Project-based graduate research scholarships

Principal supervisor:  Dr Heloise Gibb

Other supervisor/s: Dr Nick Murphy

Project description:  Insect biodiversity decline has been recognised as an environmental crisis. In Australia, only one third of terrestrial invertebrates are described, making it difficult to target conservation efforts. Narrow-range endemic species are less likely to be described, yet are at higher risk of extinction due to anthropogenic causes.  This project aims to address gaps in our knowledge of invertebrate endemism and conservation approaches for litter invertebrates in the forests of south-eastern Australia.  The PhD project will address:

1. Consequences of historic habitat loss for short-range endemic species;
2. Phylogeography and population genetics in cryptic leaf litter species; or
3. The efficacy of litter transplants in re-establishing populations of litter invertebrates following fire.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor:  Professor Nick Bond

Other supervisor/s: Dr Michael Shackleton,  Dr Luke McPhan

Project description: This project is part of a recently funded ARC Linkage Project examining the escalating threats to coastal freshwater fish from drought, fire and other disturbances. The project expects to generate new knowledge on contemporary distributions of NSW coastal freshwater fishes and will develop models of population dynamics to explore the consequences of alternative water management and disturbance scenarios. The expected outcome of the project is to revolutionise management by replacing the current practice of managing river basins separately, with a framework that accounts for among-basin linkages that are essential for the long-term persistence of fish populations. Significant benefits include more efficient use of water resources and improved conservation outcomes for native fish.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Special conditions: A top-up scholarship to the value of $15,000 p.a. may be available for a particularly strong candidate.

Principal supervisor:  Professor Shaun Collin

Other supervisor/s: Dr Alecia Holland, Associate Professor Ewen Silvester, Dr Travis Dutka

Project description: In fishes, the ability to detect, perceive and react to water-soluble odorants (chemoreception) is critical for survival. Many species of fish face a critical challenge from the impact of an increasing number of water-soluble chemical pollutants entering waterways on chemosensory-driven behaviours. Exposure to these contaminants can have serious impacts on chemoreceptor sensitivity and function. This research will combine multidisciplinary approaches (anatomy, physiology and behaviour) to assess the impacts of critical environmental contaminants on chemosensory perception in key taxa of Australian bony fishes. The findings will inform Australia’s environmental and fisheries management strategies and effluent policies for riverine and coastal regions.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor: Dr Kim Johnson

Other supervisor/s: Dr Frazer Thorpe

Project description: Plants for Space (P4S) and their education partners are using a critical thinking lens to engage 200,000 people over 7 years across Australia, including K-12 teachers and students, tertiary students and general public.
This project will look at the P4S teacher resources, approach, language and questioning to understand any change in student learning, aspiration and future choices. Possible causation of teacher – student, and potential benefits or disadvantages of content and approach. The impact of multiple touchpoints/longitudinal engagement in Plants for Space outreach will be investigated.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor: Dr Kim Johnson

Other supervisor/s: Dr Frazer Thorpe,  Dr Victoria Millar

Project description: Centres of Excellence are expected to provide outstanding education and engagement opportunities for a range of audiences. There is currently no benchmark for the type of activities expected to be undertaken or thorough understanding of their impact. This project will explore what students have gained from Plants for Space (P4S) experiences and try to understand if the number and/or type of P4S experiences influence learning and understanding of P4S topics, aspiration, language, identity, beliefs and transition decisions. Centre’s frequently partner with external education providers to develop learning resources. Education partners are often in unique settings and offer non-traditional classroom learning opportunities. The effect these spaces offer is unclear and this project will compare the influence of where educational experiences occur.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor: Dr Kim Johnson

Other supervisor/s:  Associate Professor Jenny Mortimer

Project description: Plants sense physical changes in the environment and at the cellular level using mechanosensors and cell wall integrity receptors located at the cell wall-plasma membrane-cytoplasm interface. In Space environments, reduced gravity and stress impact plant growth and initiate pathways involved in cell wall remodeling, ROS and photosynthetic efficiency. Using simulated Space environments and low Earth orbit, this project aims to understand the role of mechanosensors and cell wall integrity sensors in adapting to Space conditions. Of interest are changes to cell wall composition and architecture that optimize plant resilience or plant shape in stressful, closed environments. A suite of cell wall integrity and mechanosensing mutants in Arabidopsis and tomato will be explored and the genomic, proteomic and metabolomic pathways they regulate investigated.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor: Dr Ebony Monson

