La Trobe University researchers have been awarded $3.3 million in the latest Australian Research Council (ARC) grant announcements.
The ARC Linkage Grants, Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards and Future Fellowships were announced this month.
La Trobe Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Industry Engagement) Professor Susan Dodds said the success re-enforced the University’s high standards.
“I am delighted that seven La Trobe researchers are receiving funding, including five who are receiving Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards. These successes in such a highly competitive environment recognise La Trobe’s valued contribution to knowledge and understanding across a wide range of fields of study,” Professor Dodds said.
Linkage Grant
Professor Diane Kirkby (History) with Professor Stuart Macintyre (University of Melbourne) – $345,271
The Australian Council of Trade Unions in the Making of Modern Australia
This project brings political, economic and social history together with a feminist analysis to explore the Australian Council of Trade Unions’ significance in shaping modern Australia.
Future Fellowship
Dr Claudia Haake (History) – $843,270
Indigenous Governance Under Colonisation
Dr Haake 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. The research will have direct relevance for Australia’s understanding of its own Indigenous strategies.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards
Dr Subir Sarker (Life Sciences) – $388,945
Characterisation of avian circovirus protein complexes
Dr Subir aims to better understand how beak and feather disease virus (BFDV) is assembled. The virus affects Australian native birds, which are currently endangered or critically endangered and has the potential to disrupt native ecosystems.
Dr Donna Whelan (Molecular Sciences) – $424,636
DNA Replication Stress: Charactering ground zero for genomic instability
Dr Whelan will use advanced interdisciplinary imaging techniques to directly visualize DNA replication stress structures within cells in order to better understand how cells stop this stress from progressing into DNA damage.
Dr Sarah Stewart (Molecular Sciences) – $427,116
How do extracellular vesicles fuse with cells to deliver messages?
Dr Stewart aims to investigate how tiny packages released by all cells in the human body, called extracellular vesicles, deliver messages into neighbouring cells facilitating cell-to-cell communication.
Dr Tran Khoa Phan (Engineering and Mathematical Sciences) – $424,709
Enabling Energy Self-Sufficient and Secure Internet of Things
Dr Phan aims to develop novel resource management and transmission techniques to enable an energy self-sufficient and secure Internet of Things by utilising energy harvesting technology and robust physical-layer security approach.
Dr Andrea Waling (Psychology and Public Health) – $406,649
Sexuality, masculinity and technology: men and intimacy in the digital age
Dr Waling aims to understand young Australian men’s experiences of sexual intimacy and technology use, and how those experiences relate to their masculinity and sexual engagement with women.
