MONASH UNIVERSITY

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Improving human reasoning with causal Bayes networks: a multimodal approach. This project aims to improve human causal and probabilistic reasoning about complex systems by taking a user-centric, multimodal, interactive approach. The project will explore new integrated visual and verbal ways of explaining a causal probabilistic model and its reasoning, to reduce known human reasoning difficulties, and investigate how to reduce cognitive load by prioritising the most useful user- and context-specific information. Expected outcomes include novel AI methods that empower users to drive the reasoning process and strengthen trust in the system’s reasoning. Performance will be assessed in medical and legal domains, with significant potential benefits to end users from better, more transparent reasoning and decision making. Field of research: 0801 - Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing Reasoning and decision making under uncertainty is an essential challenge in medicine, the law, and many other key domains. The best AI systems for helping humans meet this challenge are causal Bayesian networks, which can accurately model complex probabilistic systems. However, because people are notoriously deficient in probabilistic reasoning, they find hard to understand and trust these models and their reasoning. This project will explore new integrated visual and verbal ways of explaining these models and their reasoning, to reduce known human reasoning difficulties and fallacies. It will also investigate how to reduce human cognitive load by prioritising the most useful information for the user. Expected outcomes include novel AI enhancements that empower users to drive the reasoning process and strengthen trust in the system’s reasoning. The project will apply and evaluate these methods in two areas: medical and legal reasoning, where better and more transparent reasoning and decision making improve outcomes for end users, providing significant potential health, social and economic benefits.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

The role of post-instrumental practice in twenty-first century music. This project investigates post-instrumental music by documenting, analysing and developing the new musical forms that are emerging globally. Understanding its musical, cultural and social significance will be advantageous in the development of a wide range of music genres, through the creation of new musical language, notations, performance practices and dissemination relevant to our twenty-first century context. Expected outcomes include articles, a book, new musical works and recordings. This research has the potential to change the way we make and listen to music, highlighting how approaches to post-instrumental music can be integrated into ongoing music practice through the application of the methodologies discovered and developed. Field of research: 1904 - Performing Arts and Creative Writing

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

New modulation techniques for future high-mobility wireless communications. Future wireless networks will support huge amounts of mobile data traffic and numbers of terminals. To provide satisfactory service to emerging mass transportation systems such as self-driving cars, high-speed trains, and drones, it will be critical to incorporate the ability for wireless networks to function in high-mobility environments. The project aims to devise novel modulation techniques to support high-mobility communications with superior performance. The theoretical advances will be demonstrated using software-defined radios. These outcomes will provide fundamental scientific basis for deployment of future air interfaces. The project will benefit Australia in gaining a leading position in global telecommunications development. Field of research: 0804 - Data Format A vastly growing demand for mobile services in ground vehicles, subways, highways, and high-speed trains with a speed up to 500 km/h raises extreme challenges to 5G networks and beyond. We will develop novel modulation techniques with strong emphasis on interactions between theoretical advances and practical implementation. The outcomes will go beyond current modulation limitations to open up new opportunities for Australian industrial innovation in high-mobility wireless communication networks. Our innovations will present valuable opportunities to provide Australian young researchers with world-class training in bridging the gap between theory and practice in the area of physical layer technologies supporting high mobility wireless communications.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Talent Mismatch: Evidence from Australian Administrative Tax Records. The project aims to study the skill composition of the Australian workforce. Changes in the macroeconomic and technology environments make it hard to predict skill shortage. The project expects to develop macroeconomic models quantifying skill-mismatch of university graduates, identify sources of mismatch, highlight gender and generational differences, and estimate associated costs to Australia. The expected outcomes are to help shape policy recommendations on the funding of tertiary education in a changing economic climate. This should provide significant benefits to Australians, as policies shaping the tertiary education system affect individual income and the aggregate economy by determining labour supply and taxpayers' financial