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Search Marsden awards 2008–2017

Search awarded Marsden Fund grants 2008–2017

Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2017

Title: Understanding the cellular and molecular drivers governing a unique whole body regeneration phenomenon in a chordate model.

Recipient(s): Dr MJ Wilson | PI | University of Otago
Dr S Blanchoud | AI | University of Fribourg
Associate Professor MD Lamare | AI | University of Otago
Professor B Rinkevich | AI | National Institute of Oceanography

Public Summary: Regeneration is a basic biological phenomenon that involves a complex temporal and spatial
interplay of molecular signaling cascades, cell divisions, chemical and mechanical stimuli.
However, the nature of signals that instigate the process of regeneration and the biology of effector
cells remain elusive. A striking example of regeneration is the process of whole body regeneration
phenomenon in Botrylloides, where a fully functional adult regenerates in under two weeks from
isolated minute fragments of blood vessels. Our research programme will combine cell-tracing,
gene editing and genomics methods to determine the molecular and cellular basis of regeneration in
this amazing animal.

Total Awarded: $820,000

Duration: 3

Host: University of Otago

Contact Person: Dr MJ Wilson

Panel: CMP

Project ID: 17-UOO-106


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2016

Title: Understanding the geometry of dynamics: invariant manifolds and their interactions

Recipient(s): Professor HM Osinga | PI | The University of Auckland
Professor JM Guckenheimer | AI | Cornell University
Dr A Hammerlindl | AI | Monash University
Professor B Krauskopf | AI | The University of Auckland

Public Summary: Many natural and man-made systems exhibit highly complex behaviour characterised by repeated bouts of pulsing or bursting. Our goal is to identify and characterise mathematically new types of this behaviour. Specifically, we will explain new kinds of chaotic dynamics and intricate patterns of mixed-mode oscillations, which exhibit episodes of both small and large amplitudes. The theory of dynamical systems describes universal features of associated mathematical models and, in this spirit, we will study smooth surfaces known as invariant manifolds---of different types and different dimensions---that organise the phase space of the system globally. These surfaces form a geometric backbone for complex recurrent dynamics, and their relative position dictates the patterns of the oscillations that can be observed.

Two PhD students will join our research team, consisting of investigators Osinga, Krauskopf and international collaborators Guckenheimer and Hammerlindl, to study representative mathematical models. We will compute the relevant invariant manifolds and determine how these surfaces interact with one another and with surfaces on which the dynamics is slow. The novelty lies in the emphasis on such global interactions, and their role in explaining and predicting the possible dynamics far away from regions near singularities and periodic orbits where they have been studied before.

Total Awarded: $590,000

Duration: 3

Host: The University of Auckland

Contact Person: Professor HM Osinga

Panel: MIS

Project ID: 16-UOA-286


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Fast-Start

Year Awarded: 2012

Title: Understanding the rapid electrophysiological transition in the stomach

Recipient(s): Dr P Du | PI | The University of Auckland
Dr LK Cheng | AI | The University of Auckland

Public Summary: Are you interested in finding out more about a previously unknown ‘rapid transition region’ in the stomach? This region is where the most vigorous contractions in the stomach begin to develop, accompanied by a drastic change in the bioelectrical activity of the stomach. I aim to employ innovative recording techniques and multi-scale mathematical models to bridge experimental observations and physiological processes of the stomach, from the cellular to tissue levels. The location of this rapid transition region will be demarcated experimentally using high-resolution electrical recording arrays and registering the arrays to subject-specific anatomical models. A mathematical model of the detailed tissue structures (e.g., fibre orientation), the cell physiology (e.g., bioelectrical activity), and the chemical messengers will be developed and incorporated into our model to present an integrative picture of the nature of the activities in the rapid transition region in the distal stomach. Through this process I will improve the state-of-the-art in this field and pave the way for an independent body of research to define the role of the rapid transition region in health and disease.

Total Awarded: $300,000

Duration: 3

Host: The University of Auckland

Contact Person: Dr P Du

Panel: EIS

Project ID: 12-UOA-228


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Fast-Start

Year Awarded: 2008

Title: Unification of immutability and ownership

Recipient(s): Dr A Potanin | PI | Victoria University of Wellington
Assoc Prof MD Ernst | AI | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Public Summary: Object-oriented programs rely on mutable objects. Surprisingly, the most requested feature missing from the mainstream languages is immutability. Immutability cannot be added to a language without ownership that protects objects from errors caused by unexpected accesses from one part of a program to another.

