Grants & Opportunities

Novel mechanisms of adhesion assembly and crosstalk in arteries and veins. Arteries and veins are lined by cells with different adhesive properties to facilitate vessel specific barrier physiology. What controls adhesion differences is still poorly understood. This research will apply unique zebrafish models, 3D human micro-vessels, and omics approaches to help solve this knowledge gap in two complementary Programs: [P1] Identify how a novel Adrenomedullin-Pim kinase pathway regulates adhesion only in veins [P2] Visualise dynamics of adhesive forces in vivo and identify how these forces contribute to barrier function This work will enhance our understanding of blood vessel integrity in different vessel types and expand the scope of Australian research by informing efforts to vascularise engineered tissues.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Lead: A/Prof Anne Karine Lagendijk

Ensuring renewable energy zone stability for Australian net-zero transition. This project aims to develop an innovative data-driven modelling method for renewable generators. Currently, the stability of modern renewables can only be analysed via time-consuming scenario-based simulations, and there is a lack of effective means to holistically assess system stability. This project expects to generate for the first time clear renewable generator models through measurements and partially known information from generator manufacturers to replace the existing black-box models. Expected outcomes include a new data-driven modelling method of renewables, which will significantly benefit the energy industry by increasing power grid stability, ultimately boosting investment in and uptake of renewable technologies and products.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4008 - Electrical Engineering. Lead: A/Prof Ruifeng Yan

Unlocking Hydrogen Storage Potential in Australian Depleted Gas Reservoirs. Hydrogen (H2) is a key element of the world's energy transition. Underground hydrogen storage (UHS) in depleted gas reservoirs (DGR) can make a significant contribution to achieving the required storage capacity in Australia for a fully developed H2 industry (over 5 million tonnes). This project aims to generate new knowledge regarding the mechanical stability of DGRs and their caprock during UHS and identify environmental/safety risks in this poorly understood technology. Expected outcomes include a comprehensive geomechanical model and guidelines for risk-controlled UHS. These will offer a safe operational protocol for the industry and encourage investment in UHS projects, assisting Australia's transition to a renewable energy future.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4019 - Resources Engineering and Extractive Metallurgy. Lead: Dr Samintha Perera

Novel process and reactors design for metal leaching in battery recycling. This project aims to design an efficient and scalable leaching process with high feasibility for commercialisation, contributing to ReNew Materials Pty Ltd's strategic investment plan in battery industry. Through advanced modelling and experiment approach, a closed-loop leaching process including scalable reactors and a wastewater treatment unit using green chemicals will be developed with high conversion efficiency and adaptability to industry settings. Expected outcomes include a next-generation leaching system prototype and advanced knowledge in mathematic models, green leaching process fundamentals and prototype manufacturing. This drives the process technology innovation for Australia’s waste battery on-shore recycling industry.. Scheme: Early Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 4004 - Chemical Engineering. Lead: Dr Shuang Song

Rethinking 4D Shape Statistics via Neural Functional Representations. This project will develop novel mathematical tools and machine learning algorithms for the statistical modelling and analysis of how biological objects develop their 3D shape, grow and deform as they interact with their environment. It will generate new knowledge on how to mathematically model the 3D geometry, deformations and growth using a novel generation of neural networks that are physically motivated, compact and fast to train. These are crucial for understanding developmental processes, natural growth and disease progression in biological objects. Expected outcomes include innovative techniques and computational tools that operate directly on RGB images and videos, with substantial benefits to biology, health and computer vision. . Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4603 - Computer Vision and Multimedia Computation. Lead: Prof Hamid Laga

Understanding the role of meningeal barriers in brain immune privilege. This project investigates how the arachnoid barrier in the meninges supports immune privilege, protecting the brain from inflammatory damage. This project will explore arachnoid barrier function and dysfunction to open up a new frontier that unravels the fundamental principles that regulate neuro-immune interactions to safeguard the brain. This interdisciplinary study will offer paradigm-shifting insights into the communication between the nervous and immune systems, transforming our understanding of how the immune system and nervous system interact. These findings will pave the way to harness these protective mechanisms, with future applications that will help protect brain health and preserve brain function during healthy aging.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3109 - Zoology. Lead: Dr Leon Smyth