Other supervisor/s: Professor Karla Helbig

Project description: Viral infections are a continuing medical threat, representing a significant global health issue. For many viruses, we still don’t have effective therapeutics or vaccines. The cell has evolved mechanisms to counteract viral infection by activation of the innate immune response, which is rapid and common to all viral infections. Our lab has discovered that the lipid droplet (LD) is an essential organelle in facilitating a robust antiviral response; that LDs are upregulated during viral infection, and that this upregulation underpins the production of antiviral cytokines and restriction of viral infection. Recently, we have discovered that LDs can be secreted from cells, acting as novel intracellular communicators during infection. This data forms an excellent foundation for the targeting of novel antiviral therapies using LDs. This project will provide much needed new knowledge on the mechanisms driving this phenomenon, with the end goal of using this knowledge to inform development of a novel pan-antiviral to combat the global burden of viral infection.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor: Dr Monika Doblin

Other supervisor/s: Professor Tony Bacic

Project description: This project is focussed on revealing new knowledge about the molecular mechanism(s) of synthesis and regulation of (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan (mixed-linkage glucan, MLG), a major soluble dietary fibre component of cereal grain cell walls. The major polysaccharide synthase is CSLF6, an enzyme of Glycosyltransferase (GT) family 2 (www.cazy.org/), the same family to which many of the enzymes that make cell surface glycans in plants, bacteria, fungi and mammals belong. The student will: (i) attempt to reconstitute CSLF6 with the aim of obtaining detailed structural information about the enzyme, and (ii) undertake domain-swap experiments in plants and bacteria to obtain further insight into the synthesis and regulatory mechanisms utilised by MLG synthases.

Preference will be given to a candidate who is available to start immediately (Sem 1 2025). A background in protein biochemistry is desired.

Available to domestic applicants only.

Principal supervisor: Dr Yuning Hong

Project description: More than 80,000 Australians are affected by Parkinson's disease (PD), a progressive neurological disorder. There is a pressing need to develop reliable, easy-to-access biomarkers for early diagnosis of PD to enable effective treatment. This project aims to leverage cutting-edge technology to generate ‘molecular signatures’ of dysfunctional proteins that are unique in blood cells from individuals with PD, enabling translation for a blood test aiding in early PD diagnosis and drug evaluation.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor: Dr Yuning Hong

Project description: This project aims to create new molecular tools for detecting a crucial cell survival process called autophagy. Specifically, this project will develop small molecule fluorescent probes that are specific to autophagy, for the first time, by interacting with the key autophagy marker proteins or cargos. This will allow researchers to visualise and quantify autophagy activity in living cells without disrupting the system, which is not currently possible. This project represents a major technical and knowledge advance that will improve our understanding of autophagy infundamental biology and ultimately contribute to the development of new intervention strategies for diseases likeneurodegeneration and cancers.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor: Dr Julia Gilmartin-Thomas

Other supervisor/s: Professor Nicholas Taylor

Project description: Australia’s public hospital system is experiencing alarming rates of Allied Health workforce shortage, with difficulty recruiting and retaining Allied Health staff leading to high staff turnover. Existing Allied Health staff have been grappling with reduced capacity to manage patient caseloads, which can lead to poor staff and patient outcomes. Optimising existing Allied Health hospital workforce capacity via innovative workforce design is vital to ensure that patient care is not compromised. This PhD project will work towards future-proofing the Allied Health workforce and ensuring it is fit for purpose via 3 complementary streams:

1. Understand the current Allied Health public hospital workforce capacity;
2. Quantify the impact of current capacity on staff and patient outcomes; and
3. Explore the utility of innovative workforce design on current capacity limitations.