This work aims to advance the science of programming languages by providing a unified treatment of immutability and ownership, simplifying both the theory and practice of object-oriented programming.

Total Awarded: $266,667

Duration: 3

Host: Victoria University of Wellington

Contact Person: Dr A Potanin

Panel: MIS

Project ID: 08-VUW-016


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Fast-Start

Year Awarded: 2016

Title: Unique Acoustic Signatures to Diagnose Impending DOOM (Dysfunction Of Osteo-Mechanics)

Recipient(s): Dr GW Rodgers | PI | University of Canterbury
Dr JW Fernandez | AI | The University of Auckland
Professor GJ Hooper | AI | University of Otago

Public Summary: Degenerative joint disease is occurring at epidemic levels, largely due to demographic ageing. Patients suffering joint disease will ultimately require total joint replacement surgery. Artificial implants give improved quality of life, but often require revision surgery due to premature wear or loosening.

There is a clear need to develop a method for early diagnosis of impending implant failures, to enable proactive surgical intervention, reducing the complexity of surgery, saving significant cost and improving patient quality of life. However, there is currently no effective, non-invasive method for in-vivo monitoring of implant mechanics.

This research will combine acoustic emission monitoring with dynamic patient limb angle measurement using inertial measurement units and patient-specific biomechanical modelling, and a soft tissue attenuation model. Together, these research streams will provide significant new insight and an ability to fully understand dynamic implant mechanics within a patient.

Total Awarded: $300,000

Duration: 3

Host: University of Canterbury

Contact Person: Dr GW Rodgers

Panel: EIS

Project ID: 16-UOC-076


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2008

Title: Unlocking Early Miocene climate: New Zealand in a warmer world

Recipient(s): Dr DE Lee | PI | University of Otago
Assoc Prof GS Wilson | PI | University of Otago
Dr JC Conran | AI | The University of Adelaide
Assoc Prof RM DeConto | AI | University of Massachusetts
Dr AR Gorman | AI | University of Otago
Dr EM Kennedy | AI | GNS Science
Dr DC Mildenhall | AI | GNS Science

Public Summary: We propose to use a high-resolution climate record recognized in the varved sediments of an ancient Otago lake to predict what New Zealand's climate might be like in a warmer world. This deposit formed ~23 million years ago when global climates were warmer. We will drill through layered sediments that preserve a continuous ~200,000-year record of temperature and climatic oscillations. The sediments and plant and animal fossils will enable us to reconstruct the changing climate and ecosystems. Our data can then be used in global climate models, and will give insights into the effects of global warming on New Zealand.

Total Awarded: $742,222

Duration: 3

Host: University of Otago

Contact Person: Dr DE Lee

Panel: ESA

Project ID: 08-UOO-034


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2011

Title: Unlocking the role of fluids in slow slip deformation with magnetotellurics and seismology

Recipient(s): Dr SC Bannister | PI | GNS Science
Mr TG Caldwell | PI | GNS Science
Dr EA Bertrand | AI | GNS Science
Prof K Obara | AI | Earthquake Research Institute
Dr Y Ogawa | AI | Tokyo Institute of Technology

Public Summary: About 10 years ago it was discovered that large patches of the subduction interface (below the shallow locked part of the interface that ruptures in an earthquake) occasionally slip episodically in so-called ‘slow slip events’, which occur over the time scale of days to weeks. This discovery has led to a dramatic shift in the understanding of how deformation is accommodated along subduction zone margins. Fluids are believed to play a key role in the cycle of these slow slip events. Slip will promote fluid interconnection on the subduction interface, causing a variety of different low-frequency seismic phenomena and, potentially, electrical conductivity changes. The subduction interface beneath the east coast of North Island, New Zealand, is one of the shallowest and most active areas where these slow slip events are known to occur. We will set up a temporary network of broadband seismometers and magnetotelluric recording stations to observe these phenomena during the course of a slow slip cycle, working towards unlocking the secrets of slow slip.

