Researchers awarded $2m in early research grants

A study looking at the impact of diet on a person’s development, including their reproductive health and appearance, is among five projects at The University of Western Australia to share in $2 million through the Australian Research Council Discovery Early Research Awards.

Dr Yong Zhi Foo, from UWA’s School of Biological Sciences, was awarded $390,000 and will use data from the Raine Study, Australia's longest-running public health study, to answer fundamental questions in evolutionary biology while identifying the best diets for health and wellbeing.

“The project will provide new knowledge on how nutrition affects key life-history traits including immune function, reproductive health, appearance and ageing,” Dr Foo said. 

Dr Naveed Akhtar, from UWA’s Department of Computer Science & Software Engineering, was awarded $437,000 for a project aiming to build new tools to make the central technology of AI - deep learning - transparent and explainable.

Dr Marcus Korb, from the School of Molecular Sciences, was awarded $406,000 to study a ‘new Iron Age’ by developing new iron catalysts.

“Australia will benefit by applying its own resources and help preserve the valuable noble metals for processes relying on them,” Dr Korb said.

Dr Giorgio Poggesi, from UWA’s School of Physics, Maths and Computing, was awarded $354,000 for his study of partial differential equations. 

“The area of mathematical research covered by this project is extremely broad and with many applications to other areas of mathematics and natural and applied sciences,” Dr Poggesi said. 

Dr Tom Barratt, from UWA’s Business School, was awarded $375,000 for his project on work fragmentation in the gig economy. 

“This study will systematically interrogate the consequences for work and workers’ lives of the growth and diversification of gig work,” Dr Barratt said. 

“The project will provide guidance to policy makers on how to harness the benefits of gig work while mitigating potential harm.”