burden. Field of research: 1402 - Applied Economics Fostering a workforce with relevant skills is crucial for economic growth and welfare. The project will make use of the newly available ATO Longitudinal Information Files administrative tax data released in 2018 by the Australian Taxation Office and the Higher Education Loan Program module from the Department of Education to better understand the skill formation of the Australian economy. In addition, focusing on gender differences should help reduce gender workplace inequality and a disproportionate gender employment gap in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics occupations as highlighted by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency in their Higher Education Enrolments and Graduate Labour Market Statistics Report. The project outcome should enable Australian policy makers to design educational policies that will benefit the aggregate economy as well as both men and women while not place undue burden on taxpayers.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Oscillations as a mechanism for neural communication. The project aims to answer how billions of cells in the brain can work together to allow us to perceive the world. By using novel electrophysiological and engineering techniques, the project tests if a brain signal called the local field potential provides a way for different areas in the brain to communicate. The hypothesis is that the local field potential is used by cells to synchronise their activity to be most effective. This project would be a paradigm shift in how we currently understand how the brain works. Expected outcomes include answering long held questions about how we see and perceive the world. This should provide significant benefit to fields such as computer vision and the development of neural engineering devices. Field of research: 0903 - Biomedical Engineering This research continues Australia’s tradition of being at the forefront of discoveries of the brain. Advances in our understanding of how the brain works will drive and inspire research in artificial intelligence computer technologies that will revolutionise how society interacts with machines. By providing a basis for how the human brain can perform tasks such as recognising a face in the blink of an eye, we will be able to replicate this in computer technology to allow computers to begin to make more complex and humanistic decisions. Furthermore, understanding how brain areas communicate has the potential to revolutionise neural prosthetics. This knowledge can form the basis of new brain-computer interface technologies, including "intelligent" artificial arms. This will have great economic impact in manufacturing and IT in Australia if we can be at the forefront of these technologies. In the long-term a greater understanding of the brain will allow us to uncover what makes us uniquely human and provide insights into questions such as how consciousness arises.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

When Your Face is Your ID: Public Responses to Automated Facial Recognition. This project would explore public attitudes toward the use of facial recognition technology in public and commercial spaces, schools, and workplaces with a national survey, focus group interviews, and four case studies. The project aims to generate new knowledge about public attitudes through a multi-method interdisciplinary approach that anticipates the future of the technology by studying its use in China. Expected outcomes include public reports on the survey and case studies, seven academic journal articles, and a book. The research would provide significant benefits by contributing new knowledge about how to implement the technology in accordance with Australian commitments to civil rights, ethics and democratic values. Field of research: 2001 - Communication and Media Studies Facial recognition technology will dramatically transform the way Australians experience public and commercial space by making it possible to uniquely identify and track individuals as they go about their daily lives. The technology promises significant benefits for national security, policing, and commerce. Realizing these benefits will entail ensuring that Australians understand and are comfortable with the emerging uses of the technology and the privacy issues it raises. This study would provide pioneering research on the future of facial recognition technology and the potential issues and concerns it raises for the public. The effective use of automated facial recognition as a technology for security and commerce requires both an understanding of public response to its use and an evidence-based conceptual approach to assessing its social impact. The proposed research would achieve both of these goals, placing Australia at the forefront of research into a technology that will soon integrate itself into everyday interactions and transactions.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

