy, create jobs, and help meet global climate goals.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Unveiling Myeloid Cells as Regulators of Nerve Innervation in Tissue Repair. The mechanisms that regulate peripheral tissue healing are not yet fully understood. My recent research, published in Nature in 2024, discovered that a neuro-immune axis plays a critical role in controlling skin and muscle healing in normal mice after injury. I found that nociceptor sensory nerve endings grow and infiltrate the tissue injury site and release neuropeptides, promoting tissue repair by locally regulating immune cells. These findings underscore the importance of nociceptor activation in skin and muscle healing. In this proposal, I aim to investigate how nociceptors are initially activated and regulated in injured skin and muscle, and how these mechanisms contribute to the regulation of tissue healing. Field of research: 3206 - Medical Biotechnology This project aims to explore how immune cells regulate neurons during tissue healing in a normal mouse model. Using mouse skin and muscle injury models, I will investigate how myeloid cells behave post-injury and how they activate sensory nociceptors to control tissue healing. The results will improve our understanding of tissue healing as an inherent biological process in mammals, such as humans, and may apply to research in different species. Moreover, since tissue healing declines with age in mammals, including humans, exploring immune-neuron interactions could provide insights into the normal aging process. As Australia faces the challenge of an aging population, this research could support the healthcare system and improve the wellbeing of elderly Australians by reducing healthcare costs and promoting health initiatives. Moreover, the findings from this proposal will enable me toI collaborate with industry partners, government agencies, and healthcare organisations to explore their biological significance, such as regulatory mechanisms in tissue healing during aging. The research outcomes from this proposal will be promoted through scientific conferences, government briefings, and public health forums, strengthening Australia’s reputation in this field and attracting international collaborations in academia and industry. Lastly, this knowledge is expected to inspire the next generation of scientists in Australia, advancing future biological research.

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

Unveiling how central tolerance impacts T cell responses to foreign... Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

