La Trobe University

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2020 · 2020-01

Addressing hepatitis C-related discrimination in a post-cure world. This project aims to address the legal and policy dimensions of hepatitis C discrimination. Hepatitis C is a major public health challenge linked to profound discrimination, including in law and policy. Treatments introduced in 2016 improved cure rates; optimism about disease elimination is high, but questions remain about discrimination faced by those who are cured. This interdisciplinary project’s goal is to generate new knowledge about hepatitis C discrimination in a post-cure context, and identify opportunities for legal and policy reform. Expected outcomes of the project include better legal, social and policy outcomes for Australians cured of hepatitis C, significantly benefiting these individuals directly and society more broadly. Field of research: 1608 - Sociology Around 182,000 Australians live with hepatitis C, with 10,000 new infections being notified each year. People living with hepatitis C are subject to discrimination and are profoundly stigmatised and marginalised, mainly because of the association between the virus and injecting drug use. The Australian government has invested around $3 billion in new, highly effective drugs and has an ambitious goal to eliminate hepatitis C by 2030. Medical treatment alone, however, will not solve the multiple social, political and structural issues that confront those with a hepatitis C diagnosis. Many Australian laws and policies devised in a pre-cure world negatively affect people with a history of hepatitis C. This project aims to review those laws and policies, investigating and mapping the legal, policy and service reforms needed in a post-hepatitis C world. Through engagement with both key stakeholders and people with a history of hepatitis C, we aim to propose changes that have the potential to reduce discrimination and improve the legal, social and policy outcomes of affected people.

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Social change and youth drinking: a cross-cultural and temporal examination. This project aims to examine the significant decrease in alcohol consumption that has occurred among youth in high income countries over the last 15 years. The analysis will focus on Australia, Sweden and the UK through a novel cross-cultural and qualitative longitudinal design. This project expects to inform prevention and policy efforts to sustain or progress these trends, and illuminate the social processes and cultural meanings that are manifesting in a distinct historical era for alcohol research. Field of research: 1608 - Sociology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Integrating genomics into native fish management to promote persistence. This project aims to improve predictions of the effects of environmental change on the long-term survival of wildlife, using native fish as a case study. By integrating genomics into biodiversity models, this project expects to generate fundamental knowledge of processes underpinning long-term survival and is a big advance on traditional biodiversity models that consider only occurrence or abundance. Expected outcomes include insights into fish responses to environmental conditions and new tools to predict long-term survival of wildlife. These tools will guide cost-effective delivery of environmental water in the Murray-Darling Basin, and wider uptake should promote the long-term effectiveness of conservation efforts for many species. Field of research: 0502 - Environmental Science and Management

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Adult drinking and child maltreatment in families, communities and societies. This project aims to measure how adult drinking is linked to child maltreatment within families, communities and societies. The project will use data from 20 countries, including Australia, and expects to develop new knowledge about links between adult drinking, fathering, community-level alcohol availability, societal drinking patterns and harms to children. Expected outcomes include national and cross-national policy-relevant data and analysis that will inform prevention of alcohol-related child maltreatment and alcohol policy globally. This project should support reductions in the economic and human costs of alcohol-related child abuse and neglect for children, families and societies. Field of research: 1605 - Policy and Administration

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Intelligent wireless access for Internet of Things. This project aims to develop and validate fundamental theories and techniques for a novel intelligent wireless access paradigm to enhance the efficiency in frequency usage. This innovative approach will be one of the critical enablers for massive device access necessary for future wireless network evolution to support the growing Internet-of-Things. It will enable co-working devices to autonomously sense the local radio frequency landscape, determining how to avoid interference, and exploiting opportunities to intelligently and efficiently access the available radio resources. This will lead to enhanced efficiency in radio resource usage. The project will significantly improve the efficiency of current radio resource utilisation and offer solutions to a challenge of national significance. Field of research: 0906 - Electrical and Electronic Engineering