The origin and evolution of the land plant meristem. This project aims to identify the extent of overlap between the genetic determinants of the gametophyte and sporophyte shoot meristems. The project expects to generate new knowledge of the evolution and development of land plants by applying comparative genomics and new technologies to a novel model genetic system. Expected outcomes include an elucidation of the genetic basis for one of the key morphological adaptations for life on land. The ability to manipulate the growth and development of plants via the activity of meristems based on fundamental principles has broad agricultural implications. Field of research: 0603 - Evolutionary Biology Nearly all of our food is ultimately derived from land plants and humans have long managed plant growth in cultivated crops. Land plant growth is mediated by meristems, groups of cells that produce new organs at the tips of shoots and roots. This project will generate new understanding of the fundamental principles by which land plant meristems operate, providing knowledge that can be applied to manipulate plant growth from fundamental principles. The application of knowledge gained has the potential to enhance targeted selection of new forms of crops for increased biomass, better drought resistance and regulated fruit and seed development, and will inspire the next generation of agricultural innovators.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Bespoke nanomaterials for understanding nano-bio interactions under flow. This project aims to develop innovative scalable synthesis techniques to produce polymeric nanomaterials with controlled properties and characterise interactions between nanomaterials and cells under flow conditions. This project expects to generate new knowledge in priority research areas of nanotechnology, polymer chemistry and immunology. The outcome of this project is an original scalable and environmentally friendly technology, new knowledge of cell-nanomaterial interactions and new design principles for nanoparticles with potential future applications in drug delivery, immunology and nanomedicine. This project should provide significant benefits to polymer, nanomaterial and pharmaceutical research and industry in Australia. Field of research: 1007 - Nanotechnology The innovative manufacturing techniques developed in this project is friendly to both industrial manufacturing (large scale) and the environment (this technique does not employ organic solvents that are harmful to the environment). Therefore, the development of this technique will benefit not only the Australian economy (polymer and nanomaterial industry) but also its environment. The knowledge of nano-bio interaction obtained in Aim 2 will be useful not only to the international research community in nanobiotechnology but also to the public understanding of nanomaterial toxicity in the vascular network, which will benefit the Australian society. The outcome of Aim 3 will potentially lead to the future development of novel drug delivery nanocarriers for cancers and cardiovascular diseases that will be beneficial for Australian health and economy.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

How exercise modulates neural plasticity and memory consolidation. This project aims to examine how genetic variation in humans affects the capacity of exercise to augment neural plasticity and learning. This project expects to generate new knowledge through an innovative approach combining genetics, exercise physiology, and cognitive neuroscience. It is expected the outcomes will have implications for human learning, workplace productivity, and training protocols for rehabilitation and sport. Exercise is a cheap way to enhance neural plasticity and improve behavioural performance, which is of benefit to employers, our economy, and individuals. A possible future application of this research could be the personalised prescription of exercise for brain health based on an individual’s genetics. Field of research: 1701 - Psychology Exercise is essential for a healthy and productive life. Today there are 11 million Australian adults (70%) who do not meet physical activity guidelines and who should be moving more in their daily life. Lack of exercise may affect an individual’s ability to learn new procedures, be productive, and may have long-term consequences for how well their brain functions as they age. This physical inactivity problem has led to substantial economic burden, costing the Australian economy billions of dollars lost due to reduced productivity of employees at work. This project will generate new knowledge as to how exercise affects the brain, and determine the type and timing of exercise required to improve cognition. These findings will have implications for Australian workplace productivity, training protocols in in the workplace, rehabilitation, and sport, and will be relevant for the articulation of public health messages aimed at the prevention of cognitive-motor decline in the ageing Australian population.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Internationalisation and Democracy. This project aims to advance knowledge of how internationalisation affects the quality of democratic representation in established democracies such as Australia, the US and the UK. It expects to generate new insights into how internationalisation expands or limits the scope for democratic accountability, responsiveness and responsibility. It plans to develop and test new theories with comparative analyses that focus on economic, social and environmental policies. Expected outcomes include improved measures of internationalisation, and insights into the opportunities and challenges it poses for democratic representation. The project should provide significant benefits by countering misconceptions in current academic and public debates. Field of research: 1606 - Political Science The research is of immediate relevance to Australia as an established democracy that is deeply engaged in international cooperation. It will