ARC grants: research given green light
The restoration of sight for people with vision impairments; gaining a better understanding of effective Aboriginal storytelling; and blast simulations are just a few exciting research projects at UWS that have received grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC) for 2013.
The grants, which total more than $5.8 million, mean a host of projects will go ahead. The projects vary in context and come from a range of the University's Schools, research institutes and research centres and have been awarded across 18 Discovery projects, two Discovery Indigenous projects and a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. The ARC has also supported the University's Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities proposal, which will conduct experiments to investigate civil infrastructure responses to shock wave loadings produced by terrorist attacks involving large amounts of explosives.
Morven Cameron, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Medicine (opens in a new window), was awarded her Discovery Early Career Researcher fellowship to undertake research into the basic functions of the retina. This research will provide invaluable information for projects that aim to replicate normal retinal function in patients with vision impairments.
"The project will explore basic physiology of the retina that has not yet been investigated," explains Morven. "Specifically, I will look at how the circuitry of the retina changes depending on ambient light, and the time of day. This work follows on from some of my PhD work, and uses techniques I learned in previous postdoctoral positions."
Morven says that without gaining funding, her retinal research may not have taken place, highlighting the importance of the ARC grants for the University's research programs.
Alexis Wright, a Distinguished Research Fellow from the Writing and Research Centre and Miles Franklin winner, has been awarded an ARC grant to investigate the role and effectiveness of Aboriginal storytelling within the current environment of Aboriginal policy in Australia. The outcomes of this research will form benchmarks for understanding the power of effective Aboriginal storytelling.
Alexis will work with Professor Ivor Indyk, Whitlam Chair in Writing and Society and publisher of the Giramondo book imprint, and Leigh Bruce (Tracker) Tilmouth, an Aboriginal visionary leader, political thinker and strategist, and resource scientist, to find out the most successful forms of Aboriginal storytelling.
"The ARC Indigenous Discovery Award is a very exciting and important project because it will create new knowledge for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people about the power of stories, as well as the way that stories can be told and used, and how we might shape new stories and strengthen our storytelling practices," says Alexis.
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