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Search Marsden awards 2008–2017

Search awarded Marsden Fund grants 2008–2017

Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2014

Title: How to avoid brain damage during oxygen deprivation? Intertidal fish provide a unique test model

Recipient(s): Dr AJR Hickey | PI | The University of Auckland
Associate Professor GM Renshaw | AI | Griffith University, Gold Coast
Dr NA Herbert | AI | The University of Auckland
Associate Professor NP Birch | AI | The University of Auckland

Public Summary: While oxygen is fundamental for the brain, some vertebrates tolerate life without oxygen for hours. Intertidal rock-pool fishes show remarkable capacities to live with limited oxygen. To do so they most likely tolerate acidification and energy depletion that typically results in brain damage and death. We question how these animals cheat death. This study will test physiological, tissue and sub-cellular mechanisms that have evolved to protect oxygen starved brains in New Zealand's intertidal triplefin fishes. We hope to gain insights that may then provide clues as to how we can protect the mammalian brain in stroke and asphyxiation.

Total Awarded: $773,000

Duration: 3

Host: The University of Auckland

Contact Person: Dr AJR Hickey

Panel: CMP

Project ID: 14-UOA-210


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Fast-Start

Year Awarded: 2009

Title: Human anti-platelet auto-antibodies - are we overlooking their protective function?

Recipient(s): Dr ML Kalev-Zylinska | PI | The University of Auckland
Professor MJ During | AI | The University of Auckland
Associate Professor CM Ward | AI | The University of Sydney

Public Summary: Opportunistically, we have found that platelet-inhibiting antibodies develop in patients after stroke. Our hypothesis is that this is a part of a hitherto unrecognised natural mechanism to limit thrombosis. Using immunological methods, we will characterise how stroke antibodies bind platelets, determine their effects on platelet function, signalling and clot generation in vitro; and examine clinical correlations.
Measuring and modulating such anti-platelet antibody responses may offer new opportunities to manage thrombotic disease. Our immunological tests could be used to stratify thrombotic risk in people. Characterisation of antigenic targets could help design novel immunomodulatory strategies including vaccination for disease prevention or treatment.

Total Awarded: $266,667

Duration: 3

Host: The University of Auckland

Contact Person: Dr ML Kalev-Zylinska

Panel: BMS

Project ID: 09-UOA-127


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Fast-Start

Year Awarded: 2008

Title: Hunting for HIF-1 inhibitors: synthesis of Manassantin B, a potent, non-cytotoxic HIF-1 inhibitor

Recipient(s): Dr D Barker | PI | The University of Auckland

Public Summary: Manassantin B is a compound extracted from a herb used in Asian folk medicine. It has been found to inhibit the growth of hypoxic cancer cells, which are a type of cancer cell that exist in low oxygen conditions and are notoriously difficult to treat using standard therapies. Unlike other compounds that attack these cells, manassantin B has low toxicity, and as such, is a lead compound in the development of new non-toxic anti-cancer agents. The synthesis of manassantin B will allow the development of this exciting new class of therapeutic agents and reduce the use of toxic chemotherapeutic compounds.

Total Awarded: $266,667

Duration: 3

Host: The University of Auckland

Contact Person: Dr D Barker

Panel: PSE

Project ID: 08-UOA-112


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2015

Title: Hybrid quantum systems based on rare earth ion dopants

Recipient(s): Dr JJ Longdell | PI | University of Otago
Dr MJ Sellars | AI | Australian National University
Professor Y Nakamura | AI | University of Tokyo

Public Summary: This project aims to substantially improve the ability of rare-earth-ion doped systems to manipulate the quantum states microwave frequency excitations. Superconducting qubits, which operate at microwave frequency, have nearly all the capabilities required for large scale quantum computation, and devices based on rare-earth-ion doped systems can potentially complete the set. We will look at three areas in particular: we will increase the length of time which rare earth ion dopants can store microwave excitations; we develop new techniques for using rare earth spins as quantum memories; and we will investigate the potential of rare-earth-ion dopants in ferromagnetic crystals.