provide new evidence to inform current debates on how political and economic internationalisation affects the quality of democracy. This debate is polarised in Australia, as it is in other established democracies. This is illustrated by competing claims regarding Australia’s international climate commitments and regarding foreign direct investment from China. The research includes analyses of how democracies’ cooperation with non-democracies affects the quality of representation in those democracies. This is highly relevant to Australia given the importance of its relationships with non-democracies in the region. The research examines democratic performance in terms of accountability, responsiveness and responsibility. It includes performance with respect to economic, social and environmental welfare. The research takes a comparative perspective that examines these processes in Australia and its key international partners, including the US and the UK.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Household innovation and the transition to the low waste city. Australia is experiencing an urban waste crisis. Long-term solutions require new strategies to reduce waste generation. To be effective, these will need to engage and actively involve households. This project examines the capacity for experimentation and innovation in households necessary to transition to low waste cities. It integrates studies of demographic profiles of household waste generation, household low waste experiments and policy rationales and co-design to propose realistic pathways for decreasing waste generation. The research outcomes are critical for understanding and supporting pathways to low waste cities. The knowledge developed will support urban sustainability transitions in Australia and internationally. Field of research: 1604 - Human Geography Australia is facing a waste crisis and transitioning to low-waste cities is now imperative. This project provides the knowledge to achieve societal and policy transition with national environmental and social benefits. The findings will support the development of “resilient urban, rural and regional infrastructure (Science and Research Priority 8.2) by developing new practical pathways for household waste reduction and recycling, and “options for responding and adapting to the impacts of environmental change on biological systems, urban and rural communities and industry” (8.3). The project addresses the critical practical research challenges of “Consumption Patterns, Population Issues and the Environment” (PRC 960702) by mapping waste profiles, assessing household innovation capacities and working with key stakeholders to enhance “Environmental Policy, Legislation and Standards”, 960799 and “Waste Management Services” 900401. Through international collaboration and networking it will generate new understanding of the role of households and potential for household innovation in sustainability transitions.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Understanding how cells regulate self eating during starvation and stress. This project aims to investigate how autophagosomes are built during autophagy by using advanced multi-modal imaging and unique gene-edited human cell lines. This project expects to generate new knowledge on how a family of evolutionary conserved proteins regulate autophagosome formation during starvation and stress conditions. Expected outcomes include the development of frontier imaging technologies that can be subsequently utilised for the advancement of any field of cell biology. This should provide significant benefits by placing Australia at the forefront of cell biology technologies and increasing our understanding of how plant and human cells can protect themselves during starvation and stress. Field of research: 0601 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology Autophagy is a garbage disposal pathway used by cells to recycle material for energy during starvation, or to remove damaged cellular components and invading bacteria. It is therefore a fundamental pathway for life. Autophagy plays important roles in both plants and animals; autophagy protects cattle against salmonellosis which is a type of bacterial infection. Pacific oysters use autophagy to defend against infection by Vibrio aestuarianus, a bacterium that was responsible for economically significant mortality outbreaks in Australia's aquaculture industry in 2010. Autophagy in wheat and barley crops determines their yield, drought resistance, and responses to environmental stress. This application will utilise gene editing and advanced imaging technologies to understand how autophagy is regulated in human cells. Given the evolutionary conservation of autophagy, this project will also increase our understanding of how plants and animals protect themselves during starvation and stress, thereby having a positive impact on the environment and economy.