Young Tall Poppy Science Award winners - Victoria & Tasmania 2009

Dr Jacob Baum, Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Malaria is one of humanity’s most prevalent diseases. It causes hundreds of millions of infections annually and is the single largest cause of infant mortality in huge areas of Africa and South East Asia, killing a child every thirty seconds. As Jake explains, “Just as understanding the mechanics of a car allows you to fix one, my research aims to take apart the motor that drives the malaria parasite and, rather than repair it, find that critical part which, when targeted by a drug, would stop movement.” By “throwing a spanner in the malaria motor,” Jacob’s research aims to develop drugs to stop the spread of malaria parasites, in order to prevent or treat malaria disease.

Dr Michelle Dunstone, Monash University

Michelle’s research focuses on understanding the structure and function of proteins involved in human immunity. She investigates the structure and molecular mechanism of Membrane Attack Complex / Perforin (MACPF)-like proteins, a family of molecules that perform key roles in humans such as eliminating virally infected cells, pre-cancerous cells and certain types of bacteria. The long-term goal of her research is to develop new approaches to inhibit the unwanted function and effects of these proteins, for example in human immune diseases such as Graft versus Host disease and inflammatory conditions.

 

Dr Alison Funston, The University of Melbourne

When materials, for example metals, become very small, their properties change considerably – for example, nanometre sized gold is red. To give an indication of size, the prefix “nano” stands for 1/1,000,000,000 of a metre. Alison’s research involves the investigation of the unique, interesting and often useful properties of materials at the nanoscale. Gold nanoparticles are highly coloured and are able to concentrate light in areas very close to the surface of the particles, and Alison sees applications as sensors for chemical or biological species, in smart optical films, in solar cells, and in optoelectronic circuits as a means to further miniaturise computer chips. One of her research goals is to actively control the colour of nanoparticles.


  

Dr Seana Gall, Menzies Research Institute, University of Tasmania

Epidemiology is an area of study concerned with the study of populations. Seana’s research focuses on two aspects of the health of populations, related to heart disease and stroke. First, by looking at older people who have had a stroke, Seana has identified examples of poor health management and has helped to achieve better outcomes for doctors and patients by improving patient health management. Second, looking at healthy people in their 20s and 30s, she has demonstrated a connection between bad habits such as smoking and bad diets, and a higher amount of fat in the blood. This research shows that an approach to preventing heart disease should focus not only on the older population, but should also consider younger people.

Dr Emily Hilder, The University of Tasmania

TASMANIAN TALL POPPY OF THE YEAR 2009

Emily’s research is in the field of separation science, which involves the separation of complex mixtures into their components. This important enabling science is relevant to applications such as drug testing in sport, environmental monitoring for air and water quality, DNA profiling, and many types of diagnostic tests for human disease. Emily develops new technologies that can be used to improve the quality of separations, or to enable separations of more complex mixtures than is possible today.

Dr Daniel Ierodiaconou, Deakin University

Daniel leads a team using sonar technologies and remotely operated video systems to map over 120,000 hectares of Victoria’s seafloor, revealing its stunning natural features for the first time. These include ‘gardens’ of invertebrates dominated by magnificently coloured sponges, seaweed forests, off-shore seagrass meadows, and submerged river systems and lagoons that would have supported Aboriginal communities over 10,000 years ago.

“The work means we can learn more about the past, identify critical habitat for marine organisms and make more informed decisions to ensure we manage these systems appropriately,” says Daniel. The images also provide a snapshot in time, providing baseline data to assess future impacts associated with climate changes and other human activities

Dr Michael Kearney, The University of Melbourne 

VICTORIAN TALL POPPY OF THE YEAR 2009

One of Michael’s research topics tackles the question – “why give up sex?” He studies grasshoppers, stick insects and geckos from the Australian arid zone, which have given up sex and reproduce instead by cloning. By understanding what makes these asexual species successful, Michael hopes to describe the ecological and evolutionary forces that shape our largest ecosystem.

Human alterations to climate and habitats are causing unprecedented changes to the distribution and abundance of species, with consequences for conservation, health and economies. Michael has developed novel approaches in order to predict the responses of endangered species, pests and disease vectors to future climate change.

Dr Chris Manzie, The University of Melbourne

Chris seeks to improve the performance, economy and emissions of transportation systems. His models for fuel consumption assist in improving fuel efficiency in today’s increasingly complex vehicles, and he has also made advances in reducing emissions by ensuring catalytic converters operate at maximum efficiency, reducing the amount of polluting gases emitted from domestic and commercial vehicles. Chris currently co-leads a multimillion dollar project to develop a hydrogen combustion engine with world-leading efficiency.

Dr Daniel Price, Monash University

 Daniel explains that although stars like the Sun are common throughout the universe, with hundreds of billions of stars in galaxies like our Milky Way, we have relatively little idea of how stars are actually made. While we can get clues by observing nearby “stellar nurseries”, our only hope of understanding the process of star formation, which takes millions of years, is by complex computer modelling. Much of Daniel’s research focuses on understanding the important role of magnetic fields in regulating star formation. His work has not only led to a better understanding of this process, but is also helping to solve other problems in astrophysics where magnetism is important.

 

Dr Wouter Schellart, Monash University

Wouter’s research in Geoscience has covered everything from how the different plates that make up the Earth’s outer shell evolve and interact and generate earthquakes, to the fluid dynamics and solid mechanics of the Earth’s mantle, and the formation of mountain ranges and ocean basins. At a time when the global population is rapidly increasing, and natural hazards and climate change are discussed in the public arena, Wouter sees geoscience, which seeks to understand how the Earth’s dynamic systems work, as an increasingly important field.

Wouter’s recent work on modelling the Southwest Pacific region culminated in the discovery of a fossil ocean basin, deep below the Tasman Sea. His plate tectonic research has demonstrated why the Andes mountains formed in South America rather than anywhere else, and why a massive mountain range is slowly starting to form in Japan.

Dr Elaine Wong, The University of Melbourne

Elaine’s research centres on fibre-to-the-home access networks, which are optical networks that directly connect end users in homes, schools and office buildings to the core optical network. In order to span long distances, long links in Australia are amplified by high-powered amplifiers to maintain connection. Elaine concentrates on investigating practical issues concerning laser and eye safety, exposure limits, and protection schemes, to ensure the safety of these fibre-optic networks.