Research Projects
Benthic light as ecologically-validated GBR-wide indicator for water quality: drivers, thresholds and cumulative risks (Old ID 22540)
Catherine Collier
01 Jan 2016 - 30 Mar 2019
The project will develop a water quality indicator based on benthic irradiance (the amount of light penetrating to the seafloor). Using experiments and field data we will develop irradiance thresholds for measures of ecosystem health, and develop prototype guideline values. We will develop a new remote sensing algorithm of benthic irradiance, validated against open-water irradiance data. We will quantify benthic irradiance through the GBR, near-daily over 14 years, and assess region-specific drivers of trends including river discharges. Ur indicator can directly feed into Reef Plan report cards, irradiance as a limiting factor, and about cumulative risks in the context of coral bleaching.
Assessment of Renal Function in Neonates and infants using Cystatin C. (Old ID 27135)
Danica Vojisavljevic
26 Feb 2021 - 31 Dec 2022
Diagnosis of early acute kidney injury (AKI) can prevent renal failure in babies (<2 years of age). This non-invasive method validation study will utilise parallel alternative method testing for renal function tests, to examine the clinical applicability and accuracy of implementing Cystatin-C (Cys-C), as a preferred biomarker for early AKI by: (1) determining if Cys-C is a more sensitive marker of impaired renal function and decline compared to serum creatinine in this cohort; (2) determine if eGFR derived from Cys-C is a more sensitive predictor of renal function decline; and (3) produce a clinical reference range for Cys-C for this cohort.
Social Work student placements with Primary Health Providers Pilot (Old ID 27263)
Ines Zuchowski
03 May 2021 - 28 Feb 2023
The overall aim of this project is to develop, implement and evaluate a field education placement module for social work student placement in General Practice clinics in North Queensland. The project will include the development of module for social work student placements in Primary Healthcare in consultation with general practice Social work students on their 500 hours placement will be placed in General Practices for field education, internally supervised by a task supervisor and externally supervised by a social work supervisor. Students could be either in their first or second placement, in either the Bachelor of Social Work or the Masters of Social Work (Professionally Qualifying) degree. The evaluation of project with consideration of student experience and outcomes as well as General Practice staff experience and feedback. A sustainability/transition plan that identifies other possible funding sources for continuation of the project will be developed.
MINJAR GOLD - INVESTIGATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF CLAY ON GOLD EXTRACTION (Old ID 27376)
Elsa Antunes
22 Feb 2021 - 30 Nov 2021
The main objective of this thesis is to explore possible ways of mitigating issues associated with the presence of clay in a Carbon in Pulp (CIP) plant. It is hypothesized that heat treatment is an effective way of eliminating these issues as well as providing several subsequent benefits such as improvements to grinding and recovery. Yet, the efficacy of heat treatment is largely determined by the characteristics unique to each clay species. Thus, preliminary testing using equipment in the James Cook University Analytical Centre such as the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) is necessary. This will provide the optimal heat treatment temperature, where the impacts of the heat treatment on viscosity in these conditions can be determined. Furthermore, secondary benefits such as improvements to recovery and grinding will also be quantified. This method allows for a thorough understanding of the impacts of heat treatment and will determine whether it is an effective approach to mitigating issues associated with the presence of clay.
Mapping Critical Habitat in Yanyuwa Sea Country (Old ID 27429)
Alexandra Carter
01 Sep 2021 - 30 Mar 2023
Marra and li-Anthawirriyarra rangers seek to build on existing partnerships with CDU and JCU to map the intertidal habitats of the Yanyuwa Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) and coastal areas connected to it, an area of profound importance to these communities and the marine ecosystem of the Gulf of Carpentaria (GoC). Significant co-funding will be provided by the Mabunji Aboriginal Corporation (MAC) and DAWE Migratory Species Section to conduct a large-scale mapping project that will inform Marra and Yanyuwa community decisions that underpin sustainable management and facilitate continued connection with sea country. Co-funding from NESP2 is sought to provide salary for data processing and reporting for these surveys. This project also leverages existing funding allocated to training, capacity building, community consultation and communication products committed to by the rangers, CDU, JCU, the Australian and the NT Governments.