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Caveospheres: A versatile peptide delivery system. Nanotechnology has the potential to transform the way we treat many diseases. This project will investigate a new type of nanoparticle, the caveosphere, and tests its effectiveness as a peptide delivery system. Caveospheres can protect delicate cargo from degradation, target cargo to specific cells that induce the maximum therapeutic response, and can be synthesised in large-scale, cost-effective batch fermentation. This study will: 1: Engineer biological function into caveospheres 2: Investigate the cellular behavior of the engineered caveospheres 3: Determine the therapeutic activity of caveospheres in vitro It will develop a fundamental understanding of nanoparticles trafficking in cells, to make improved nanoparticle delivery systems. Field of research: 1007 - Nanotechnology Caveospheres are a sophisticated, yet easy to synthesise delivery system that has the potential to revolutionise the way therapeutic peptides are delivered. This proposal will engineer nanoparticles to improve the delivery of peptides and proteins to cells. It will provide fundamental insights into how nanoparticles can be engineered to control the delivery of peptides and will expand Australia’s knowledge base in nanotechnology through the training of interdisciplinary researchers. The project will develop intellectual property that will benefit the emerging Biotec and MedTec industries in Australia and provide significant economic, commercial and healthcare impact.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Integrated composite electrodes for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia. This project aims to develop multifunctional composite electrodes for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia from water, nitrogen gas and renewable energy under ambient conditions. Hydrophobic subnanometre water channels will be integrated with an electrocatalyst to control supply of water as vapour, thereby effectively minimising hydrogen evolution reaction and enabling high-efficiency ammonia synthesis. Expected outcomes include enhanced capacity in developing electrochemical reaction systems, and new fundamental knowledge of electrocatalyst design and reaction engineering. This should provide significant economic and environmental benefits by developing a sustainable manufacturing technology to transform the century-old ammonia industry. Field of research: 0912 - Materials Engineering Ammonia is crucial for agricultural industry as a key fertiliser feedstock. Australia has one of the largest ammonia plants in the world. The current ammonia synthesis using a century-old technology is energy-intensive and emits vast amounts of carbon dioxide. This project aims to develop a sustainable ammonia synthesis technology by replacing fossil fuels used in current ammonia production with only water, nitrogen gas (from air) and renewable energy. This project expects to place Australia at the forefront of research in advanced catalysis and renewable energy utilisation. The project has the potential to bring important economic and environmental benefits by transforming existing ammonia industry and reducing its carbon footprint. In addition, ammonia has also been considered as a promising energy carrier to store renewable solar and wind energy and to power fuel cell vehicles. Clean production of ammonia will create a unique opportunity for Australian energy and manufacturing industries.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

The Mechanisms determining the Rolling Motions of Bodies. This project aims to investigate the mechanisms affecting the rolling motions of spheres and cylinders. This international project expects to generate new knowledge of the effect of surface roughness, cavitation and compressibility using novel experimental and computational methods. Expected outcomes of this project include the discovery of the explicit role of surface roughness in allowing bodies to roll, the means of modifying these motions, the wake mechanisms leading to body vibration, and the mixing induced by rolling bodies. This will provide significant benefits to the understanding of the motion of particles and bodies in a range of situations such as particle reactors and sedimentation processes. Field of research: 0915 - Interdisciplinary Engineering The motion of particles near walls occurs in a range of industrial and environmental processes, such as particle reactors and sedimentation. Central to this understanding is finding out precisely what determines how fast a particle will roll on a wall, what vibrations can occur, and the amount of mixing induced by the particle's wake. This study has the potential to improve the control of such particle interactions and improve the performance and efficiency of these processes in Australian industry.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Islamic Bureaucracies and Pious Publics in Turkey and Indonesia. This project aims to investigate state support for Islamic practices in two large, Muslim-majority nation states, Turkey and Indonesia. In these countries, massively-funded bureaucracies allocate state resources for pious practices that until recently were considered outside the national interest. Combining the skills of anthropologists of Islam as well as a public economist, this project will ask which Muslim actors and practices receive and are denied these budgetary allocations. An outcome of the project will be to establish the role in governance of these compacts between Muslims and governments. The benefit is to gauge the prospects for moderate Islam in the two countries that are known as the foremost incubators of progressive Islam. Field of research: 2204 - Religion and Religious Studies The project will contribute to Australia’s and the international community’s capacity to understand, interpret and engage with its regional and global environment through a greater understanding of Islamic practice and politics. The project's researchers are experts in the study of Turkish and Indonesian Islam, and are fluent speakers of the languages of these countries. By using these skills and the research tools proposed here, the project's researchers will provide more accurate, up to date knowledge on the relationships between the state and Muslims in both countries. Understanding how the organs of state manage religion and state-civil society relationships in the regions of Southeast Asia and the Middle East is of direct relevance to Australia’s capacity to engage with the cultures and societies with which it has close relations. The outcomes of the project will provide much needed knowledge on Islamic public spheres in Turkey and Indonesia, whose current importance as models for liberal Islam is increasingly important.