Marsden grants of $12.5 million awarded to Auckland researchers

Nineteen research teams from across The University of Auckland have been awarded a total of $12.5 million over three years, in the 2011 Marsden Fund round.

Their research will range from developing a miniaturised measuring device to analyse heart beats, to examining prehistoric human-climate dynamics in Polynesia, and creating a mathematical model of animal navigation.

Amongst the recipients, six researchers from the Faculty of Arts were awarded a total of $3.6 million, including Professor Simon Holdaway, Head of Department of Anthropology, who will examine the agricultural foundations of Predynastic Egypt.

Three researchers from the Faculty of Engineering and Auckland Bioengineering Institute won a total of $2.1 million, including chemical and materials engineer Professor Margaret Hyland, Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), who will explore the chemistry of interfaces to enhance adhesion.

Eight recipients from the Faculty of Science were awarded $5.5 million, including Head of Department of Mathematics Professor James Sneyd, who will investigate the application of multiscale excitable systems to calcium dynamics and neuroscience.

Two researchers from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences won a total of $1.2 million for their work on critical cell-surface receptors and how they respond to drugs, and imaging live cells down to one-thousandth of one-thousandth of a millimetre.

“The Marsden Fund supports leading-edge research, which creates economic growth and increases our understanding of issues, from medical advancements to social change and development,” said Marsden Fund Council chairman Professor Peter Hunter in announcing the results. “Most breakthroughs around the world come from this basic science end of the research spectrum, which is what makes the Marsden Fund both exciting to be part of and vital for New Zealand to invest in.”

This year the fund distributed $53.8 million to 88 research teams around the country. All of the funded proposals are for three years.

Successful projects with first-named investigators from The University of Auckland are:

Detecting prehistoric human-climate dynamics in central Polynesia using high- precision marine archives
Associate Professor Melinda Allen
Department of Anthropology
$870,000

Combining laser scanning with molecular resolution: rapid live cell imaging at the nanometre scale
Dr David Baddeley
Department of Physiology
$345,000

New roles for a neuronal serpin in the human immune system
Associate Professor Nigel Birch
School of Biological Sciences
$895,000

Karl Popper: A life
Professor Brian Boyd
Department of English
$687,000

The determination of protein structure by racemic protein crystallography
Professor Margaret Brimble
School of Chemical Sciences
$825,000

The mechanobiology of joint tissue degeneration
Professor Neil Broom
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering
$415,000

Food security in a rapidly urbanising country: The Goroka fresh food market, Papua New Guinea
Dr Mark Busse
Department of Anthropology
$729,017

Temporal cavity solitons: Light pulses in a box for information processing
Dr Stephane Coen
Department of Physics
$825,000

Public engagement towards a more inclusive and equitable society
Associate Professor Nicola Gavey
Department of Psychology
$790,000

A novel route to restricting G-protein coupled receptor signalling
Associate Professor Michelle Glass
Department of Pharmacology
$900,000

The cultural evolution of religion
Professor Russell Gray
Department of Psychology
$775,000

The agricultural foundations of Predynastic Egypt: climate change and opportunism in the Fayum
Professor Simon Holdaway
Department of Anthropology
$670,000

Exploring the chemistry of interfaces to enhance adhesion
Associate Professor Margaret Hyland
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering
$830,000

A mathematical model of animal navigation
Dr Claire Postlethwaite
Department of Mathematics
$345,000

Norms, volition, and nuclear destinies: the power of anti-nuclear policy advocates
Dr Maria Rublee
Department of Political Studies
$290,477

Applications of multiscale excitable systems to calcium dynamics and nueroscience
Professor James Sneyd
Department of Mathematics
$605,000

A cardiac myometer
Dr Andrew Taberner
Auckland Bioengineering Institute and Department of Engineering Science
$830,000

Experience, rationality, and the way things seem
Dr Chris Tucker
Department of Philosophy
$327,234

Control of equilibria in queueing networks with selfish routing
Dr Ilze Ziedins
Department of Statistics
$465,000