Arithmetic Statistics, Dynamics and Quantum Chaos. The aim of the project is to investigate various aspects of arithmetic statistics and pseudorandomness in Number Theory and Dynamics, with applications to Quantum Chaos. These include arithmetic statistics of matrix groups over number theoretic domains, randomness aspects of orbits generated by arithmetic dynamical systems, as well as investigating the pseudorandomness nature of the renowned cat map, providing a discrete model of quantum chaos. Important outcomes include progress towards several conjectures, as well as developing a variety of new number theoretic methods which are both novel and deep. It will continue to drive and influence research in mathematics as well as more applied areas beyond the confines of this project.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 4904 - Pure Mathematics. Lead: A/Prof Alina Ostafe

Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying adaptive behaviour. Some species exhibit the ability to suitably adapt their behaviour in dynamic environments. A key gap in knowledge is how new experiences can be properly intertwined with pre-existing learning while avoiding interference and disarray. This project seeks to identify the cellular and circuit mechanisms underlying behavioural change. Using established behavioural tasks to measure memory interference, with cutting-edge neuroscience techniques for in vivo imaging and manipulation of brain circuits in behaving mice, this Fellowship aims to unravel how major neuromodulatory systems intersect to modify future behaviours. The translation of this work may lead to better ways to treat inflexible traits and to develop new adaptive artificial networks.. Scheme: ARC Future Fellowships. Field: 3109 - Zoology. Lead: Dr Miriam Matamales

STEM for all: Innovative support and nationwide access. This project aims to strengthen the accessibility, engagement, and educational impact of science museums for families with young children in regional and rural communities. Providing national access to high quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs for young families will close STEM inequity gaps. Expected outcomes include innovative methods for capturing learning and engagement, a traveling STEM exhibit and program for young children, and scaffolded support for adults to engage children in STEM based play. This should provide significant benefits, such as creating pathways into STEM by improving analytical, scientific, mathematical, and technical skills, and fostering a sense of curiosity and STEM identity.. Scheme: Mid-Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 3903 - Education Systems. Lead: A/Prof Ilyse Resnick

Digital Twin and Vision-based Techniques for Bridge Health Monitoring . This project aims to develop advanced digital twin models and computer vision-based techniques, to effectively conduct structural health monitoring, crack detection and progression monitoring, and reliable load rating for preventing catastrophic failure of ageing bridges. This project will develop next-generation bridge inspection and digital twin techniques. Expected outcomes of the project include advanced vision-based approaches to conduct defect identification, novel digital twin models to process the identified defects and determining the load rating of real remote in-service bridges. This project will provide significant benefits to asset owners and research end-users to reduce operational interruptions and prevent structural failure.. Scheme: Mid-Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 4005 - Civil Engineering. Lead: Prof Jun Li

3D-Printed Antennas in Package for Millimetre-Wave Semiconductor Packaging. This project seeks to address key research challenges in millimetre-wave antenna-in-package technology for electronic packaging by combining additively manufactured electronics with semiconductor chips. It targets an industry-wide knowledge gap in antenna-in-package beamforming, beam-steering, and thermal management. The proposed antenna-in-package approach provides a cost-effective, on-demand, and waste-reducing solution, enabling complex designs for compact electronic devices that traditional methods cannot support. The findings will offer valuable insights for antenna array packaging within the 5G frequency band. Additionally, the project aims to bolster Australia’s semiconductor industry by developing a local manufacturing ecosystem.. Scheme: Mid-Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 4006 - Communications Engineering. Lead: Prof Yang Yang

The Development of Wearable Zinc Ion Batteries . This project aims to develop flexible, safe, and efficient zinc-ion batteries for wearable devices, such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, using environmentally friendly and low-cost materials as a safer alternative to traditional options. This project expects to advance the field of energy storage for wearables by enhancing battery performance, flexibility, and durability to meet the demands of modern electronics. Expected outcomes include reliable, lightweight power sources, stronger industry collaborations, and advancements in sustainable battery technology. The project promises significant benefits, including job creation, growth in Australia’s wearable tech sector, and sustainable energy solutions for both consumers and businesses.. Scheme: Mid-Career Industry Fellowships. Field: 4016 - Materials Engineering. Lead: Prof Dawei Su