We are seeking a candidate with a background in an Allied Health profession, health care, health services research, or other relevant discipline/background. The successful applicant will collaborate with the Project Lead (Associate Professor of Allied Health - a joint position between La Trobe University’s School of Allied Health, Human Services & Sport and Alfred Health), to develop a project that reflects the interests and aspirations of the individual. The PhD project is based at The Alfred Centre (99 Commercial Rd, Melbourne). The successful candidate will be supervised by the Project Lead and work in collaboration with their wider network of Professors and Associate Professors of Allied Health, who are based at Melbourne Health, Eastern Health and Northern Health

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor: Amy Dennett

Other supervisor/s: Professor Nicholas Taylor, Dr Casey Peiris

Project description: This project aims to improve older people with cancer access to cancer rehabilitation services. This project will be embedded in the Eastern Health-LTU ARCH and link with the Eastern Health Cancer Services Geriatric Oncology clinic. This PhD will evaluate the physical activity levels of older cancer survivors and develop referral pathways to ensure more older people with cancer have the support they need to optimise their function and quality of life through physical activity and rehabilitation.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor: Dr David Fleming

Project description: This research project aims to enhance the security and adaptability of Australia's agri-food systems, with potential implications for other countries as well. By focusing on the economic resilience of production regions, agricultural supply chains, and markets, the study will empirically analyse how various factors influence the agricultural industry and regional economies. The goal is to develop practical, data-driven frameworks and models that can guide policymakers in strengthening agri-food systems. If you are passionate about applied economics research and skilled in data analysis, this PhD project offers a great opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the future of agri-food systems sustainability and resilience.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor: Dr Conor Kearney

Project description: Immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of cancer, with checkpoint blockade therapy showing remarkable efficacy in several cancer subtypes. Despite this success, the majority of patients do not respond, for reasons that are not well defined, or acquire resistance after treatment. Thus, there is an unmet need to unveil novel approaches to boost the response rate and prolong the extent of the benefit­­­. Similarly, despite the success of adoptive cellular therapy (ACT) in the context of haematological malignancies, response rates against solid is poor, likely due to tumor-associated immunosuppression and subsequent T cell exhaustion. Indeed, it is becoming clear that the failure of T cells to elicit a successful and long-term anti-tumor immune response is controlled by transcriptional, epigenetic and post-translational modifications, however, our current understanding of the molecules involved in these processes is poorly understood. Furthermore, tumor cells often engage in a process known as ‘tumor immune evasion’ whereby tumor cells become immunologically silent to both the innate and adaptive immune system. While some mechanisms of tumor immune evasion have been identified, including disruption MHC-I expression, our understanding of these immune evasion processes remains incomplete. This project will use cutting edge technology including in vitro and in vivo CRISPR/CAS9 genetic screens, high throughput drug screens, novel single cell sequencing protocols and the development of novel screening assays to identify novel underlying molecular mechanisms leading to T cell dysfunction and tumor immune evasion.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor: Dr Lisa Mielke

Other supervisor/s: Adjunct Professor Aunty Judi Wickes, Adjunct Professor Kella Robinson,  Associate Professor Katherine Ellinghaus, Associate Professor Jennifer Jones, Dr Lucinda Aberdeen, Dr Ashlen Francisco

Project description: The Mucosal Immunology and Cancer Laboratory focuses on identifying new immune targets that can be explored to develop novel therapeutics to treat bowel cancer. We study heterogeneous populations of T cells, known as intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) that are unique to the gastrointestinal tract. Our preliminary studies show that one population of IELs, known as gamma delta T cells, play a protective role in preventing development and progression of bowel cancer. We are working closely with the Tumour Immunology Laboratory that shares an interest in therapeutically exploiting gamma-delta T cell subsets in multiple cancer types. In this project we will collaboratively study a range of surface receptors and cell-cell crosstalk molecules predicted to modify the function of gamma delta T cells and their ability to engage other immune cell subsets and prevent cancer growth and metastasis. We will study the role of these molecules in gamma delta T cell function, in disease models and patient samples. We will use various techniques including flow cytometry, immunofluorescent microscopy and single cell RNA sequencing. We will determine if gamma delta T cell surface receptor expression can be exploited therapeutically to limit bowel cancer progression.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor: Professor Robin Anderson

Other supervisor/s: Associate Professor Sarah Ellis

Other supervisor/s: The aim of this project is to use our preclinical models of breast cancer dormancy to image and isolate cells in the dormant cell niche in bone and lung and to generate transcriptomic profiles of both tumour cells and the surrounding host cells. With this knowledge, we will assess the efficacy of therapies designed to maintain tumour dormancy or target a dormancy-specific vulnerability to eradicate these cells. We will use mouse-based breast cancer models that naturally display dormancy to image and investigate the tumour cell niche in mice using confocal and multiphoton microscopy. Tumour cells will be recovered for transcriptomic profiling as a basis for testing different therapies designed to either maintain dormancy of disseminated tumour cells or to specifically target dormant cells.

