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QoVAX SET Testing and Biobank Project – North Queensland (Old ID 27546)
The QoVAX SET (Queensland COVID-19 Vaccination Safety and Efficacy Trial) program is a population-based study of COVID-19 vaccine safety and effectiveness, providing a resource for studies to understand how the immune system responds to the COVID-19 vaccines, and what factors might affect vaccine response. Though this contract, JCU is supporting the North Queensland arm of this program - QoVAX Program participants recruited in Cairns.
LEX/NG
Coral reefs face dual threats of climate change and local anthropogenic stressors, with losses of live corals often resulting in proliferated macroalgae (seaweeds). My previous National Geographic-funded research showed that a low-tech, simple approach of “sea-weeding” (i.e. removing seaweeds by hand) is effective in rehabilitating degraded, macroalgae-dominated reefs. Specifically, my 5-year research program resulted in a >600% increase in coral cover post-seaweed removal since 2018. These promising outcomes offer a cost-effective strategy for reef management, particularly for economically constrained island nations. However, the success of sea-weeding may be species-specific. On the studied reefs, Sargassum was the dominant genus of seaweed. Hence further research is required across diverse algal taxa to gauge the broader applicability of sea-weeding to improve coral reef resilience.
Many South Pacific island nations are facing increased seaweed abundance as reefs continue to degrade. The loss of corals is catastrophic, as reefs form an integral part of Pacific culture, providing a significant proportion of dietary protein through reef-associated fish. Additionally, coral reefs provide shoreline protection for low-lying islands, and losses of reefs could contribute to oceanic inundation. The PALA and PAPA voyage locations are ideal candidates for implementing sea-weeding as a low-cost restoration and management technique. However, these reefs are relatively unexplored, with little recent quantitative documentation of reef community composition. Indeed, even where surveys exist, the taxonomic resolution of seaweed communities is lacking (i.e., all algae are grouped together as “algae” rather than genus- or species-level observations). Hence, the primary objective of this project is to explore the distribution and diversity of reef communities around the tropical South Pacific. The data collected will form a baseline understanding over a large geographic area of w
Development of job-fit instrument for blue collar workers
The goal of this project is to develop job fit criteria for blue-collar workers. Job fit criteria are the specific skills, abilities, and personality traits required for a particular job. For blue-collar workers, these criteria may include physical strength, manual dexterity, and the ability to work in a noisy or dirty environment. The project team will also conduct interviews and surveys with blue-collar workers, hiring managers, and industry experts to gather information on the skills and qualities that are most important for success in these types of jobs. This information will be used to develop a set of job fit criteria that can be used by employers to identify the best candidates for blue-collar positions. The final deliverables for this project will include a comprehensive report detailing the job fit criteria for blue-collar workers, as well as papers for academic journals.
Circular economy and feed management approaches for inclusive and sustainable development of marine aquaculture in Vietnam
Marine aquaculture in Vietnam has traditionally used low value ‘trash’ fish as a feed source, due to its low cost, relative nutrient completeness and ready availability. Trash fish is generally considered a high risk input as it can be a vector for disease entry into farms, and is often associated with a high degree of uneaten feed entering the environment, resulting in eutrophication. Formulated feeds result in better feed conversion and nutrient utilisation than trash fish, with lower nutrient output into the environment per unit fish produced. This project investigates feed management for optimised feed conversion, growth and lower environmental impact for marine fish aquaculture.
Seagrass surveys in the Southern Gulf 2023-2024
This project is a collaboration of specialists including the Yanyuwa and Marra Traditional Owners and li-Anthawirriyarra Sea Rangers, scientists from James Cook University and Charles Darwin University, and Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife. The team will survey the subtidal marine benthic habitats within Yanyuwa and Marra sea country. Using data from the survey and other available information, rangers and scientists will work together to determine priority management areas and identify areas and opportunities for broader community engagement in the management of sea country.
Herbert River Blue Carbon investigation Waltham
Working with landholders on floodplain to map out and identify suitable restoration project land suitable for environmental markets
Independent testing of solar panel cooling device (the B-Panel) (Old ID 23054)
Provide independent testing of a solar panel modification claiming to boost average power output by 30%. Testing will help progress the concept and current prototype further towards commercialisation. Test a collaboration model for new, early stage start-ups being trailed by JCU and iNQ. Aims to explore how access to JCU's technical skills, equipment and technical mentoring plus guided linkage with local entrepreneurial activities at iNQ e.g. Involvement in Start-Up weekends and membership of iNQ plus access to one-on-one entrepreneurial assessment, mentoring and training activities at iNQ improves the chances of success for micro and SMEs in commercialisation ideas.
Improving the accuracy of weed killing robots with new image processing algorithms and near infra-red spectroscopy techniques (Old ID 23146)
Automated weed species recognition remains a major obstacle to the development and industry acceptance of robotic weed control technology. Particular problems occur in rangeland applications, including high light variability and weed-camera distance variability, which cause camera dynamic range problems, image blurring, and occlusion by other plants. This project aims to develop robust image recognition systems combined with Near Infra-Red spectroscopic methods for these complex rangeland environments with special emphasis on the broad-acre grazing pastures in North Queensland. The developed imaging systems will be suitable for all weed killing applications with particular emphasis given to foliar spot-spraying and Herbicide Ballistic Technologies.
Genomics for Undiagnosed Infectious Disease Evaluation and Diagnosis in Northern Australia (Old ID 24759)
Diagnosis of scabies mostly relies on clinical symptoms as mites are extremely difficult to find in skin lesions of ordinary scabies (<20) which leads to under/misdiagnosis. This pilot project will address a long wanted need to develop a rapid diagnostic test for scabies. It is anticipated that this new DNA test will be highly sensitive and specific and will outperform standard microscopy. This will provide a powerful tool in scabies diagnosis particulary useful in clinical trials and epidemiologic studies.
Developing phylodynamic models of bacterial evolution to investigate the tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in Daru, Papua New Guinee (Old ID 26449)
Australia's nearest neighbour, Papua New Guinea (PNG), is listed by the WHO as one of 30 high TB-burden countries, and Daru Island, off the southern coast of PNG, has been identified as a major TB hotspot. Given the immediate and porous border between Daru and Far-North Queensland (FNQ), cross-border transmission of drug-resistance tuberculosis into mainland Australia is a major public health concern. Here we use phylodynamic models (i.e mathematical models of infectious disease transmission supplemented with genetic data) to investigate the scale and severity of TB transmission in Daru and prevent similar outbreaks among FNQ communities.