MARSDEN FUND AWARDS 2004

$33.2 m allocated to new Marsden projects

A total of 71 new research projects will receive $33.2 million support over the next three years from the Marsden Fund, administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand. Included in the new set of projects are 25 awards to "Fast-Start" researchers who are in the early stages of their research careers.

The money for new projects is part of the $34.3 million commitment of Government money in 2004/05 for cutting edge research - a $1 million increase on the previous year. Each successful project receives funding for 2 or 3 years.

Applications to the Fund are very competitive. Of the 972 preliminary proposals (744 Standard proposals and 228 Fast-Start proposals), 194 were asked to submit a full proposal. Overall, 7% of the total number of applications were successful.

The Chair of the Marsden Committee, Dr Diana Hill, said, "This year's funding round is noteworthy for the overwhelming interest from young researchers, who are looking to the Marsden Fund to provide that kick start for their research career. This is an encouraging sign for the future health of the New Zealand research community. These young people are obviously looking to make their career in New Zealand."

A summary is given below.

Also more printer friendly version is available here

Also you can download a RTF version ( Fast-Start or Standard)

Press releases relating to a Selection of these awards may be found here.

Project	Contract	Panel	Category	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Principal Investigators	Contract	Panel	Category	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
The dauer-gene hypothesis for the origin of parasitism in nematodes	AGR0401	CMP	STD	$201,571	$218,571	$218,571
Dr WN Grant	AgResearch
Dr C Shoemaker	AgResearch
Dr M Viney	University of Bristol

Archaeological patterns in space and time	ARL0401	SOC	FS	$49,500	$49,500	$0
Dr MD Jones	Analytic Research Limited

Stability of the Ross Ice Shelf in a warming world	GNS0401	ESA	STD	$489,120	$385,902	$291,622
Dr TR Naish	Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences

How is crustal extension created at plate boundaries by convergence of tectonic plates?	GNS0402	ESA	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr LM Wallace	Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences

How do gas hydrates weaken the seafloor, causing submarine slides and tsunamis?	GNS0403	ESA	STD	$197,042	$301,574	$187,557
Dr IA Pecher	Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences

Evolution in deep time and shallow seas: fossils and genes of marine molluscs	GNS0404	ESA	STD	$339,881	$329,766	$318,143
Dr JS Crampton	Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences

Rational discovery of synthetic immune modulators	IRL0401	PSE	STD	$195,000	$240,000	$210,000
Dr GF Painter	Industrial Research Ltd
Dr WB Severn	AgResearch

Lost parasites: did they miss the boat or drown on arrival?	LCR0401	EEB	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr CJ MacLeod	Landcare Research

Solving the kiore controversy - when did people bring the Pacific rat to prehistoric New Zealand?	LCR0402	SOC	STD	$217,755	$244,344	$198,327
Dr JM Wilmshurst	Landcare Research
Professor AJ Anderson	Australian National University
Dr T Higham	University of Waikato

How does the atmospheric boundary layer adapt to landscape irregularities?	LCR0403	ESA	STD	$193,056	$81,923	$82,069
Dr J Laubach	Landcare Research

Do DNA loops actively regulate rRNA synthesis?	MAU0401	CMP	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr JM O'Sullivan	Massey University

The molecular basis of an extinct phenotype: do wingless moa have functional limb genes?	MAU0402	CMP	STD	$237,143	$237,143	$237,143
Professor D Lambert	Massey University
Professor JC Belmonte	Salk Institute
Professor A Meyer	University of Konstanz
Professor L Wolpert	University College, London

Reactive oxygen species generated by a fungal NADPH oxidase regulate hyphal differentiation and growth in Epichloe festucae, a mutualistic symbiont of temperate grasses	MAU0403	CMP	STD	$253,100	$253,100	$253,100
Professor B Scott	Massey University

An experimental test of metapopulation theory using reintroductions of a New Zealand bird species	MAU0404	EEB	STD	$272,700	$272,700	$272,700
Dr DP Armstrong	Massey University

Transfigurations: Christian and lyric tradition in Victorian women's poetry	MAU0405	HUM	FS	$60,632	$47,872	$0
Dr FE Gray	Massey University

Spintronics without magnets: A new road to nanodevices and quantum information processing	MAU0406	PSE	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr U Zuelicke	Massey University

Artificial photosynthesis: Mimicking light harvesting	MAU0407	PSE	STD	$240,722	$250,722	$250,722
Professor DL Officer	Massey University
Professor PL Dutton	University of Pennsylvania

A principled approach to the non-rigid registration and structural analysis of groups of medical images	MAU0408	MIS	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr S Marsland	Massey University

Online model theory and online algorithms	MAU0409	MIS	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr CM McCartin	Massey University