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

Effect of Pulsed Field Ablation on Epicardial Adipose Tissue in Patients... Category: Medical Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Radar Integrated Body Area Networks. This project aims to unlock the potential of incorporating radar sensing into wireless body area network systems, thereby initiating a new era of transformative applications focused on human-centric needs. The project will generate AI-powered, radar-based sensing techniques integrated into wireless signal transmission within a body area network system. Anticipated outcomes include a suite of technological solutions that seamlessly integrate radar into body area networks, enhancing environmental perception and interaction capabilities. Integrating sensing capabilities through radar technology can facilitate the development of new technologies in healthcare, sports, the military, security, and safety applications. Field of research: 4009 - Electronics, Sensors and Digital Hardware While major technology companies invest substantial resources in innovating joint sensing-communication technologies to establish next-generation (6G) communication systems, this research focuses on cutting-edge approaches for Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs). WBANs are short-range, body-centric networks of wearable sensing and computing devices. This project aims to develop the first microchip based on joint sensing and communication principles for wireless body area networks, advancing practical, translational research. The outcomes will be disseminated through scholarly publications and will provide open-source technology solutions, including hardware design tools, AI algorithms, and signal processing concepts for researchers and communication engineers. Additionally, the findings will be shared with Australian telecommunications authorities, preparing the nation for future communication network technologies. This research will drive economic growth by fostering innovation and connectivity, and advancements in remote monitoring will offer deeper insights into our living environments through continuous data collection from wearable sensing and computing devices. The project promises revolutionary applications across healthcare, sports, entertainment, and security sectors, advancing Australia's manufacturing and technology industries, creating jobs, and enhancing its global standing in the telecommunication technology field.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Relational Return: a new model for returning Indigenous Cultural Materials . The project aims to develop a new framework for returning Indigenous cultural materials through an Indigenous understanding of relationality and practice-led research. The project expects to generate new knowledge about cultural materials, exhibition methods and repatriation. Expected outcomes include facilitating the return of select Indigenous cultural materials from international museums to source communities, and fostering cultural revitalisation and contemporary creative practice. This should provide significant benefits, such as transformed museum practices and fulfilling cultural obligations of Indigenous peoples to restore relationality with cultural materials whilst building global collaborations and establishing new standards. Field of research: 4501 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culture, Language and History This project aims to establish a new framework for the return of Indigenous cultural materials from international museums to source communities in Australia and follows research that has revealed the extent and significance of Australian Indigenous cultural materials in international collections. This Indigenous-led project addresses the gap between museum knowledge about cultural materials and the growing community demands for repatriation by developing a new model of Relational Return through practice-led research. In collaboration with museum partners and source communities, this project will facilitate the return of cultural materials in two Swiss museums to communities in southeast Australia and investigate the impact of these returns on both communities and museums. The process will foster cultural revitalisation and contemporary creative practices, and spearhead new methods of exhibition making. Led by Indigenous researchers with kinship connection to the cultural materials selected for study, the project will enhance the capacity of Indigenous peoples to work constructively with cultural institutions on the management of their cultural heritage. To maximise understanding and adoption of the research, the project will produce an exciting array of exhibitions and publications, designed to communicate the value of these cultural materials to broad audiences in Australia and Switzerland, alongside developing a toolkit for industry and communities to guide future returns.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Weathering and geological carbon sequestration . This project investigates atmospheric CO₂ removal mechanisms over geological time through high-performance computational simulations and geochemical modelling. It aims to advance carbon sequestration science by integrating surface process simulations with geochemical modelling of the CO₂ removed via erosion, transport, and sedimentation. Outcomes include quantification of atmospheric carbon budgets over the past ~60 million years and advances in landscape evolution theory. Benefits encompass tools to understand Earth's CO₂ and temperature fluctuations and insights into planetary resilience under extreme conditions, aiding the assessments of current carbon sequestration budgets and the interpretation of global warming trends Field of research: 4101 - Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation This project uses advanced computational modelling and geochemical simulations to investigate how carbon dioxide (CO2) is removed from the atmosphere via weathering, transported through rivers, and ultimately stored in ocean sediments. These natural processes are key regulators of global temperature and climate, through the greenhouse effect, yet their scale and long-term impact are not constrained, affecting past climate interpretations and future projections. By delivering the first integrated, quantitative framework for assessing global carbon fluxes across atmosphere, land, and oceans over timescales from years to millions of years, this research will significantly enhance the accuracy of global carbon budget assessments. The anticipated outcomes will directly support Australia’s national priorities in climate change mitigation, carbon offsetting and environmental resilience, in alignment with the Paris Agreement. The project will contribute foundational knowledge to improve future carbon accounting and identify natural pathways for CO2 removal, relevant to government policies and emerging industry interest in carbon capture, storage and sustainability. In addition, the project will build national capability in computational Earth science and equip the next generation of researchers with skills essential to Australia’s clean energy transition, advancing innovation, informed decision-making, and responsible resource management.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Australia’s first history of disability: Making a more inclusive Australia. This project aims to uncover the lived experience of disability in Australian families between 1945 and the Disability Royal Commission of 2019–23, using innovative methods to co-produce data with people with disability and their families. The project expects to develop the first comprehensive, national history of disability in Australia. Expected outcomes include a new understanding of disability as an integral aspect of the Australian story, rather than a minority experience. This should provide substantial benefits, informing initiatives and policy aimed at creating a more inclusive Australia, and bringing new insights to bear on public discussion about disability policy and the future of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Field of research: 4303 - Historical Studies Disability has a significant and growing impact on Australian society. Over 20 percent of Australians (5.5 million) live with disability; 3 million Australians are unpaid carers. However, we have no historical account of the effects of disability on Australian lives, and how these experiences contributed to the creation and shaping of Australian disability policy. This project will deliver the first national history of disability in Australia, focusing on the diverse stories of families living with disability from 1945 to the Disability Royal Commission of 2019–23, and using inclusive methods to co-produce data with people with disability and their family members. Through accessible and publicly available writings, podcasts, public lectures, workshops and an interactive website, the Australian community and policymakers will gain critical insights into how barriers to inclusion have shaped the lived experience of people with disability and their families over time, and the factors that have brought positive change. The project will inform initiatives and policy aimed at creating a more inclusive Australia, and bring new insights to public conversations about the future of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

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

Using transcriptomic signatures of chemosensitivity to develop a... Category: Medical Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Supporting Responsible Psychedelic Therapies with Ethical Risk Management . Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), which is being implemented to treat debilitating mental health conditions, presents complex ethical challenges. This project employs sociological methods and bioethical analysis to develop a novel tool—an Ethical Risk Management Tool—that enables PAT service providers to responsibly address these challenges. It aims to help PAT practitioners routinise good ethical conduct in clinical service settings, thereby reducing the risk of moral harm to patients, therapists, and communities. Additionally, the project will contribute to bioethics scholarship by generating new knowledge about the relationship between organizational factors and ethical challenges in healthcare settings. Field of research: 5001 - Applied Ethics Nearly half of Australians will face mental illness in their lifetime, costing the nation $220 billion annually—10% of its GDP. With over 30% of patients unresponsive to current treatments and nearly 3,000 lives lost to suicide each year, psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is emerging as a potential solution. In 2021, Australia became the first country to allow prescribed psychedelics for depression and PTSD under strict conditions. However, their powerful effects raise significant ethical concerns. Ethical violations not only harm PAT recipients, therapists, and communities but also undermine public and political support for this promising treatment at a critical moment in its development. This project will identify key ethical issues and bring together practitioners and individuals with lived experience to develop strategies for managing them. The primary social and ethical benefit will be an Ethical Risk Management Tool, enabling PAT practitioners to systematically and transparently address ethical concerns in busy, resource-constrained healthcare settings to reduce harmful social outcomes and build public trust. The research outcomes will be promoted to bioethics and medical sociology communities, PAT practitioners, stakeholders, and the public via reports, conference presentations, and leading news publications. It will be presented to clinics for future adaptation.