ARC Training Centre for Climate-Resilient Water. The Centre aims to skill people, and organisations to make water supply more climate-resilient to new drought, flood and quality challenges. It uses advanced monitoring, adaptive management, and multi-functional precinct design. Creating new collaborative governance approaches, and wide stakeholder and community support, is key to success. Improved economic and energy security, strengthened decision-making, and greater use of recycling and stormwater are key expected outcomes supported by an industry-engaged process and a legacy Knowledge and Training Bank. A national Design Challenge series for water and energy infrastructure seeks to drive collaborative innovation. Multiple sciences come together to impact strategies, policy and thought.. Scheme: Industrial Transformation Training Centres. Field: 4005 - Civil Engineering. Lead: Prof Steven Kenway

Change The Date? Australia Day, Reconciliation and the Politics of Division. This applied research addresses Australia’s polarised debates over national identity, focusing on reconciling colonial histories with shared modern values to foster inclusivity. By integrating Indigenous knowledge systems, governance frameworks, and media analysis through interdisciplinary methods, it generates new insights into identity formation and new cultural narratives. Expected outcomes include educational resources, inclusive governance models, and strengthened disciplinary collaborations. Benefits include advancing reconciliation, promoting truth-telling. Outputs, such as educational tools, podcasts, and policy recommendations, will empower communities and inform public discourse.. Scheme: Discovery Indigenous. Field: 4410 - Sociology. Lead: Dr Jennifer Mason

Intergenerational Healing: A Creative First Nations Approach to Wellbeing. This project aims to address the impacts of intergenerational trauma on First Nations communities. It will investigate how community strengths contribute to long-term healing. This will be achieved using Indigenist mixed methods, including conversational storytelling, a culturally designed survey, and creative practice led research. This project expects to generate new knowledge in culturally appropriate approaches to addressing intergenerational trauma. It will use an interdisciplinary approach to generate outcomes including community-led theory, resources, networks, research tools, and an international dataset. This should provide significant benefits, such as improvements in wellbeing and contribution to international policy directions.. Scheme: Discovery Indigenous. Field: 4501 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culture, Language and History. Lead: Prof Naomi Sunderland

Aboriginal Health Equity: culturally safe care and child development . The Aboriginal Health Equity Futures study will be the first longitudinal cohort study to examine and quantify culturally safe care impacts on Aboriginal children's developmental trajectories. Integrated prospectively collected and linked administrative data will establish if children (0-5 years) benefit from maternal exposure to culturally safe perinatal care practices. Building on prior studies, the quantitative design within an Indigenous research framework will provide a novel platform for a comprehensive analysis of wellbeing inequalities in the early life course. The study is critical to sustain culturally responsive maternity care and for health policies and practice which support Closing the Gap targets for future generations.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4504 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Wellbeing. Lead: Prof Rhonda Marriott

Unravelling ammonia slip in zero-carbon rich-lean staged combustors. Ammonia, which can be produced via renewable electricity, has potential as a zero-carbon fuel in gas turbine engines. In emerging rich-lean staged combustion systems, ammonia slip, the emission of unburned ammonia in the primary rich stage is a significant unsolved issue, since it leads to large emissions of oxides of nitrogen when consumed in the second stage. Using large-scale, first principles direct numerical simulations, we aim to provide basic understanding of two proposed mechanisms for ammonia slip that involve local quenching: the interaction with a cold wall or via aerodynamic straining in turbulence. Understanding these mechanisms will facilitate the design of mitigation strategies, enabling ammonia-fuelled zero-carbon engines.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 4012 - Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Engineering. Lead: Prof Evatt Hawkes

Protosilks: New Silk Proteins for Biotechnology by Computational Design. This project aims to design new to nature silk proteins with enhanced properties such as greater strength, elasticity, and production efficiency using cutting-edge machine learning approaches. Silks are widely used industrially, as textiles, in biomedicine, and as advanced materials due to their exceptional mechanical properties and biocompatibility. By developing new, computationally designed silk proteins, this research will create sustainable materials with tailored functions, offering significant benefits for technology, industry, and the environment. The outcomes will demonstrate the power of machine learning in engineering proteins for advanced applications, paving the way for a new generation of high-performance biomaterials.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Lead: Prof Colin Jackson