Total Awarded: $665,217

Duration: 3

Host: GNS Science

Contact Person: Dr SC Bannister

Panel: ESA

Project ID: 11-GNS-025


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2011

Title: Unlocking the secrets of the geodynamo: the SW Pacific key

Recipient(s): Dr GM Turner | PI | Victoria University of Wellington
Dr MJ Hill | AI | University of Liverpool
Prof AP Roberts | AI | Australian National University
Prof PJ Sheppard | AI | The University of Auckland

Public Summary: Deep beneath our feet lies a seething cauldron of molten iron, stirred into complex patterns of motion by escaping heat and Earth’s rotation. This is the geodynamo – the source of Earth’s magnetic field, which directs our compasses and protects us from the onslaught of the solar wind. The fluid motions change over time and so the direction and strength of the field at Earth’s surface change. Occasionally the field destabilizes resulting in a dramatic reversal of the geomagnetic poles.
Current mathematical models of the field at the core-mantle boundary contain several exciting but enigmatic features, however they lack crucial data from the SW Pacific region. We will use the natural magnetizations acquired by lake and marine sediments during their deposition, and of fired pottery, hearths and hearthstones imparted during firing, to develop a detailed record of the geomagnetic field in the SW Pacific region over the past 10,000 years. Our data will greatly enhance global field models, our understanding of fluid dynamics in the core and what may lead to polarity reversals. It will also enable us to produce a regional model and an interactive tool for dating archaeological artefacts, lake sediments and other materials from the SW Pacific.

Total Awarded: $534,783

Duration: 3

Host: Victoria University of Wellington

Contact Person: Dr GM Turner

Panel: ESA

Project ID: 11-VUW-068


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2012

Title: Unlocking the untapped therapeutic potential of peptide receptors to combat diabetes, obesity and heart disease

Recipient(s): Dr DL Hay | PI | The University of Auckland
Prof MA Brimble | AI | The University of Auckland
Prof TP Sakmar | AI | Rockefeller University
Dr HA Watkins | AI | The University of Auckland

Public Summary: Forty percent of medicines have cellular targets known as G protein-coupled receptors. With the right knowledge, many more of these receptors could provide society with new medicines. Many medicines mimic the actions of a natural hormone and have been developed from the chemical scaffold of that hormone. Larger “peptide” hormones have not been considered amenable to this approach because their “message” – or receptor activating component, has remained elusive. We have identified a possible message region for several important hormones, which we have named the 'activation motif'. We will create peptides containing only this message component and stabilise them using cutting-edge peptide chemistry techniques, leading to potent short fragments. We will also define in detail how one peptide binds to its receptor. Together, this will create a large body of knowledge about how peptide hormones can be exploited to combat disease.

Total Awarded: $791,304

Duration: 3

Host: The University of Auckland

Contact Person: Dr DL Hay

Panel: CMP

Project ID: 12-UOA-089


Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Fast-Start

Year Awarded: 2015

Title: Unpacking infection spillover dynamics

Recipient(s): Dr DTS Hayman | PI | Massey University
Dr HN MacGregor | AI | University of Sussex
Dr JO Lloyd-Smith | AI | University of California, Los Angeles

Public Summary: The recent Ebola crisis reminds us of the impacts of emerging infectious diseases. The majority of human infections are derived from other animal species, including ~70% of emerging infectious diseases, such as Ebola, HIV, and pandemic influenza. As well as being of major importance to global human health, emerging infectious diseases that cross species boundaries also affect animal populations. Ongoing epidemics are endangering amphibians across the world and bats in North America. Mathematical models can improve our understanding of cross-species infection transmission ('spillover'), but a fundamental gap in our understanding of the drivers of spillover exists because the events are rarely observed. I will model spillover using a mathematical model of human, livestock and gorilla interactions from Uganda. The life histories of these species are known and contact rates measurable, allowing model parameter estimation. Whole-genome sequencing using novel methods that detect genetic signatures of infections will enable me to detect spillover events. These next-generation sequencing approaches will allow me to test specific hypotheses, including that bacteria will be more likely to share hosts than viruses, and that viral spillover is facilitated by host phylogeny and cytoplasmic replication. These advances will improve our understanding of spillover and help prevent future outbreaks.

Total Awarded: $300,000

Duration: 3

Host: Massey University

Contact Person: Dr DTS Hayman

Panel: EEB

Project ID: 15-MAU-028


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