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

Evolutionary expansion of neocortical computations Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

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

Aging with Multiple Sclerosis: Implications for Disease Progression and... Category: Medical Research

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

The genetic basis of sporopollenin, the most durable biopolymer known Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

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

Examining health systems for children with medical complexity Category: Medical Research

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

Examining health systems for children with medical complexity Category: Medical Research

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

Australia’s first history of disability: Making a more inclusive... Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Integrating Communication and Sensing: Connecting the Cyber-Physical World . Integrating sensing and communications (ISAC) is crucial to unlock the full capabilities of future cyber-physical fusion, yet is challenged by limited network resources and diverse user requirements. The project will tackle these challenges by devising new ISAC techniques offering robust performance in both functions. Anchoring theory with practical requirements, the project expects to develop new methods leveraging advanced mathematical tools and machine learning techniques. The outcomes will break through the bottleneck of ISAC under stringent application requirements of high accuracy and high rates. The project will benefit Australia in advancing knowledge base in key wireless technologies and supporting future critical infrastructures. Field of research: 4006 - Communications Engineering The integration of sensing and communication (ISAC) technologies represents a key advancement enabling diverse applications ranging from autonomous navigation to smart infrastructure management. This integration demands sophisticated optimization of critical resources: power consumption, computational capacity, and spectrum allocation, to meet performance requirements for both functions simultaneously. The project will pioneer novel ISAC systems that maximize resource efficiency while delivering reliable, high-fidelity communication and sensing capabilities across challenging environments. The fundamental advances will be followed by a software-defined radio demonstration, showcasing our novel systems. Our innovative design will serve as a foundation for developing a variety of practical solutions to be implemented in the next generation wireless networks. The outcomes will break through the integration bottlenecks under a range of application requirements on power, bandwidth, and seamless user experience. To promote our new techniques, workshops, demonstrations, and tutorial sessions will be conducted among industry stakeholder groups and academic researchers. This will open up new opportunities for industrial innovation in the telecommunication sector, boosting economic growth and strengthening Australia’s leadership in this strategic field. The project will present valuable opportunities for young researchers to have world-class training in the area of ISAC technologies.

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

Optimising heart transplant trajectories in Fontan failure: clinical... Category: Medical Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Fluid dynamical processes in the formation of magmatic ore deposits. Sulfide deposits in solidified magmas are some of the world’s most valuable ores. Their formation is driven by fluid dynamical processes that are not well understood and are not accounted for in exploration tools. This project aims to use mathematical modelling and analogue experiments to examine the key physical processes involved in the motion of liquid sulfides in crystal-rich molten magmas and the ultimate location and form in which this liquid is deposited. Expected outcomes include theoretical developments in interactions between viscous liquids and granular material and improved understanding of magmatic ore formation. This should enable development of new exploration tools based on physical processes. Field of research: 4901 - Applied Mathematics Magmatic sulfide deposits are some of the world’s most valuable ores. They are important sources of nickel and cobalt, crucial metals for most electrical vehicle and grid-scale rechargeable batteries, as well as copper and platinum-group elements. Australia has 10% of known deposits worldwide and given its geology should have significantly more. However, they are notoriously difficult to find. The metal-bearing sulfide liquid that formed these deposits is a tiny portion of the host magmatic system and the fundamental processes whereby this liquid agglomerates and the locations where it is ultimately deposited are poorly understood. This project will use mathematical modelling and analogue experiments interpreted together with carefully characterised core samples to better understand these fluid dynamical processes. The knowledge obtained is expected to improve the success of mineral exploration by highlighting the structures to target within formations as well as uncovering the signatures of sulfide liquid migration within a magmatic system. By contributing towards finding new resources, the project can provide economic and environmental benefits for Australia. The new knowledge will be communicated through presentations at specialist seminars and workshops and publication in scientific journals.