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Soft Plasmene Nanosheets for Stretchable Plasmonic Skins. Conventional plasmonic sensors and devices are rigid, planar, and not stretchable. This project aims to apply plasmene materials developed at Monash's Nanobionics lab to design highly stretchable plasmonic devices (artificial plasmonic skins). Systematic experimental and theoretical studies will be undertaken to understand how the plasmonic skins respond to strains and how they can be used for fabricating novel stretchable devices. Such studies will generate important new knowledge of fabrication, characterisation, and modelling of stretchable plasmene, hence, contributing to further Australian standing in the field of nanotechnology and plasmonics. It may also incubate patentable technologies, bringing potential economic gains. Field of research: 1007 - Nanotechnology As Australian traditional industries such as Automobile phase out and mining boom stops, we urgently call for creating new innovative industries to be competitive globally. The proposed soft plasmonics project sits at the cutting-edge of nanotechnology research, contributing to positioning Australia at the forefront of soft sensor space. It can potentially incubate new industrial opportunities, contributing to future industrial growth in wearable electronics, healthcare, automation and artificial intelligence. This project may help elevate innovation levels of current high-tech industries to remain competitive to sustain future Australian economy growth. In the long-run, it will bring economic gains to Australian and create new jobs.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Multiscale and multimodal modelling of brain dynamics. This project aims to understand dynamics of how several brain regions work together to process information. This project will generate new knowledge in brain sciences by using state of the art computational modelling and neuroimaging methods like functional and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging and electromagnetic measurements. This project will develop technologies to compute multiscale, multimodal and directed connectivity in the brain. Expected outcomes of this project will enhance our understanding of the brain’s functional organization and dynamics. The benefits of this project will include breakthroughs in development of new neuro-technologies like brain-machine interfaces and neuroscience inspired artificial intelligence. Field of research: 1702 - Cognitive Sciences Despite Australia’s neuroimaging being recognised as world class there is a relative paucity of computational neuroscience research relative to the experimental neuroscience. This project will bring the Australian neuroimaging research to the forefront of the rapidly developing computationally extensive approaches to understand brain mechanisms. We propose that this project will substantially add to understand how various brain regions work together by providing a mechanistic approach to study brain's functional integration. This will result in breakthroughs in neuroscience inspired artificial intelligence and development of new technologies like cognitive robots. This project will further Australia's leadership in brain inspired data science by tackling fundamental knowledge gaps in our understanding of dynamic information processing in the brain.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Migration, Mixed Marriage and Integration in Australia. This project aims to investigate the prevalence, experience and variations of ethnic and religious mixed marriage in Australia, which will guide policies that facilitate social integration and cohesion. The implications of a lack of integration have been demonstrated by recent events in Europe and US, which reflect strong anti-immigration tendencies. This project expects to generate new sociological knowledge of ethnic/religious mixed-marriage, new understanding in social integration and enhanced research capacity in the area of migration and integration. This research should provide significant benefits, such as enhanced cultural understanding and appropriate policies that foster social integration of cultural groups. Field of research: 1603 - Demography Successful integration of ethnic and religious minorities is a challenge encountered by governments around the world. Yet, policies are either unproven or have been shown to be ineffective. If Australia does not develop appropriate evidence-based policies and programs, we are likely to encounter growing incidences of inter-group violence, stigmatisation and weakening of social cohesion. This project’s focus on cultural and religious boundaries will provide key insights into social cohesion, thus informing governments’ need to manage diversity and maintain cohesive societies, expanding the field of family and cultural sociology. Specifically, this project will generate new sociological knowledge and advance much-needed understanding of the processes and factors relevant to social integration in Australia. The findings will be communicated to State and Local Government, as well as community stakeholders to inform policies, events and activities that promote social integration and cohesion.