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

The technological transformation of sex: improving Australia's response. This project aims to enhance knowledge and explore important implications of new digital, mechanical or medical technologies that are transforming the sexual lives of many Australians. Privacy breaches and online harassment are among the challenges posed by these new technologies. The project intends to identify potential solutions to emerging problems as well as areas of policy, legal or educational systems that might facilitate or mitigate their implementation. Expected outcomes include new evidence regarding the use of technologies in the sexual lives of Australians. This project can directly benefit people requiring an evidence base for policy development, law and regulation (including consumer protection), cyber-security and sex-education. Field of research: 1608 - Sociology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

An archaeological investigation into the collapse of Polonnaruva, Sri Lanka. This project aims to develop an improved understanding of the collapse of the kingdom of Polonnaruva, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Sri Lanka. The medieval collapse of Polonnaruva marked the end of the lowland kingdoms in Sri Lanka's arid north, and the end of a distinctive and successful form of hydraulic low-density urban settlement. Recent research at Anuradhapura suggests the very economic system that enabled these kingdoms to flourish within a marginal environment, may have facilitated their collapse. This project will characterise, contextualise and explain the development and failure of the low-density urban state of Polonnaruva. The project expects to inform environmental security and improve management and risk reduction in decision making in relation to ancient and contemporary socio-environmental systems. Field of research: 2101 - Archaeology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Understanding heavy alcohol consumption cultures among nurses and lawyers . This Project aims to investigate drinking cultures among nurses and lawyers – two sizeable Australian workforces where heavy drinking is common. Addressing drinking cultures among social groups is an emerging strategy to complement population and individual level efforts to reduce alcohol-related harm. Alcohol use among workers has implications for health, safety and performance, yet researchers have paid little attention to occupational drinking cultures. Using rigorously collected qualitative and quantitative data, this Project expects to generate new knowledge on sociocultural practices and meanings of drinking in the groups, illuminate relations between drinking cultures and harms, and enable innovative intervention opportunities. Field of research: 1608 - Sociology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Mechanisms by which Beclin1 regulates intestinal homeostasis. This project aims to investigate if Beclin1, a protein which has an important and well-accepted role in promoting cell survival through the program of autophagy, has an alternate job mediating trafficking within a cell. Using novel mouse models and innovative techniques, the project aims to demonstrate the physiological importance of this alternate role for Beclin1. Expected outcomes include enhancing Australia's international research standing, and providing research training for young scientists. Benefits include generation of new knowledge and a rethink of the basis for normal development and diseases where Beclin1 has been implicated. Field of research: 0601 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Biogenesis and functions of bacterial membrane vesicles. This project aims to investigate the mechanisms that regulate the production of bacterial membrane vesicles and how this determines their bacterial cargo and subsequent biological functions. Bacterial membrane vesicles are naturally produced nanoparticles released by all bacteria as part of their normal growth. These vesicles contain a range of bacterial cargo and function to promote bacterial survival and growth. This project will advance our knowledge regarding the regulation of bacterial membrane vesicle biogenesis, their composition and biological functions. Collectively, these findings will facilitate the development and refinement of membrane vesicle-based biotechnologies with broad applications. Field of research: 0605 - Microbiology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

The structural basis for defensin-mediated membrane attack. This project aims to define how the innate defense proteins called defensins attack target membranes to cause cells to burst and die. It is often said that attack is the best form of defense, and the immune systems of plants and animals will often target the cell membranes of microbes and other pathogens to defend themselves. This project will identify the precise molecular mechanism underlying defensin activity, and clarify how ligand recognition and subsequent multimerisation leads to target membrane lysis. The project will establish the fundamental mechanisms regulating antimicrobial defense systems based on small proteins, and define a conceptual framework for the action of defensins to develop strategies to combat fungal infections. Field of research: 0601 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

