What causes the extinction risks of biodiversity to deteriorate or improve? – a global analysis of birds, mammals, corals or amphibians

What causes the extinction risks of biodiversity to deteriorate or improve? – a global analysis of birds, mammals, corals or amphibians

Advisor/s

A/Prof Ulf Schmitz, Dr Daniel Xing, Prof Andreas Lopata

College or Research Centre

College of Medicine & Dentistry; College of Public Health, Medical & Veterinary Science

Summary of Project

Join our dynamic research team at JCU and the Townsville Cancer Centre (TCC) for an exciting HDR (Higher Degree by Research) project that merges cutting-edge technology with critical clinical applications. Our umbrella project encompasses two groundbreaking research initiatives aimed at improving cancer treatment outcomes and patient care. Project 1: Enhancing Glioblastoma Treatment with Magnetic Resonance and Radiotherapy Glioblastoma (GBM) remains one of the most aggressive brain cancers, with limited survival rates despite recent advances in treatment. Our research focuses on the novel application of tumour treating fields and the integration of a magnetic resonance linear accelerator (MRL) to explore the biological effects of combining magnetic fields with ionizing radiation. We aim to uncover how these combined modalities impact tumour and immune cell interactions, ultimately seeking to improve GBM treatment efficacy. Project 2: Developing Blood-Based Surveillance for HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV-OPSCC) presents unique challenges in post-treatment surveillance, particularly for patients in remote regions. Our research aims to develop and validate a blood-based circulating HPV-DNA (cHPV-DNA) test using next-generation sequencing (NGS). This innovative approach will enable earlier detection of recurrent disease, reduce patient burden, and improve survival outcomes for HPV-OPSCC patients.

Humans influence the environment in such a strong way that many species are going extinct, or are in such low numbers that they become endangered. Conservation actions and mitigation of threats help to slow down ongoing increases in extinction risk, and ultimately the aim is to become Nature positive and turn the tide. At the other side of the equation, some changes in the environment (e.g. climate change) are still accelerating and may cause extinction risks to worsen over time. Currently, we have a poor understanding of what are the main determinants of extinction risks in animals.
This project aims to study changes in the threat status of species using the IUCN red list data. The IUCN for each species summarizes all the existing scientific evidence into a red list threat status of whether a species is non-threatened, threatened, extinct in the wild, or various gradual steps in between. The red list is updated every so many years for each species due to new scientific evidence. In this project, we will quantify the rates of changes in red list threat status over time for all the world’s species in a specific group (birds, mammals, corals or amphibians). To understand the causes of these changes, we will next identify which factors (type of species, habitat, type of threats, type and amount of conservation action) can explain why some species improve while other deteriorate. This project will thus help identify the main drivers of ongoing reductions in extinction risks of the world’s animals, as well as the factors that lead to success and contribute to a nature positive world.

Key Words

brain cancer; head and neck cancer; radiation oncology; biomarker; bioinformatics next generation sequencing

Would suit an applicant who

We invite motivated students with a passion for oncology, molecular biology, and innovative technology to apply. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to transformative research with the potential to significantly impact patient care and treatment outcomes.

has an interest in ecology, global change and conservation or statistics. Affinity with statistics and/or modelling is desirable.

Updated: 06 Nov 2023