Research into a rare turtle, music therapy for sick children, flavour extraction and new tax guidelines dealing with trust losses are just some of the projects to benefit from $146,236 in grants from the University of Queensland Foundation Ltd next year.
Foundation chair Bill Palmer said nine University research projects would receive funding under the 1998 research program.
The Foundation was established to generate funds to support University research projects and over the past 12 years has provided more than $1.6 million as seed funding for 73 projects.
Mr Palmer said Foundation members were very pleased to be associated with this year's projects encompassing a wide range of disciplines. The projects are:
- Music therapy for children in rehabilitation: A clinical audit of music therapy using qualitative research methods, $12,500, Jane Edwards (Music Department)
- Plasticity in the adult brain: reshaping of dendritic fields of cortical cells as a possible mechanism, $22,021, Dr Marcello Rosa (Physiology and Pharmacology Department)
- A field telemetric study of the diving behaviours and capabilities of the Fitzroy River Turtle, $18,700, Dr Craig Franklin (Zoology Department)
- The proposed regime to regulate the carry forward of trust losses: Pipe dream or reality? $3500, Janine McMaster-Kirkwood (Commerce Department)
- Mining property valuation: A binomial lattice approach of option pricing, $3000, Simone Kelly (Commerce Department)
- Supercritical desorption of flavour compounds from activated carbon, $35,000, Associate Professor Suresh Bhatia (Chemical Engineering Department)
- The use of rheology and videofluoroscopy to understand the biomechanics of dysphagic swallowing, $18,800, Dr Peter Halley (Chemical Engineering Department) and Professor Bruce Murdoch (Speech Pathology and Audiology)
- Mechanistic studies of the anti-HIV drug fp 21399 $26,715, Dr Matt Trau (Chemistry Department)
- Changes in joint sensation and muscle function following joint injury and disease: Implications for rehabilitation, $6000, Dr Joanne Bullock-Saxton (Physiotherapy Department)
The Foundation received more than $30,164 from the University's 1997 Annual Appeal, taking the value of its trust fund to $2.4 million. Income earned on fund investments is subsequently allocated to fund University research projects. The capital base is preserved for the benefit of future researchers.
'In funding projects, the Foundation Board of Governors gives preference to researchers who may have innovative ideas but who have not yet established a research track record enabling them to achieve success in attracting funding from national research granting bodies,' Mr Palmer said.
'The seed funding provided by the Foundation is an important factor in developing their research careers.'
Donations to the Foundation can be made either directly to the University's Development Office or through the Annual Appeal. The Appeal provides a facility for donors wishing to direct funds to the Foundation.
For more information, contact the Foundation's Executive Officer, Julie Ridgway (telephone 07 3365 1229).