Using telomeres to study how DNA repair guides cell death and growth arrest. This project examines biological activities influenced by the homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair pathway. In addition to DNA repair, we discovered that HR also controls cell death, cell cycle arrest, and interferon signalling following genome damage. These are novel HR functions and how they are regulated is entirely unknown. Here we will use cutting edge imaging techniques, whole genome CRISPR screening, mass spectrometry, and cell and molecular biology to study these newly identified activities. Expected outcomes include a mechanistic understanding of how HR regulates cell death and growth arrest, new perspectives on the diverse biology functions influenced by DNA repair, and training of the next generation of scientists. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3101 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Lead: Prof Anthony Cesare

Practical Mechanisms to Improve the Efficiency of Land Assembly. One of the best ways to increase housing supply in Australia is to promote urban infill and enabling higher density housing. Unfortunately, urban infill often requires the assembly of land and strata titles, which is known to be a hard economics problem. This project will develop and experimentally test practical mechanisms that can be used to assemble properties. A first project explores how to modify traditional property auctions and enable the consolidation of lots for medium-density townhouse projects. A second project explores how to modify strata rules to ensure that medium-density projects built today can be redeveloped in the future. . Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3801 - Applied Economics. Lead: Prof Ralph Bayer

Micro and nanoplastics: measurement, toxicokinetics and cardiac impacts . This project aims to address the biological effects of micro- and nanoplastic (MNP) exposure by investigating their toxicokinetics and impacts on the cardiovascular system. Leveraging a cutting-edge platform to produce environmentally relevant plastic particles and integrating advanced single-cell RNA sequencing, the research will identify mechanisms of particle uptake, clearance, and cellular toxicity. Expected outcomes include new tools to improve MNP measurement capability in biological samples, and critical insights into particle behaviour and toxicity pathways. This will provide benefits including advancing toxicology research capacity and providing foundational knowledge to inform environmental policy and regulatory frameworks.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3109 - Zoology. Lead: A/Prof Alexander Pinto

Breaking Barriers: The Role of the Intestinal Barrier Ageing in Longevity . Food and gastrointestinal (GI) barrier function are central to life and critical for longevity. This project aims to identify cellular and molecular drivers of GI barrier decline and its systemic consequences and to examine how macronutrients shape GI barrier architecture and physiology over a lifetime, providing novel insights into interactions between diet and ageing. Using molecular, biochemical, and proteomic techniques, this project expects to identify basic mechanisms of ageing, offering a fundamental understanding of how in the aged GI barrier shapes systemic physiology, nutrition, and organismal homeostasis. The outcomes of this work may guide future innovations in nutritional science and strategies to optimize ageing trajectories.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3202 - Clinical Sciences. Lead: Dr Rachel McQuade

Deciphering Cellular Dialogue in Complex Tissues. It remains challenging to decode how cells communicate with each other in the complex tissues of the body. This is especially true for immune cells that can use different molecular signals to talk based on where they sit in tissues. This project aims to capture cell communication in 3 dimensions and use this spatially resolved atlas of mammalian spleen to build an immersive means to decode these interactions. Using cutting-edge technologies, we will uncover cell and protein interaction networks that control immune responses in tissue niches. This research will benefit fundamental immunology and provide new tools for interrogation of cellular communication across biology.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3204 - Immunology. Lead: Prof Scott Mueller

Rapidly-evolving jets at the highest angular resolution. This project will develop innovative new algorithms for Australia's unique high angular resolution radio telescopes, enabling us to achieve unprecedented accuracy in producing radio images of fast evolving and explosive cosmic events. These advances will determine how black holes launch powerful jets that recycle matter and energy back into their cosmic surroundings. This addresses a key question in modern astrophysics, generating new knowledge on the most energetic events in our Universe. The project will leverage Australia's significant investments in world-leading telescope facilities, develop new capability in data science and statistical techniques and inspire the public by generating real-time movies of black hole jets as they evolve.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 5101 - Astronomical Sciences. Lead: Prof James Miller-Jones

Crafting Policies for Unpredictable Technological Impacts on Income. This project aims to develop policies to manage the unpredictable impact of technological innovations on income distribution in Australia. By employing a dynamic taxation model that incorporates ambiguity aversion, it seeks to provide novel insights into income and capital tax policies under technological uncertainty. The project aims to deliver implementable policy reforms that enhance economic equity and efficiency while navigating the unknowns posed by advancements in automation and artificial intelligence across Australia's labour market. Its broader benefits include offering sustainable solutions to challenges posed by technological advancements and improving social welfare in Australia.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3801 - Applied Economics. Lead: Dr Pei Cheng Yu