Search Marsden awards 2008–2017
Search awarded Marsden Fund grants 2008–2017
Fund Type: Marsden Fund
Category: Standard
Year Awarded: 2010
Title: Beyond the percolation threshold: tunnelling, switching and superconductivity
Recipient(s): Assoc Prof S Brown | PI | University of Canterbury
Prof KMAJ Temst | AI | Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Prof MJM van Bael | AI | Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Public Summary: Perhaps surprisingly, the patterns that raindrops make on a concrete path and the propagation of a fire through a forest are linked: the underlying processes are random and can be described by “percolation theory”. The same theory describes many other important physical processes in which the connectivity between objects (like raindrops or trees) is important. But as we move into an era where nanotechnology becomes pervasive, fundamental quantum mechanics becomes more and more important: quantum tunneling can have very significant effects on nanoscale systems. This is never more true than in percolating assemblies of nanoparticles, where tunneling allows electrons to hop between particles even when they are not directly connected.
Tunneling processes in percolating systems are responsible for many intriguing effects which are yet to be understood. By exploring these fundamental conduction processes in random assemblies of nanoparticles we will resolve key questions in two important fields. Why do percolating-tunneling assemblies behave like switches, and could these novel switching processes be employed in new transistor technologies? How small can a superconductor be before it loses its superconductivity, and why should assemblies of superconducting particles appear to be insulating?
Total Awarded: $756,522
Duration: 3
Host: University of Canterbury
Contact Person: Assoc Prof S Brown
Panel: PCB
Project ID: 10-UOC-040
Fund Type: Marsden Fund
Category: Standard
Year Awarded: 2017
Title: Biodiversity and the ecology of emerging infectious diseases
Recipient(s): Professor MG Roberts | PI | Massey University Auckland
Professor JAP Heesterbeek | AI | University of Utrecht
Public Summary: Three related modern challenges are the loss of biodiversity, the pace of climate change and the emergence of novel infectious diseases. Epidemics and pandemics are predominantly caused by species jumps: a pathogen (for example, a virus) that previously only infected animals or birds now infects humans. Swine flu is a recent example. Changes in ecosystems can cause localised outbreaks like the 2014 Ebola epidemic, or allow a virus to spread geographically as in the 2016 Zika outbreak. Pathogens have been described as ecological dark matter, always present in ecosystems but often overlooked. We will use modern mathematical techniques to explore the interactions between the dynamics of ecosystems and the epidemiology of infectious diseases. We will derive rigorous mathematical definitions of reservoir and maintenance species, and examine the dilution effect, where increased biodiversity may lead to a decrease in infection prevalence or risk. By combining ecological and epidemiological models, we will describe how changes in ecosystems may precipitate epidemics, how an infectious disease may change the ecosystem balance, and how evolving pathogens may precipitate epidemics. Our goal is to understand the dynamics of emerging pathogens, and to recognise patterns in these dynamics that could serve as early warnings of an epidemic.
Total Awarded: $415,000
Duration: 3
Host: Massey University Auckland
Contact Person: Professor MG Roberts
Panel: MIS
Project ID: 17-MAU-050
Fund Type: Marsden Fund
Category: Standard
Year Awarded: 2009
Title: Biological economies: knowing and making new rural value relations
Recipient(s): Professor R Le Heron | PI | The University of Auckland
Associate Professor HR Campbell | PI | University of Otago
Dr M Henry | AI | Massey University
Dr N Lewis | AI | The University of Auckland
Professor E Pawson | AI | University of Canterbury
Professor HC Perkins | AI | Lincoln University
Professor MM Roche | AI | Massey University
Dr C Rosin | AI | University of Otago
Public Summary: New Zealand's rural economies and landscapes are rapidly changing as a consequence of shifting global-local relations. How can we understand and work with these emerging conditions? What new explanatory categories are necessary? This proposal answers these questions by targeting theoretical and methodological innovation alongside intensive field-research. We will investigate rural change through fieldwork on value chains and places, focusing on actor interactions, relationships and possibilities. The project will contribute to a new knowledge system that in turn might stimulate innovative practices in the rural sector. It is designed to advance the potential of New Zealand's biological economies.