Controlling calcium flux in skeletal muscle	MAU0410	BMS	STD	$244,000	$239,000	$234,000
Dr KM Stowell	Massey University
Dr AN Pollock	Palmerston North Hospital

How does the cytoskeleton regulate cell signalling?	MAU0411	BMS	STD	$247,600	$248,600	$248,600
Dr AJ Sutherland-Smith	Massey University
Professor SP Robertson	University of Otago

Biobombs - Aquatic insects strike back at fish	NIW0401	CMP	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr S Clearwater	National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd

Reconstructing paleonutrient distributions using the germanium signature of deep-sea sponges	NIW0402	ESA	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr M Ellwood	National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd

Hidden Markov models for earthquake processes with ancilliary measurements	SRA0401	MIS	STD	$169,800	$179,800	$179,800
Professor D Vere-Jones	Statistics Research Associates Limited

One step human oncogenesis	UOA0401	CMP	STD	$253,252	$253,252	$253,252
Associate Professor PE Lobie	University of Auckland
Dr BD Starling Emerald	University of Auckland

Moving magnesium: the structure of CorA	UOA0402	CMP	STD	$191,500	$211,300	$211,100
Professor RC Gardner	University of Auckland
Dr AK Mitra	University of Auckland

Tongues and trees: phylogenetic tests of agricultural dispersals in the Americas	UOA0403	EEB/SOC	STD	$170,822	$204,163	$205,703
Associate Professor RD Gray	University of Auckland
Professor L Campbell	University of Canterbury

Foraging decisions and nutrient regulation in marine herbivorous fishes	UOA0404	EEB	STD	$242,044	$222,044	$222,044
Dr D Raubenheimer	University of Auckland
Dr K Clements	University of Auckland

Neutrality, identity and the experience of the Great War in the borderlands of the Netherlands, 1914-1918	UOA0405	HUM	FS	$61,320	$0	$0
Dr MM Abbenhuis-Ash	University of Auckland

Before orientalism: Sexualities and gender in medieval representations of the East	UOA0406	HUM	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr KM Phillips	University of Auckland

Revealing the mechanism of superoxide decomposition by manganese enzyme mimics using pulse radiolysis	UOA0407	PSE	STD	$200,000	$210,000	$210,000
Associate Professor RF Anderson	University of Auckland
Professor RAJ Smith	University of Otago

Spicing up conducting polymers with quantum dots: Toward a new generation of biosensors	UOA0408	PSE	STD	$239,860	$249,860	$250,010
Dr J Travas-Sejdic	University of Auckland
Dr C Soeller	University of Auckland

Stimulated Raman scattering in next generation optical fibres	UOA0409	PSE	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr SX Coen	University of Auckland

Virtual heart disease	UOA0410	PSE	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr NP Smith	University of Auckland

Formation of highly conductive p-type zinc oxide	UOA0411	PSE	STD	$155,900	$205,900	$205,900
Professor W Gao	University of Auckland
Dr VJ Kennedy	Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences

Group actions, representations, structure and algorithms	UOA0412	MIS	STD	$169,533	$171,319	$173,104
Professor MDE Conder	University of Auckland
Associate Professor J An	University of Auckland
Associate Professor E O'Brien	University of Auckland

Geometry and analysis	UOA0413	MIS	STD	$169,000	$169,000	$169,000
Professor GJ Martin	University of Auckland

The physiological effects of emotional repression on the central nervous and immune systems	UOA0414	SOC	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr RE Moss-Morris	University of Auckland

Dendrochronology and the investigation of colonial-era buildings in New Zealand	UOA0415	SOC	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr IG Boswijk	University of Auckland

Modelling social change in New Zealand: social simulation applied to a census "test-bed"	UOA0416	SOC	STD	$198,125	$198,125	$198,125
Professor P Davis	University of Auckland

Spinal cord repair: Blocking the major side effects of intervention	UOA0417	BMS	STD	$212,090	$228,715	$233,715
Associate Professor CR Green	University of Auckland
Associate Professor LFB Nicholson	University of Auckland

Retinal fireworks: Shedding light on starburst amacrine cell function	UOA0418	BMS	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr BJ O'Brien	University of Auckland

Directing neurogenesis: using proteomics and gene transfer to define the regulation of neural stem cell differentiation	UOA0419	BMS	STD	$248,660	$248,660	$248,660
Dr S Hughes	University of Auckland
Dr BJ Connor	University of Auckland

Adiponectine as a novel drug target for the treatment of obesity-related metabolic disorders	UOA0420	BMS	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr Y Wang	University of Auckland

Modelling the calcium cardiac transient on multiple spatial scales	UOA0421	BMS	STD	$210,000	$200,000	$200,000
Professor J Sneyd	University of Auckland
Professor PJ Hunter	University of Auckland
Professor M Cannell	University of Auckland