How the red blood cell loses its nucleus. This project aims to provide insights into erythroid enucleation, the process by which red blood cells extrude their nucleus so that they can circulate through the microvasculature. Although the enucleated character of mammalian red blood cells has been known for more than 150 years, the mechanism underlying this process is virtually unknown. This project will use a live imaging approach to characterise in vivo the cellular interactions and molecular pathways required for enucleation. The project will provide a molecular and cellular road map of enucleation that may be utilised to enhance the bulk therapeutic in vitro production of red blood cells for veterinary and human purposes. Field of research: 0601 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2019 · 2019-01

Indigenous Governance Under Colonisation. The project aims to advance knowledge and scholarship in the fields of ethnohistory and Indigenous writing by prioritising Native American voices to reveal Indigenous strategies for negotiating between assimilation and tradition. It will have direct relevance for Australia’s understanding of its own Indigenous strategies. The project expects to provide a new perspective on Indigenous history by viewing Native writing as evidence of agency rather than dwindling Nativeness and will treat them as endeavours to define indigenous political modernities. Expected outcomes include significant international collaboration and results that will inform research and policy on Indigenous peoples internationally. Field of research: 2103 - Historical Studies

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

How auto-transporter proteins mediate bacterial interactions. This project aims to investigate the structure-function relationships that underpin key auto-transporter roles in bacterial cell adhesion, aggregation and biofilm formation. Auto-transporter proteins are extremely common in bacteria where they play a central role in controlling bacterial interactions with other bacteria, with human cells, and with surfaces. This project will define the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes. This will have significant benefits, such as providing the basis for the development of approaches to block auto-transporter functions that contribute to the establishment of persistent and difficult to treat bacterial infections. Field of research: 0605 - Microbiology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

High through-put facility for measurement of quantum materials and devices. This projects aims to accelerate the development of quantum technologies by expanding our capacity to rapidly evaluate the low temperature electrical and optical properties of novel materials and devices. The project expects to generate new knowledge in quantum coherent phases of diamond, high mobility two-dimensional spintronics, hybrid semiconductor-superconductor devices, novel phases of silicon and germanium, and single photon sources based on silicon-carbide. Expected outcomes of the project include the establishment of high performing, efficient, new facilities for low temperature quantum measurement, the strengthening of collaborative links between participating researchers and the expansion of opportunities for research students. Field of research: 1007 - Nanotechnology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Hidden harm: Everyday alcohol consumption in Australian homes. This project aims to investigate how family and other factors in the home environment affect alcohol consumption and associated social harms. This is important because nearly two-thirds of Australian alcohol consumption occurs in the drinker’s own home but studies of drinking contexts have mostly focused on drinking on licensed premises. The project will use four diverse datasets to analyse individual and interactional patterns of drinking in the home. Potential intervention points and policy measures to reduce harms from drinking will be developed from the project’s analysis. This project has the potential to reduce social and violence-related harms from alcohol consumption. Field of research: 1605 - Policy and Administration

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Analysing gender in research and policy on alcohol-related violence. This project aims to provide insights into gendered aspects of research and policy on alcohol-related violence among young people. It will produce knowledge through a comparative approach encompassing key alcohol policy contexts in Australia, Canada and Sweden. Project outcomes will improve the capacity of health and policy practitioners to understand the relationships between gender, alcohol and violence; reconceptualise responses to alcohol-related problems; inform the development of future alcohol research and policy; increase the capacity to respond more effectively to alcohol use; and reduce alcohol-related harm. Field of research: 1608 - Sociology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Understanding the biogenesis of exosomes. This project aims to understand how exosomes are made in human cells. Exosomes are small packages that are released by cells, which mediate communication between cells. Currently, very little is known about how exosomes are made within a cell. This project expects to identify key proteins that are involved in the production of exosomes and to understand exosomes synthesis, thereby expanding our knowledge on how cells regulate communication signals. Dissecting how exosomes are produced at the fundamental level will provide significant benefits such as a deeper understanding of how cells maintain normal cellular functions. Field of research: 0601 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Representation theory in exactly solvable systems. This project aims to develop the representation theory of Lie and generalised Lie algebras related to exactly solvable models. The project will exploit several innovative ideas on the structure of quadratic algebras, Casimir invariants, differential operator realisations, roots systems, characters and indecomposable representations. This will give fundamental mathematical insight and allow the construction of new, exactly solvable models. This will have an impact on theoretical physics as exactly solvable models play a central role in our understanding of a plethora of physical phenomena. Field of research: 0105 - Mathematical Physics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