Total Awarded: $676,444
Duration: 3
Host: The University of Auckland
Contact Person: Professor R Le Heron
Panel: SOC
Project ID: 09-UOA-091
Fund Type: Marsden Fund
Category: Standard
Year Awarded: 2013
Title: Biological glass: the molecular and cellular determinations of the optical properties of the ocular lens
Recipient(s): Professor PJ Donaldson | PI | The University of Auckland
Dr AC Grey | AI | The University of Auckland
Professor KL Schey | AI | Vanderbilt University
Dr E Vaghefi | AI | The University of Auckland
Public Summary: Although age-related changes to the optical properties of the ocular lens are the leading causes of refractive error (presbyopia) and blindness (cataract), we know little about how the optical properties of the lens are established and maintained at the molecular and cellular levels. Like any glass lens, our biological lens suffers from inherent refractive error, but being a living tissue it compensates for these errors by overexpressing crystallin proteins to create a gradient of refractive index (GRIN). It is our hypothesis that differences in crystallin subtype expression and processing combined with lens structure and function generate and maintain the GRIN. We have recently shown that inhibition of lens transport increases lens water content and decreases the GRIN, suggesting the GRIN is actively maintained and that changes in lens physiology will affect overall vision quality. In this application we will investigate how lens structure and function interact to establish and maintain the GRIN, and how alterations in these mechanisms affect our quality of vision. This will increase our understanding of the underlying molecular and cellular origins of common vision disorders, such as development of myopia in children, the transient refractive changes observed in diabetics and the myopic shift that precedes the onset of age related nuclear cataract.
Total Awarded: $826,087
Duration: 3
Host: The University of Auckland
Contact Person: Professor PJ Donaldson
Panel: CMP
Project ID: 13-UOA-154
Fund Type: Marsden Fund
Category: Fast-Start
Year Awarded: 2013
Title: Bioluminescent microcrystals from the firefly squid
Recipient(s): Dr ML Sharpe | PI | University of Otago
Associate Professor P Metcalf | AI | The University of Auckland
Dr NG Paterson | AI | Diamond Light Source
Public Summary: The firefly squid from the Western shores of Japan glows with an intense blue light from light organs on their arm tips when they are disturbed. The light is emitted by microscopic protein crystals contained within the light organs. Proteins that crystallise inside living creatures are rare, and no other bioluminescent organism is known to glow in this way. We plan to find out how these fascinating glowing crystals produce light by revealing their atomic architecture. We will isolate the microcrystals from the squid and determine their structure using X-rays at a specialist micro-focused beamline at the Diamond Light Source Synchrotron. We also plan to generate the crystals artificially, which will enable us to characterise them further. This is a crucial step towards using the intense light from this bioluminescence system as a new tool in biotechnical research.
Total Awarded: $300,000
Duration: 3
Host: University of Otago
Contact Person: Dr ML Sharpe
Panel: PCB
Project ID: 13-UOO-104
Fund Type: Marsden Fund
Category: Standard
Year Awarded: 2014
Title: Biophysical modelling of water and ion transport in the lungs
Recipient(s): Dr V Suresh | PI | The University of Auckland
Dr DD Huh | AI | University of Pennsylvania
Associate Professor JA Frank | AI | University of California, San Francisco
Professor EJ Crampin | AI | University of Melbourne
Public Summary: Human lungs are lined by a thin layer of liquid (less than a tenth the thickness of a hair) that serves
as a protective barrier against microbes and toxins. Maintaining the thickness of this layer is critical
for normal lung function. Lung cells lining the gas exchange (alveolar) region control the thickness by transporting water and salt into and out of the airspace. The process is influenced by factors such as the stretching of tissue during breathing and chemical substances produced by the cells themselves. How these factors interact with each other to influence overall liquid absorption and secretion in health and disease is poorly understood. One reason for this is the difficulty of making direct measurements or creating a realistic laboratory model of liquid flow and cell function in the alveolar region. This project approaches the problem by making measurements in a 'lung-on-chip' device that reproduces the dimensions and breathing motion of the lungs and using the data to develop a mathematical model of liquid absorption and secretion. The outcomes will deepen our understanding of how lung cells interact with each other and their environment to control liquid balance and provide insight into new strategies for restoring liquid balance in disease.
Total Awarded: $770,000
Duration: 3
Host: The University of Auckland
Contact Person: Dr V Suresh
Panel: EIS
Project ID: 14-UOA-170
Fund Type: Marsden Fund
Category: Fast-Start
Year Awarded: 2015
Title: Biosensing with insect odorant receptor proteins
Recipient(s): Dr CJF Carraher | PI | Plant and Food Research
Public Summary: Insects have an exquisite sense of smell that is orders of magnitude more sensitive than the most advanced physical approaches. This is due to their ultrasensitive odorant receptor proteins. We will determine if recombinantly-produced insect odorant receptors can be functionally coupled to a carbon nanotube (CNT) based transducer to develop a novel biosensor technology for detecting volatile compounds. Insect odorant receptors will be reconstituted into artificial lipid membranes and tethered to CNTs on a field effect transistor (FET) device. Two methods of detection will be investigated: direct detection of a volatile organic (VOC) compound binding to odorant receptor proteins, or a VOC-induced change in ion flow across a lipid membrane. Detection will be measured as a change in conductance through the FET device. This research will produce novel insect odorant receptor-based sensing technologies, and pave the way for the next generation in volatile sensing devices for medical diagnostic, food safety and quality, and biosecurity applications.