North Queensland Proterozoic Metallogenesis (Old ID 27601)
Ioan Sanislav
06 Jun 2022 - 05 Jun 2024
This project will assess the metallogenic potential of the Croydon and southern Etheridge provinces including their potential to host critical mineral resources
TRIAGE: A disease agnostic computational and modelling platform to accelerate variant classification (Old ID 27849)
Andrew Mallett
01 Jun 2022 - 31 May 2027
This proposal develops a disease-agnostic, high throughput and scalable functional genomics platform integrating computational variant prediction and disease modelling to increase the diagnostic rate of unresolved cases and accelerate development of experimental therapeutics. We implement a novel unsupervised, disease agnostic, genome-wide computational analysis method called TRIAGE which provides predictions at single base resolution across the human genome, revealing the likelihood of a variant being pathogenic. No other methods compare with TRIAGE in identifying genes associated with developmental process and cell differentiation where variants in these loci are associated with congenital disease and multi-organ syndromes. Our team of experts across Australia’s research and clinical sectors bring skills in bioinformatics, statistical genetics, clinical genetics, and disease modelling. In Aim 1 we incorporate tested genome-wide metrics, such as TRIAGE, to build open access machine learning methods that enhance variant prediction in clinical data. Aim 2 implements TRIAGE in Australian Genomic cohorts and registries to identify prioritised and novel candidates for disease modelling and develop strategies and guidelines for advancing TRIAGE in clinical genetic diagnostics and functional genomics networks. Aim 3 uses TRIAGE to prioritise variants for disease modelling across a multi-institutional phenotyping platform. Disease modelling includes innovative genome-wide molecular phenotyping coupled with physiological assays in cell and animal models. At the completion of the grant, we aim to implement TRIAGE in standard clinical genetic analysis protocols and deliver phenotyping data to assist in classification of unresolved genetic diseases. These achievements will result in diagnoses and mechanism of disease that will directly benefit patients in obtaining medical and psychosocial support and create pathways to new therapies.
Secreted exosome-like vesicles from the carcinogenic liver fluke (Old ID 21477)
Alex Loukas
01 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2018
Parasitic worms secrete molecules from their oral openings and outer surfaces as they feed and reproduce inside their human hosts. These molecules are referred to as Excretory/Secretory (ES) products, akin to our saliva and sweat. These ES products represent the molecular interface of the host-parasite relationship. We recently showed that ES products from the parasitic liver fluke, a worm that is a major cause of liver cancer throughout parts of SE Asia, are taken up by cells lining the human bile ducts, the site where the parasite resides for years at a time. Until now the mechanisms by which these molecules are taken up and internalised by host cells was unknown. We now show that liver fluke ES proteins enter into human bile duct cells by forming small cell-like vesicles called exosomes. Once the flukes exosomes get inside human bile duct cells they induce a series of changes inside the cell which typifies the early stages of cancer formation. We now propose to better characterise the process of exosome uptake by human bile duct cells and exploit this information to discover vaccines to combat this carcinogenic infection and develop new tools to identify people who are most at risk of developing cancer from liver fluke infection.
Developing accurate trans-holocene coastal and ocean chronologies: Resolving fundamental problems in the dating of marine shell in the tropics (Old ID 19919)
Sean Ulm
18 Feb 2013 - 17 Feb 2017
Archaeological and quaternary science in tropical Australasia is heavily reliant on radiocarbon (14C) ages on marine materials. However, radiocarbon ages obtained on marine samples are not directly comparable to contemporaneous terrestrial samples owing to variability in the way 14C is distributed in marine environments (the 'marine reservoir effect'). Marine reservoir effects are highly variable and can introduce uncertainties of up to several hundred years into ages obtained on marine samples, creating a key obstacle for advancing archaeological, sea-level and climate change research. This project establishes a reliable model of marine reservoir effects across tropical Australasia that can be used to calibrate marine 14C ages.
Linking continental emergence and climatic evolution on the Early Earth (Old ID 26941)
Alex McCoy-West
01 May 2021 - 29 May 2025
This project aims to constrain the timing and extent to which the continents were emergent (above sealevel) at different times in Earth’s history and its impact on climatic evolution, which remains poorly understood. Continental emergence was a pivotal moment in the development of our habitable planet, because it controls the influx of bioessential elements (like phosphorus) to the oceans. Using innovative geochemical techniques, expected outcomes of this work include a detailed record of changes in ocean chemistry and a time integrated model of the amount of emergent crust on the early Earth. Documenting the impact of changes in the solid Earth on the evolution of life is of the highest interest to society in Australia and abroad.