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Genetic regulation of avian sex determination. This project aims to enhance our understanding of gonadal sex determination (testis versus ovary development), using innovative genetic approaches that exploit the avian embryo as a model system. The project aims to define the key molecular events regulating gonadal sex determination in birds. It intends to enhance knowledge in the area of cell biology, embryology, and sex determination specifically. Importantly, it will have application to the poultry industry. Currently, half of all hatchlings (the undesired sex) are culled. The proposed project intends to illuminate those genetic pathways that can be targeted to produce single-sex lines of birds, a major goal of the multi-billion dollar Australian and global poultry industries. Field of research: 0604 - Genetics This project will contribute to Australia's national interest in three areas: (1) Enhancing knowledge of basic cell biology and organ development. It will yield new information that has the potential to be used in the areas of biology such as stem cell research,tissue engineering and regeneration. (2) Enhancing economic and commercial effciency, by reducing costs for the poultry industry, and providing societal benefits in the area of animal welfare. The multi-million dollar poultry industry currently seeks methods of manipulating sex. At present, half of all chicken hatchlings are culled (only are females needed by the egg industry, for example). This is a major economic and animal welfare issue. The project will identify genetic mechanisms that can be targeted to alter sex determination in chickens, to ultimately produce single sex lines of birds. The work will addresses a strategic objective; managing food assets. The work will potentially be patentable, an economic gain for Australia. (3) Training highly skilled scientists, upon our research capacity, future discoveries, and prosperity are based.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Advanced error control coding techniques for scalable blockchains. The project aims to investigate the application of error-control coding theory in blockchains, focusing on reducing the storage, computation, and communication overheads, as well as increasing the throughput of blockchain networks. The ambition is to develop coding theory in a completely new territory: decentralised, untrusted, and peer-to-peer networks. The intended outcome is to greatly extend the current state of the art of the theory of error-control codes, previously investigated only in the context of centralised architectures, where a server coordinates every task. Practically, the project should provide significant benefits in terms of cost-effectiveness of blockchains, increase in their processing speed, and security enhancement. Field of research: 0804 - Data Format Since the introduction of Bitcoin in 2008, the blockchain technology has generated a tremendous amount of interest not only from the industry and the research community but also from governments. The technology has a potential to transform various industry sectors, including financial services, logistics, healthcare, energy distribution, IoT, and government services, such as registries and identity, grants and social security, quota management, and taxation (source CSIRO’s Data61). Last year, the Australian government signed a landmark AUD $1 billion deal with IBM to accelerate the applications of blockchain, across different agencies of the government. CSIRO’s Data61 has also formed a consortium to build Australian National Blockchain, the country’s first cross-industry, large-scale, digital platform to enable Australian businesses to collaborate using blockchain-based smart legal contracts. Our innovations will provide solutions to the blockchain limitations in scalability and cost efficiency, and give Australian young researchers world-class training, bridging the gap between theory and practice.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Developing new tools for chemical biology. We will develop new synthetic strategies to support the development of small molecule chemical probes that bind with high affinity and specificity to a target protein. Such chemical probes are invaluable in elucidating the role of specific proteins in biological pathways. Our novel strategy aims to be rapid, efficient in its use of materials and widely applicable to a range of different protein targets. The core of our approach involves using biophysical binding assays to characterise compounds that are produced on small scale using parallel chemistry. This approach will enable better chemical probes to be developed more rapidly at lower cost than is currently possible. Field of research: 0304 - Medicinal and Biomolecular Chemistry The current project will develop new synthetic strategies for the development of potent and specific small molecules that act as probes of biological activity. This will provide opportunities to better understand the mechanism of biological processes. In the search for useful chemical probes of biological function, it is often relatively straightforward to identify small molecules that bind weakly to a target of interest. Such molecules typically have low affinity for the target, do not bind with enough selectivity to be useful as chemical probes and are of little intrinsic value. The current project will provide a systematic approach to the translation of such low affinity compounds into potent, selective and highly valuable chemical probes of biological activity.