Analytic topology and its applications	UOA0422	MIS	STD	$80,000	$95,000	$75,000
Dr W Moors	University of Auckland

How does local adaptation maintain genetic diversity? Direct evidence for natural selection in wild populations	UOC0401	EEB	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr IAW Scott	University of Canterbury

When good molecules go bad: how common are paternal inheritance of mitochondria and mitochondrial recombination?	UOC0402	EEB	STD	$264,944	$264,944	$264,944
Dr NJ Gemmell	University of Canterbury

Evolving with feast and famine: the dynamics of tri-trophic mast-seeding food chains	UOC0403	EEB	STD	$275,000	$275,000	$275,000
Associate Professor D Kelly	University of Canterbury
Dr E Brockerhoff	New Zealand Forest Research Institute Limited

The animal in culture in Aotearoa New Zealand	UOC0404	HUM	STD	$150,000	$165,000	$150,000
Dr PC Armstrong	University of Canterbury
Dr A Potts	University of Canterbury

The Onsager project: Understanding the gas-liquid interface	UOC0405	PSE	STD	$150,000	$150,000	$150,000
Professor LF Phillips	University of Canterbury
Professor BJ Finlayson-Pitts	University of California, Irvine

Winners and losers in the knowledge society	UOC0406	SOC	STD	$217,069	$232,256	$191,756
Professor LT Oxley	University of Canterbury
Professor D Thorns	University of Canterbury

Shaping animals: the evolution of developmental pathways	UOO0401	CMP	STD	$246,375	$226,375	$236,375
Dr PK Dearden	University of Otago

Timing and sense of smell: how does the brain use time to identify an odour?	UOO0402	CMP	STD	$215,934	$212,729	$214,961
Dr P Heyward	University of Otago

Genetic relatedness and optimal life history strategies in parasites: is blood thicker than water?	UOO0403	EEB	STD	$267,023	$267,356	$278,536
Professor R Poulin	University of Otago

Geological dates and evolutionary rates: using river vicariance to pinpoint the pace of molecular change	UOO0404	EEB	STD	$298,454	$298,126	$229,975
Dr JM Waters	University of Otago

The role of hydrated complexes in atmospheric reactions	UOO0405	ESA/PSE	STD	$235,750	$235,750	$235,750
Dr HG Kjaergaard	University of Otago

Micro-fabricated atom traps for quantum information processing	UOO0406	PSE	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr MD Barrett	University of Otago

Human skeletal biology in prehistoric Vanuatu, Pacific Islands: Human adaptation to the island environment from initial settlement to post-European contact	UOO0407	SOC	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr HR Buckley	University of Otago

The development of New Zealand’s culinary traditions	UOO0408	SOC	STD	$194,250	$194,250	$194,250
Professor H Leach	University of Otago

Murr1 - a new regulator of ion channel ubiquitination?	UOO0409	BMS	STD	$199,000	$209,000	$219,000
Dr FJ McDonald	University of Otago

Spreading the word: how sparsely-distributed brain cells learn to respond to the same stimulus	UOO0410	BMS	STD	$287,200	$297,200	$271,800
Dr JNJ Reynolds	University of Otago
Dr DE Oorschot	University of Otago

The molecular basis of amphibian limb regeneration	UOO0411	CMP	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr CW Beck	University of Otago

What does it mean to be a man today?: "Bloke culture" and the media	UOW0401	SOC	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr DJ Hodgetts	University of Waikato

Settlement and circulation of New Zealanders living in Australia: patterns, dynamics and analysis	UOW0402	SOC	STD	$185,680	$185,680	$185,680
Dr ES Ho	University of Waikato
J Poot	University of Waikato

Scottish migration to New Zealand to 1950, and its contributions to the development of New Zealand society	VUW0401	HUM	STD	$170,000	$170,000	$170,000
Dr BR Patterson	Victoria University of Wellington
Associate Professor TWH Brooking	University of Otago

Sociolinguistic variation in New Zealand sign language	VUW0402	HUM	STD	$111,000	$116,000	$106,000
Dr D McKee	Victoria University of Wellington
Dr RL McKee	Victoria University of Wellington

Aspects of computability and randomness	VUW0403	MIS	STD	$158,627	$158,627	$158,627
Professor RG Downey	Victoria University of Wellington

The role of placebos in reducing memory distortions	VUW0404	SOC	STD	$204,652	$207,451	$0
Dr M Garry	Victoria University of Wellington

Fresh perspectives on liberty and equality: A New Zealand brand of meso-justice	VUW0405	SOC	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr K Baehler	Victoria University of Wellington

Dopamine receptor contributions to the implementation of reward value during the control of action	VUW0406	BMS	FS	$70,000	$70,000	$0
Dr J Lauwereyns	Victoria University of Wellington