Available to domestic applicants only.

Principal supervisor: Dr Hooman Alavizadeh

Project description: Moving Target Defence (MTD) is an advanced defence mechanism that confounds attackers by continuously changing the attack surface, making it harder for adversaries to learn and exploit systems and networks. The aim of the project is to build an intelligent MTD that can thwart advanced cyber-attacks in various network scenarios. To achieve this aim, This project expects to (i) design MTD techniques and leverage AI techniques to optimise the best deployment scenarios to defend against advanced cyber-attacks, and (ii) Evaluate the security and performance of the implemented MTD techniques using a set of security and performance metrics.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor: Dr Jinli Cao

Project description: This project aims to alleviate cyberattacks, which are increasingly being crafted to attack software vulnerabilities and weaknesses by utilising advanced knowledge graphs and deep learning techniques. This project expects to construct an innovative software vulnerability knowledge graph and develop advanced graph-based algorithms and models. Expected outcomes of this project include theory development in graph theory, refined graph neural network models, improved graph transfer learning algorithms and achieved better performance on various vulnerability risk assessment tasks.

Special consideration will be given to students who are interested in and have experience in research topics, such as deep learning, graph neural networks, knowledge graphs, federated learning, transfer learning and vulnerability assessment.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Project supervisor: Dr Renae Fomiatti

Other supervisor/s: Dr Kate Seear, Dr Gemma Nourse

Project description: This DECRA project examines the role of cosmeceutical drugs in contemporary experiences of health, gender and ageing. Cosmeceuticals refer to hybrid products at the intersection of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals including Botox, dermal filler, wellbeing and beauty 'enhancement' drugs such as peptides and nootropics, as well as skincare with biologically active ingredients that purports to produce anti-ageing effects. Cosmeceutical practices may include non-surgical cosmetical procedures, along with a broad range of other beauty, aesthetic and enhancement practices. The successful applicant will collaborate with Dr Renae Fomiatti to develop a qualitative, sociological thesis project that can contribute to the aims of the larger DECRA project while also reflecting the interests and aspirations of the applicant.

Available to domestic applicants only.

Project supervisor: Dr Anne-Marie Laslett

Other supervisor/s: Dr Ingrid Wilson, Dr Sabrina Gupta, Dr Kylie Lee

Project description: This  is a mixed-methods doctoral research project studying cycles of harm from others’ drinking, or potentially focussing on financial harm  or economic abuse in families and relationships. The successful applicant will collaborate with the chief investigators to identify a thesis project, which is able to contribute directly to the aims of the larger project while also reflecting the interests and aspirations of the student.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor: Dr Leigh Kinsman

Project description: An opportunity is available for an outstanding candidate to undertake a PhD with the Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research. The candidate will work closely with a successful research team to partner with rural consumers and health services. The candidate can choose from a suite of research topics, including: consumer empowerment; primary care; oral health; First Nations; African health, and; gender-based violence.

Available to domestic applicants only.

Principal supervisor: Dr Donna Whelan

Project description: The goal of this project is to use Drosophila models to determine which cell types and mechanisms underly the altered neuronal excitability seen prior to onset of symptoms in motor neuron disease. Understanding this will help determine intervention points and may identify novel therapeutic approaches.

Available to domestic and international applicants.

Principal supervisor: Dr Leigh Kinsman

Other supervisor/s: Dr Evelien Spelten

Project Description: An opportunity is available for an outstanding candidate to undertake a PhD with the Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research. The candidate will work closely with our nationally funded research team to implement and evaluate the introduction of community paramedics in community health services. We are implementing an evidence based program  (CP@clinic) developed by McMaster University  in Canada. With this new role for paramedics we are improving access to care and health outcomes for underserved populations and reducing the pressure on Emergency Departments.

Available to domestic applicants only.