{"links":{"self":"http://dataportal.arc.gov.au/NCGP/API/grants/DE260101264"},"data":{"type":"grant-details","id":"DE260101264","attributes":{"code":"DE260101264","administering-organisation":"The University of New South Wales","announcement-administering-organisation":"The University of New South Wales","scheme-name":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","grant-status":"Active","funding-commencement-year":2026,"years-funded":3,"project-start-date":"2026-11-23","anticipated-end-date":"2029-11-22","grant-summary":"A new family of mechanically-activated lipid scramblases . Cells transduce mechanical stimuli into complex signalling cascades, yet the molecular sensors of these processes remain incompletely resolved. This project aims to understand how ions and lipids can be transported across the lipid bilayer through the same transporter, conserved from plants to humans, in response to mechanical cues. This will unveil a completely new type of cellular force sensor revolutionizing our understanding of the strategies cells use to withstand large mechanical forces. The integrated experimental platform developed through this project, enabling simultaneous visualization of lipid movement, ion flow, and force dynamics, will offer significant advancements in cardiac biology, immunology, plant biology and beyond.","funding-current":532904.00,"funding-at-announcement":528691,"investigators-current":[{"title":"Dr","firstName":"Zijing","familyName":"Zhou","roleName":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","roleCode":"DECRA","isFellowship":true,"orcidIdentifier":null}],"investigators-at-announcement":[{"title":"Dr","firstName":"Zijing","familyName":"Zhou","roleName":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","roleCode":"DECRA","isFellowship":true,"orcidIdentifier":null}],"organisations-current":[{"organisationName":"The University of New South Wales","roleName":"Administering Organisation","state":"NSW"}],"organisations-at-announcement":[{"organisationName":"The University of New South Wales","roleName":"Administering Organisation","state":"NSW"}],"field-of-research":[{"isPrimary":true,"code":"3101","name":"Biochemistry and Cell Biology","type":"FOR20"},{"isPrimary":false,"code":"310110","name":"Receptors and Membrane Biology","type":"FOR20"},{"isPrimary":false,"code":"310111","name":"Signal Transduction","type":"FOR20"}],"socio-economic-objective":[{"code":"280102","name":"Expanding Knowledge In the Biological Sciences","type":"SEO20"}],"international-collaboration":["China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)","United States of America"],"lief-register":[],"achievement-summary":null,"national-interest-test-statement":"Our senses of touch and hearing rely on our cells’ ability to sense mechanical forces. Cells that make up our cardiovascular system are constantly exposed to these forces and need to withstand them to function correctly during every heartbeat. This project will establish new quantitative systems to revolutionize our understanding of how cells perceive and respond to mechanical forces, providing Australia with a technology to measure their function with potential commercial value. This will provide researchers with new tools to unravel how cells sense and respond to large mechanical forces such as those in the cardiovascular system and in the long term unveil new future avenues for the discovery of disease therapeutics in multiple organs including the heart. Understanding these molecules and their plant ancestors, as set out in this proposal, also holds great promise for the development of new agrochemicals for use in sustainable food production as these molecules are involved in the response of plants, including rice and wheat, to drought and salt stress. Moreover, this project will strengthen national and international collaborative links, providing an outstanding, multidisciplinary environment for training the next generation of researchers to solve the crucial evolving problems in mechanobiology."}}}