Three of the four Australian university scientists to win 2018 Program Grants from the Human Frontier Science Program are ANFF-Q clients. Their international collaborative projects have been awarded more than $US3.4m ($A4.4m) from the highly competitive global program.

AIBN researcher, Associate Professor Vickers is part of an international team studying how enzymes work inside living cells.

“Thanks to this grant, we will gain new understandings which could allow us to improve the development of synthetic biology products for applications such as environmentally friendly biochemicals that have many different applications including fragrances, pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals and biofuels,” Claudia said.

UQ School of Mathematics and Physics researcher, Dr Taras Plakhotnik is leading an international team studying mechanisms for cellular communications that could lead to new ways to treat nerve damage.

“This funding provides crucial support to high-risk cutting edge research which is nearly impossible to get elsewhere,” Taras said.

Professor Kirill Alexandrov, of UQ’s IMB and AIBN, is leading a team aiming to develop a novel approach for allowing electronic devices to directly control biochemical processes in living organisms.

“The proposed work lays the foundation for integration of biochemical and electronic systems, and may eventually lead to the rise of bioelectronic hybrids,” Kirill said.

ANFF-Q looks forward to supporting these research projects over the coming years.