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

Digitally-guided catalytic strategies for complex molecule synthesis Category: Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Research

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Cooler leaves: optimising protective heat release by plants. This project aims to understand how plants protect themselves from high light stress to produce more resilient and productive crops. The project expects to provide new knowledge about the fundamental structural and molecular means by which plants regulate stress responses through the examination of a newly discovered protein that controls protective heat release in grasses, some of the most resilient plants. Expected outcomes include a novel, non-genetically modified route for increasing plant resilience by enabling faster and more precise stress response and recovery. This should produce significant benefits, including improved productivity of major Australian crops and enhanced agricultural adaptation to changing climate conditions. Field of research: 3108 - Plant Biology With its $71.5 billion contribution to the national economy, agriculture accounts for 10.8% of Australia’s goods and services exports. However, increasingly hotter and drier conditions are already causing losses of 35% in some crops. Temperate crops, like canola, potato and grape, are of particular concern. Novel strategies are needed to improve crop resilience and productivity: this is critical for protecting food security, securing rural jobs and communities, and maintaining Australia’s competitiveness in international markets. This project aims to address this challenge by investigating whether a protein found in naturally resilient plants, and only just identified by our team, can enhance crops’ ability to withstand a stressful combination of conditions common in Australia: heat and high light. While doing so, we will produce fundamental knowledge on how plants evolve to adapt to new challenging environments. This project aims to pioneer a novel approach to offset climate-driven yield losses, offering a sustainable solution that could be applied across multiple crops. Resulting improved water, land and nutrient use efficiency would help to reduce agriculture’s negative environmental footprint. Beyond agriculture, this research has the potential to advance protein design technologies, which are actively used in areas, such as drug discovery. Our strongly connected team will communicate findings to research and industry colleagues, including Australian farmers and breeders.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Indonesia in the global geography of Islamic knowledge. Indonesia has branded itself on the global stage as the home of 'moderate Islam', yet in the world of Islamic learning Indonesia is a consumer in a one-way flow. Indonesian students still flock to centres of learning in the Middle East where Indonesian thought is not studied. The project addresses two problems arising from this disparity. Do Indonesia's claims to be the home of moderate Islam have impact in global hierarchies of Islamic learning? How significant are the domestic political tensions generated within Indonesia by traditions of study in the Middle East? Project is relevant to Australia because it researches the position of Australia's regional partner in a network of international relations to which Australia is an outsider. Field of research: 4499 - Other Human Society This project is about the study journeys made by contemporary Indonesian Muslims to centres of learning in the Middle East. Even through these journeys are a long-established feature of our region, they are not part of the nation-to-nation cooperation that is growing between Australia and Indonesia. Instead, they are part of Indonesia’s collaboration with Middle Eastern countries, especially Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Sudan. They are important because although Indonesia is trying to assert leadership in the Muslim world with its brand of ‘moderate Islam’, many Indonesians still prefer the authenticity of famous centres of learning in the Middle East. Graduates of those centres, especially those who become popular preachers, form a conservative political bloc within Indonesia. This project will add our region’s links with Middle Eastern centres of Islamic learning to the map of Australian self-awareness, and will provide stronger foundation for Australia’s relationship with its closest neighbour by focussing on those parts of our neighbour that do not closely resemble Australian civic and political realities. Furthermore, as the size of Australia’s Muslim community increases, more Australians will participate in these study trajectories in the future. The project’s third year will include a showcase event at which Indonesians and Australians who have participated in the study routes researched in this project will share their experiences.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Hidden in plain sight: an investigation into telomere phage biology. This project aims to investigate a peculiar class of what had long seemed rare microbes called telomere phages. We have discovered that they in fact mediate control over populations of bacteria and this project will investigate how they do so. The project expects to generate new knowledge on how proteins encoded by the telomere phage are secreted from its host bacterium, and how the proteins then enter and kill neighbouring bacteria. Expected outcomes from this project include knowledge gain as well as methods and technology development. This project should provide significant benefits in research training excellence as well as the potential means to decontaminate environments of specific bacteria. Field of research: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology This project addresses a previously overlooked set of microbes, the telomere phages. We will show that these telomere phages are not merely the rare curiosity that the current literature contends, but are instead highly prevalent and can in fact dominate populations of bacteria in environments ranging from natural waterways to agricultural crops to human and animal microbiomes. Training of new students and staff in this arena provides a means for career development in the pursuit of knowledge using a wide array of technologies drawn from disciplines ranging from bioinformatics to microbiology to biochemistry to structural biology, and the research could provide benefits in biotechnology, food security and other commercially important sectors. For these studies we isolate bacteria from Australian environments, in partnership with the Traditional Custodians of the land and water that we survey. The outcomes of this research will be publicised through social media channels, scientific conferences and seminars, local newspapers and magazines and open-access scientific publications to maximise the understanding, use and adoption of the research in future.