Total Awarded: $300,000
Duration: 3
Host: Plant and Food Research
Contact Person: Dr CJF Carraher
Panel: EIS
Project ID: 15-PAF-002
Fund Type: Marsden Fund
Category: Fast-Start
Year Awarded: 2009
Title: Blobs or slabs: how does the mantle lithosphere shorten during continental collision?
Recipient(s): Dr B Fry | PI | GNS Science
Dr FJ Davey | AI | GNS Science
Dr DM Eberhart-Phillips | AI | University of California, Davis
Associate Professor SG Lebedev | AI | Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
Public Summary: Novel 3D imaging and modelling techniques will be developed to map the physical properties (velocity, Poisson's ratio, Q, and anisotropy) of the lithosphere using both seismic ambient noise and earthquake data. These new techniques will be applied to the extensive data set recently acquired by the GEONET project. The results will test models of the structure and deformation of the lithosphere under the South Island and elucidate the nature of mantle shortening at the collisional plate boundary that occurs there, currently a controversial issue of great importance for understanding fundamental earth science processes and seismic hazard in NZ and abroad.
Total Awarded: $266,667
Duration: 3
Host: GNS Science
Contact Person: Dr B Fry
Panel: ESA
Project ID: 09-GNS-011
Fund Type: Marsden Fund
Category: Standard
Year Awarded: 2017
Title: Blood and Money: The 'Military Industrial Complex' in Archaic Central Italy
Recipient(s): Dr JS Armstrong | PI | The University of Auckland
Public Summary: This project will use a comprehensive study of the ancient literature, archaeological evidence, and ‘reconstruction archaeology’ to develop a holistic model of the development, manufacture, supply, and maintenance of military equipment in the ancient Mediterranean. Although access to, and control of, military equipment was hugely important within ancient societies, our knowledge of the practicalities involved in its production, market, and care are shockingly limited. We know ancient elites needed it, that they personally invested in it, and had a strong interest in developing, producing, controlling, and maintaining it – but our sources provide very little direct evidence for what this meant in real terms, and modern scholarship has, to date, largely viewed what evidence we do have in an isolated and disconnected manner. With a particular focus on ancient Italy as a case study, this project will synthesize the available evidence on this topic, including information gained from attempts to replicate the various processes involved, to offer a new paradigm for understanding this vital facet of ancient life. Emphasizing connectivity and broader, regional (and trans-regional) networks and relationships, it has the potential to transform our understanding of technology and trade in the ancient world.
Total Awarded: $635,000
Duration: 3
Host: The University of Auckland
Contact Person: Dr JS Armstrong
Panel: HUM
Project ID: 17-UOA-136
Fund Type: Marsden Fund
Category: Fast-Start
Year Awarded: 2016
Title: Blooming buddies: Explaining the co-existence of toxic and non-toxic strains in algal blooms
Recipient(s): Dr J Puddick | PI | Cawthron Institute
Dr KF Smith | AI | Cawthron Institute
Public Summary: Algal blooms are increasing globally, causing severe ecological impacts to aquatic environments and threatening human health through the toxins some algae produce. Toxin production in algae confers a competitive advantage to the producer, however, non-toxic strains of algae are often numerous in blooms. This paradox could be due to co-operation between toxic and non-toxic strains, where the non-toxic strains sequester toxins excreted by their toxic counterparts. This would allow the entire algal population to thrive, as the toxic strains would benefit from increased buoyancy and reduced predation through numerical domination. This theory will be tested through laboratory-based culture experiments and field studies assessing natural algal communities. The culture studies will use specialised photo-bioreactors allowing precise control of environmental parameters. The field studies will use an innovative new cryogenic sampling technique that ‘snap-freezes’ algal communities, preserving them for microscopic, molecular and chemical analysis in the laboratory. Fluorescent probes will then be used to ‘track’ toxin movement within the algal community over the duration of algal blooms. This study will increase our understanding of toxic algal blooms and could change the research paradigm for toxic algal ecology, as toxins would need to be considered a commodity shared amongst the entire algal community.
Total Awarded: $300,000
Duration: 3
Host: Cawthron Institute
Contact Person: Dr J Puddick
Panel: EEB
Project ID: 16-CAW-002