Linkage Projects grants foster food industry partnerships

Salmonella is the second-largest cause of human gastrointestinal disease, and a research team, led by Professor Kapil Chousalkar, will study whether a vaccine could be used to reduce the prevalence of salmonella on farms.

The vaccine would target multiple salmonella serotypes, including the emerging Salmonella Enteritidis.

Improved public health would not be the only beneficial outcome, with the knowledge generated on avian immunology benefitting industry by significantly reducing risks of future salmonella outbreaks and economic loss.

The project was awarded $728,752 and will also involve partners from vaccine research company Bioproperties, the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, and Ghent University in Belgium.

A second project awarded an ARC Linkage Projects grant will develop a new method for identifying specific chemical compounds found in plants which are used for their nutritional value or as traditional medicine.

While some plants of these types have demonstrated and evidence-based effects, the individual chemical compounds responsible for those effects are difficult to identify with current technology.

The research team, led by Professor Adelson, have proposed a new method to identify the molecular targets of many compounds in complex plant extracts.

Through this work, they hope to revolutionise understanding of the nutritional and medicinal effects of plants, which will allow for accelerated commercialisation.

The project was awarded $452,662 and involves partners Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation, Zhendong Group, and the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium of South Australia.

The ARC’s Linkage Projects scheme supports research projects which instigate or develop enduring strategic research partnerships, and has the aim of encouraging the transfer of skills, knowledge and ideas between researchers and partner organisations.

The intergenerational knowledge and skills transmission among researchers is crucial to building Australia’s research capability.

See more information on the 2023 Round 1 ARC Linkage Grants here.