Total Awarded: $790,000

Duration: 3

Host: University of Otago

Contact Person: Dr JJ Longdell

Panel: PCB

Project ID: 15-UOO-247


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Fast-Start

Year Awarded: 2015

Title: Hyphae-on-a-chip: a microfluidic platform for the study of protrusive forces in hyphal invasion

Recipient(s): Dr VM Nock | PI | University of Canterbury
Dr A Garrill | AI | University of Canterbury

Public Summary: Fungi and oomycetes grow as pathogenic species on both plants and animals. They can have significant effects on human health and affairs, either directly through infections or indirectly through loss of crops and other species. The ability to grow invasively is one of the key processes in the pathogenicity of these organisms. Protrusive forces generated by the tip of a growing hyphae aid in the invasion. The aim of this project is to develop a platform of Lab-on-a-chip devices containing arrays of force-sensing micropillars, which will help to extend the understanding of the mechanisms that underlie invasive growth. This is likely to involve an interplay of enzymatic breakdown of host tissue and a protrusive force generated by the tip of the growing hypha. The protrusive force will be influenced by two factors: the turgor pressure of the hypha and the yielding capacity of the tip. The measurement of this protrusive force and determination of its underlying factors are the main aims of this proposal. Better understanding of the molecular generation of protrusive force may impact on how we address the many diseases and infections that occur due to invasive fungal and oomycete growth.

Total Awarded: $300,000

Duration: 3

Host: University of Canterbury

Contact Person: Dr VM Nock

Panel: EIS

Project ID: 15-UOC-037


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2016

Title: Hypothalamic Inflammation: Cause of leptin resistance and obesity?

Recipient(s): Dr A Tups | PI | University of Otago
Dr MZ Rizwan | AI | University of Otago

Public Summary: Loss of response to the body weight regulatory hormone, leptin, is regarded as the hallmark for the development of obesity. Understanding the origin of this leptin resistance is widely considered as the key to therapeutic interventions to treat obesity. The aim of this proposal is to test whether leptin resistance results from the combined action of hypothalamic inflammation and hyperleptinemia, associated with increased adiposity, thereby contributing to obesity. Mechanistic insights into the interaction of inflammatory pathways in the hypothalamus that are activated by saturated fats and leptin will improve our knowledge about the pathogenesis of obesity.

Total Awarded: $795,000

Duration: 3

Host: University of Otago

Contact Person: Dr A Tups

Panel: BMS

Project ID: 16-UOO-233


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2010

Title: I smell a ratite: predation risk and the evolution of odours in island birds

Recipient(s): Assoc Prof J Briskie | PI | University of Canterbury
Prof B Kempenaers | AI | Max Planck Institute for Ornithology

Public Summary: Some New Zealand birds have strong odours. Even to our relatively insensitive noses, kiwi smell like ammonia while the odour of kakapo has been likened to a dusty violin case! Strong odours are unusual in birds, but common in mammals, which use odours for communication and locating food. Preliminary work has revealed that strong odours may be widespread among New Zealand birds, and that these odours arise from the preen waxes produced in the uropygial gland. Preen waxes function to maintain feathers, but may also attract predators that use olfaction to locate prey. We will test if differences in the composition of preen waxes between island and continental birds are the result of their differing evolutionary histories with predatory mammals. The South Pacific area, including New Zealand, provides an ideal system for studying odours and predation risk as we can compare preen wax composition across a number of island birds that evolved without mammalian predators and their close phylogenetic relatives that co-evolved with predators in Australia. We will then test whether these differences in odours now put island birds at greater risk from introduced mammalian predators. This study will not only increase our understanding of the evolution of odours in birds, but for the first time, determine whether odours are playing a previously unrecognised role in the decline of island birds.

