Ten mid-career University of Queensland researchers have been awarded funding in the first round of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowships scheme in 2022.
The UQ Future Fellowships recipients are among 100 researchers to benefit from the $94 million scheme to find solutions for key industry challenges while training the next generation of researchers.
Each of the 10 UQ projects will receive close to $1 million to support innovative research for the next four years on an area deemed to be of national importance.
Associate Professor Victor Anggono‘s project at the Queensland Brain Institute seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms of neuronal communication for sensory and motor processing, learning, memory and cognition.
Professor Antje Blumenthal will work on defining immune system responses to environmental cues while fostering international collaboration and training future scientists at The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute.
Dr Joel Carpenter from the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering has a project to improve optical instrumentation for applications including biomedical imaging and telecommunications.
Associate Professor Coral Gartner at the School of Public Health will develop new regulatory options for legal tobacco which minimise transferring demand to illegal products.
Associate Professor Lee Hickey‘s project at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation is to optimise the root systems of food crops by overcoming genetic constraints.
Dr Ruth Knibbe from the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering aims to improve understanding of the processes in zinc-ion batteries and high temperature electrolysis systems to facilitate new materials design.
Associate Professor Timothy Mercer of the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology has a project to engineer synthetic genes to allow standardisation and optimisation of biomanufacturing processes.
Dr Conan Wang of the Institute for Molecular Bioscience has funding to develop a platform to design bioactive peptides and proteins to fight pests while protecting biodiversity.
Dr Loic Yengo of the Institute for Molecular Bioscience will develop statistical methods and software tools to analyse large genomic datasets and identify variants in humans and other species.
Assistant Professor Rowan Young will look for new processing methods for fluorocarbons for agrochemicals and other applications which prevent environmental release.