ARC Research Hub for Medicinal Agriculture . The ARC Research Hub for Medicinal Agriculture aims to transform the production of high quality plant-derived therapeutics into an integrated, national industry that spans primary producers and manufacturers. The Hub will establish a multi-disciplinary collaboration with industry. This Hub will address agronomy and cultivation, germplasm generation, novel extraction technologies and chemistries, through to the discovery and functional characterisation of novel lead compounds. This knowledge will be applicable across related industries and build the specialised workforce needed to underpin Australia’s developing medicinal agriculture industry. Field of research: 0701 - Agriculture, Land and Farm Management

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

The socio-legal implications of donor linking. This project aims to understand the impact of donor linking on individual and familial identities and relationships, and the consequences of the growing prevalence of non-statutory linking, such as direct-to-consumer genetic testing and online technologies, for formal regulatory frameworks. Donor linking is the process by which donor-conceived people, donors, and recipient parents access each other's identifying information. Australia is a world leader in statutory linking, but reform has not been matched by equivalent levels of research on the consequences of the practice. This project will constitute an evidence-based platform from which donor-linking law, policy and services can develop domestically and overseas. Field of research: 1801 - Law

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2018 · 2018-01

Urbanising Western China: Nation-building on the Sino-Tibetan frontier. This project aims to explore urbanisation as a key part of the Chinese Communist Party's policies in Tibet and the novel opportunities it affords for Tibetan identity, language, and culture. An international, multidisciplinary team will combine analysis of key government texts, interviews with government officials and ethnic minority elites, as well as observations of daily life amongst urban Tibetans. The project will produce new understandings of the challenges of governing diversity in China, and will benefit Australia by exploring a fundamental aspect of the changing social fabric of our region’s dominant power. Field of research: 1606 - Political Science

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Molecular reporters for measuring proteostasis capacity in cells. This project aims to develop fluorescent dyes to report on the change in unfolded protein load, which reflects the proteostasis status in real time in cells under stress conditions. Proteostasis is a housekeeping process cells undertake to maintain the proper folding and functions of proteins. Perturbation of proteostasis has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases, but chemical probes cannot measure the proteostasis capacity in cells. Intended outcomes include a mechanistic understanding of the relationship between protein misfolding, aggregation and proteostasis. This is expected to ultimately benefit the diagnosis of protein folding diseases, including dementia, and improve the quality of life. Field of research: 0601 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Leading change on violence against women through the health sector. This project aims to understand the role of the health sector in ending violence against women in low-income countries. Gender-based violence is a pervasive and damaging social issue. Timor-Leste, Australia’s nearest and most fragile neighbour, has an extremely high rate of violence against women. The health sector is critical in prevention, early intervention and changing community attitudes but no research has included health providers’ perspectives. This research uses health professionals, policy-makers and women's experiences to study challenges facing the health sector and how it responds to violence against women. Expected outcomes include models of care that can be tested in regional low-resource settings. Field of research: 1117 - Public Health and Health Services

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2017 · 2017-01

Quantifying environmental constraints on animal behaviour. This project aims to determine how habitat structure, weather and motion vision influence animal behaviour. Motion vision controls locomotion, foraging, evading predators and communicating. However, information on the conditions for motion vision in natural environments is limited. To address this, this project will combine field techniques with tools from 3D animation and computer vision. The project will focus on Australia’s dragon lizards, and place their motion displays in a visual-ecological context. The expected outcome is a more complete picture of the signalling context, which could advance sensory ecology, vision science and animal behaviour, with practical applications in artificial intelligence and derived benefits for education and community engagement in biology. Field of research: 0608 - Zoology