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Unlocking the secrets of the mitochondrion. This project aims to determine the frequency and mechanisms by which male-harming mutations (those with negative effects limited to males) accrue within the mitochondrial DNA. Theory predicts maternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA will lead to accumulation of these mutations, but the real-world implications of this theory are unknown. Leveraging an innovative approach, this project expects to generate new knowledge into the causes of sex differences in physiology and health. Expected outcomes include insights that advance understanding of fundamental biological processes, and training of students. Expected benefits include strengthening of Australia’s research capacity, by setting the research agenda in this rapidly developing field. Field of research: 0603 - Evolutionary Biology This Discovery Project is in the national interest because it will result in research breakthroughs that advance our understanding in fields of basic science – evolutionary biology, genetics and mitochondrial biology – in which Australia is a world leader. Specifically, this research will answer questions we currently have no satisfactory answers for, namely how and why do our energy-producing genes (those of the mitochondria) accumulate mutations that confer harm to males, with no effects in females. Answering these questions will reshape our understanding of the mitochondria, and their role as mediators of sex differences in health and function. The insights generated should also ultimately provide insights of medical significance. The project represents excellent value for money – it will produce numerous high profile outcomes that capture international scientific attention, at modest cost, overseen by a Chief Investigator with an outstanding record for research innovation. Finally, the project will provide a world-class platform to help train the next generation of Australian scientific innovators.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

The long-term effects of autonomous cars on land use, access and travel . Historically new transport technologies have significantly changed urban form in Australian cities with important business, economic, congestion, social and environmental impacts. Autonomous cars are said to revolutionise tomorrows transport but no research has yet considered long term impacts on land use and city structure. This project explores how land use and travel will change adopting innovative land use and transport models. Outcomes will better prepare Australia for an autonomous travel future. Field of research: 1205 - Urban and Regional Planning Autonomous vehicles are a major world trend which will significantly impact Australian communities. Current research is focused on autonomous vehicle technology and short-term benefits (reduced crashes, congestion relief). This project explores long-term disruptive effects with a focus on land use and travel impacts to ensure wider social, economic and environmental impacts are better managed. Findings from this project will help Australian cities prepare for the long-term disruptions of autonomous vehicles.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Emerging assisted reproduction markets in Southern Africa. This anthropological study aims to investigate the global networks and emerging markets for assisted reproduction in Southern Africa. It will focus upon the mobilities of patients to South Africa for assisted reproduction and mobility of ova providers, gametes, embryos and medical staff across Africa and to and from Australia. This ethnographic study includes an analysis of the development of the industry, surveys of the numbers of international patients travelling to clinics in South Africa and interviews with staff, patients, gamete donors, and facilitating agencies. This study is anticipated to provide theoretical insights on the social impacts of reproductive travel across national borders for improved public policy responses. Field of research: 1608 - Sociology South Africa is an emerging hub for international assisted reproduction both for Australians travelling to South Africa and South Africans travelling to provide services in Australia. This project will have social benefits to Australia in providing better understanding of the social impacts in Southern Africa and Australia of the international reproductive travel industry for intended parents. It will enhance Australia’s international reputation for scholarship in the social sciences, in particular our reputation for leading innovative theory associated with reproductive technologies. The project will build a dynamic collaboration between leading Australian and international researchers and institutions as well as provide research training opportunities in Australia. Translation of the findings will inform the formulation and design of national/international policies and practices and will inform public debate over cross border reproductive travel.