Total Awarded: $528,437

Duration: 3

Host: University of Canterbury

Contact Person: Assoc Prof J Briskie

Panel: EEB

Project ID: 10-UOC-049


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2009

Title: Icy tornadoes in the quantum world: Josephson junctions of Bose-Einstein condensates

Recipient(s): Dr J Brand | PI | Massey University
Professor PD Drummond | AI | Swinburne University of Technology
Associate Professor U Zuelicke | AI | Massey University

Public Summary: Quantum behaviour of macroscopic objects is important from the fundamental point of view and for possible applications in quantum technology. Recent advances in the manipulation and detection of Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) make it feasible to realize an analogue to superconducting electronic devices known as long Josephson junctions. Vortices confined to move along a predefined path are expected to show macroscopic quantum interference effects. Despite considerable international effort, such effects have not been seen in conventional BECs so far. We aim to develop a theoretical framework for understanding quantum and thermal fluctuations in these novel systems supported by computer simulations.

Total Awarded: $756,444

Duration: 3

Host: Massey University

Contact Person: Dr J Brand

Panel: PSE

Project ID: 09-MAU-048


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2013

Title: Identifying a zinc link in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Recipient(s): Dr JM Montgomery | PI | The University of Auckland
Professor CC Garner | PI | Stanford University

Public Summary: The behavioural dysfunctions that occur with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are thought to be causally linked to changes that converge at synapses. Here we will determine whether pharmacotherapy designed to restore synapse function in ASD also restores neuronal circuit function and behaviour. Our research will focus on Shank proteins, which are master regulators of synapse structure and function. Our preliminary data reveal that ASD-associated mutations in Shank3 are highly responsive to zinc, and that zinc reverses the synaptic deficits caused by ASD mutations in Shank3. We will utilise electrophysiology and imaging techniques to determine how zinc exerts these cellular effects, and whether the zinc-induced rescue of synaptic function spans across multiple ASD-associated mutations. We will then perform behavioural testing and electrophysiology in ASD mutant mice to link the changes zinc exerts at synapses to changes in behaviour. We will examine whether the rescue of synapse function by zinc induces milder ASD behavioural phenotypes, and whether low zinc levels induce more severe ASD behavioural phenotypes. Together, these data will reveal if zinc is a valuable tool to reverse the synaptic weakening effects induced by ASD mutations and whether a zinc-dependent synaptic signalling pathway is at the heart of ASD.

Total Awarded: $739,130

Duration: 3

Host: The University of Auckland

Contact Person: Dr JM Montgomery

Panel: BMS

Project ID: 13-UOA-053


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2015

Title: Identifying novel DNA replication components through harnessing the resource of Mendelian disease

Recipient(s): Dr LS Bicknell | PI | University of Edinburgh
Dr W Niedzwiedz | AI | University of Oxford
Professor AP Jackson | AI | University of Edinburgh

Public Summary: Mutations underlying single gene (Mendelian) disorders provide a powerful resource to harness to understand cellular functioning and development. In Meier-Gorlin syndrome (MGS), characterised by small ears, small kneecaps and short stature, we identified the first five disease genes which cooperate as a complex to establish sites from which DNA replication commences during cellular proliferation. More recently, we have preliminary genetic data implicating an additional downstream member of the replication machinery in causing MGS (cumulative 60% patient diagnosis). These observations suggest a hypothesis whereby MGS is due to dysfunction of both established and unappreciated DNA replication machinery. Determining additional disease genes from a MGS patient cohort will enable the delineation of novel replication components and, for MGS families, will be clinically valuable. To discover these novel genes, the exomes and genomes of MGS patients will be sequenced using next-generation sequencing technology, and candidate genes will be characterised at both a genetic and cellular level. Given the mesenchymal origins for many specific features in MGS, a mesenchymal stem cell resource will also be established, with a long-term potential to investigate the intriguing link between essential components of cellular replication machinery and MGS developmental anomalies.

Total Awarded: $840,000

Duration: 3

Host: University of Otago

Contact Person: Dr LS Bicknell

Panel: BMS

Project ID: 15-UOO-211


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