Research Projects
Evaluation of insecticidal and repellency efficacy of Vanilla Mozi products (topical) against Aedes aegypti colony mosquitoes. (Old ID 28960)
Melanie Koinari
30 Apr 2023 - 30 Jun 2023
This project is about testing the mosquito repellency of a topical lotion product manufactured by Vanilla Mozzi using colony Ae. aegypti mosquitoes.
Strengthening Livelihoods for Food Security Amongst Cocoa and Oil Palm Farming Communities in Papua New Guinea (Old ID 21641)
Paul Nelson
01 Jul 2014 - 28 Feb 2019
This project addresses rising food insecurity amongst smallholder cocoa and oil palm households in Papua New Guinea. The capacity of these households to grow or buy food is declining due to increasing populations and decreasing per-capita income in oil palm-growing communities and the spread of coco pod borer in cocoa-growing areas. The project objectives are to i) assess food security status in these communities, ii) determine the key factors influencing food security, iii) enhance food and livelihood security through strengthening food production and diversifying incomes, and iv) strengthen household and institutional capacity to address food and livelihood security.
Migration and Environmental Risks: A Case Study into Perceptions of Risk Factors for Coastal Living in the Cairns Northern Beaches (Old ID 22936)
Nick Osbaldiston
01 Sep 2016 - 31 Dec 2017
This project investigates the impact of population churn in the Cairns Northern Beaches. The aim is to understand who is moving into the area and what factors attracted them. It further aims to understand how migrants negotiate environmental risks, what equity concerns there might be between them and extant community members, and how policy can respond to produce equitable outcomes. The research will promote understanding of highly mobile tropical communities with diverse demographics and the future planning risks inherent in a climate changed environment. It will add to the growing need to incorporate environmental risks into migration theory within scholarship.
Limiting Environmental Impacts While Optimizing Benefits of Rapid Road Expansion in the Asia-Pacific Region (Old ID 22967)
William Laurance
01 Oct 2016 - 31 Mar 2020
We will assess the impacts of roads and other infrastructure on terrestrial ecosystems of the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on rapidly developing frontier areas in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. Key goals will include devising land-use planning models to reduce environmental costs, maximise economic benefits, and predict the impacts of new roads and infrastructure on the environment. We will work actively with local partners and stakeholders, and engage in a variety of outreach and dissemination activities, to promote more sustainable infrastructure development in our environmentally critical study area.
Torres Strait Seagrass Research (Old ID 23045)
Alexandra Carter
19 Oct 2016 - 30 Jun 2027
This seagrass research program continues collaborations with TSRA LSLMU Rangers in the Dugong Sanctuary, and will conduct seagrass baseline surveys at Dungeness Reef. The baseline assessment will form the foundation for ongoing monitoring, and provide essential information to the TSRA, Australian and Queensland Governments for dugong and turtle management plans, complimenting dugong and turtle research studies in the region and building skills and capacity of Traditional Owners and Rangers.
Bringing Modern Genomics to the Management of Lung Cancer in Queensland (Old ID 23121)
Alan Baxter
02 Jan 2018 - 01 Jul 2019
Our project will overcome many of the issues slowing the implementation of cancer genomics and personalised medicine in the state, including (and where relevant, in partnership with the QGHA capability projects): • We will develop models of care covering all aspects from consent, sample collection and handling, genomic profiling, data analysis and reporting of both somatic and heritable variants, to enable clinical uptake. • We will develop education programs for health care workers and patients. • We will establish protocols for cancer genomics in Indigenous populations in consensus with Indigenous communities. • We will perform a comprehensive analysis of the performance of all aspects of the upgraded model of care and compare it with the current standard of care to identify areas for improvement, and to establish the case for its broader implementation. A system of performance analysis and systems improvement will be built into the care pathways developed, to ensure continuous service improvement beyond the life of this project.
Mangrove Watch NT Pilot Project (Old ID 23562)
Norm Duke
30 Jun 2017 - 30 Jun 2018
The li-Anthawirriyarra, Numbulwar and Yugul Mangi Rangers will participate in the pilot MangroveWatch project in the Northern Territory (Gulf of Carpentaria), in Collaboration with James Cook University and the Territory Natural Resource Management group (TNRM). The Rangers will undertake 2 days of training in the MangroveWatch monitoring methodology and another 2 days of supervised shoreline monitoring assessment in the Gulf of Carpentaria region in early Sept 2017. After this, the Rangers will conduct independent surveys using this training until June 2018. Data collected by the Rangers with be assessed and reported on by the TropWATER scientist partners who will give appropriate feedback to the TNRM and the Ranger groups on the health and condition of shoreline ecosystems in the south-western Gulf region. It is of note that this region was heavily impacted with extensive mangrove dieback in late 2015 as a result of extreme climatic conditions.
Developing a physical activity program for Aboriginal families with Machado Joseph Disease (MJD) living in the Top End of Australia (Old ID 24672)
Ruth Barker
01 Mar 2018 - 30 Apr 2023
Worldwide, no research has been conducted to investigate the impact of physical activity on individuals with MJD. MJD is 100 times more prevalent in Aboriginal communities in the Top End than anywhere else in the world. This project will develop a physical activity program derived from the voices of the Warnindilyakwa people with MJD, scientific literature and strengthened using a modified Delphi consensus approach. The program is expected to: • Reduce the impact of MJD and keep families ‘stronger for longer’. • Be transferrable to other communities • Build capacity of community research partners • Develop resources for health services to improve care for MJD families in Australia.
Qcide® Oil Extraction and Processing Technology with the aim to improve the oil extraction process (Old ID 26262)
Yinghe He
10 Dec 2018 - 10 May 2019
Implement an on-site experimentation program to establish baseline parameters (temperature, pressure, flow rates, oil yield) for the existing static oil extraction system using instrumentation acquired and installed as part of a previous (Phase 1) project. Evaluate the effect of key extraction process variables on the quantity and quality of the oil, and evaluate product change with process variable(s). Correlate the measurement results with the oil content results to develop an understanding of steam flow, biomass-stream contact and the oil extraction dynamics, and their possible variations from batch to batch. Analysis and reporting of experimentation results.
Barocycler Pressure Cycling Technology Sample Preparation System (Old ID 26471)
Denise Doolan
01 Jan 2018 - 31 Dec 2019
To purchase a Pressure Biosciences NEP3229-002 Barocycler Pressure Cycling Technology Sample Preparation System. This instrument is specifically designed for the rapid, robust, versatile, reproducible, and quantitative extraction of nucleic acids, proteins, and small molecules from a wide variety of sources including viruses, bacteria, plant and animal cells and tissues for mass spectrometry applications in genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. This will drastically improve the reproducibility, speed and cost efficiency and reduces potential contaminations during sample preparation to generate very high quality data.