SciX@UNSW

Mapping the Brain

The human brain is an intricate organ with approximately 86 billion neurons interconnected through trillions of synapses, forming complex neural circuits that govern behaviour, cognition, and emotion. Studying its structure is crucial for understanding neurological disorders, improving treatments, and gaining insights into the fundamental processes of learning, memory, and consciousness.

To understand the functioning of the brain in health and disease, medical researchers use databases to compare diseased brains with healthy brains. The “Allen Brain Atlas” is a database of online resources and tools that provide detailed information about the structure and function of the mouse and human brain. By comparing data contributed by multiple different research teams, new insights can emerge about brain structure and function.

Areas of student interest:

• genetic and non-genetic disease
• medicine
• psychology
• neuroscience

Related subjects:

• Biology
• Chemistry

What students will do

Students will conduct analyses on both neuroanatomic and neurochemical data derived from healthy and diseased brain tissues. They will investigate cellular diversity and protein expression profiles across various brain cell types. The project also involves appreciating the three-dimensional complexity of the brain by evaluating tissues stained with immunohistochemical methods targeted at specific neuronal proteins and mRNAs. Through this analysis, students will identify valuable information relevant to the study of drug targets for neurological diseases, such as Parkinson's disease.

This project is well-suited for students with interests in neuroscience, pharmacology, or medicine. While technical experience is not a prerequisite, the project is particularly relevant for those eager to delve into online data, compare anatomical structures between datasets, and perform custom analyses

Astronomy

• Project area
• Physics 

• Project type
  Computational

Project overview
Have you ever wondered how astronomers use observations of thousands of objects to better understand the Universe? How do we interpret data from telescopes to test physical models? Modern astronomy combines simulations and observations to solve outstanding theoretical problems such as how stars affect the formation and evolution of their planets, how galaxies change over time and how stars end their lives.

What will students do?
Students will be taught how to access and process astronomical data using Python. They’ll be supported in designing and investigating their own individual hypotheses with these data. Research questions to be explored might include determining the relationship between stellar chemical abundances and the occurrence of giant planets, the connection between the properties of galaxies and their dynamics, and the properties of stars at different stages of their lives.

Prerequisites

• Physics
• Mathematics 

Areas of student interest

• Astronomy
• Astrophysics
• Simulations
• Programming

Rainbow on a Chip - Biomimetic Materials

• Project type(s)
  Engineering, Physics 

• Project focus
  Laboratory

Project overview
Biomimicking materials and 3D printing are two rapidly growing and popular fields with applications in a range of areas like medicine, diagnostics, energy storage and production etc. Learn how we can combine these two exciting fields together to create functional devices for medical and environmental monitoring. Inspired by the vibrant colours displayed by some of the most beautiful creatures and objects in nature like butterflies, beetles and opals, materials scientists have, for a long-time, been trying to mimic these into artificial materials. Using innovative materials fabrication techniques, we have developed sponge-like porous materials that mimic the principles of light modulation in nature. 3D printing is an emerging manufacturing technology that is pushing the boundaries beyond the conventional manufacturing methods that are restrictive and wasteful. In the last decade, 3D printing has become a household name with benchtop 3D printers becoming extremely affordable enabling rapid development and prototyping. Combining biomimicking materials with advanced 3D printing can open doors for the development of devices and tools that could not even be imagined previously. There are endless possibilities of creating devices that can be personalised or purpose-built.

What will students do?
Students will use their creativity to create new patterns for biomimicking porous photonic crystals to use as colour changing sensors. Students will then learn 3D CAD designing and 3D printing to create patterns and utilise their 3D printed patterns to carry out device prototyping and experimental validation of the sensors.

Areas of student interest

• Inventors
• Materials science
• Fundamental sciences
• Nanomaterials
• 3D designing and printing

Relevant subjects (not essential)

• Chemistry
• Physics
  

• Project type(s)
  Biology

• Project focus
  Computational 

Project overview

As a discipline, cognitive science explores how the brain takes in information about the world, how it represents this information and how it uses it. Through elegant experiments, cognitive scientists have learned a lot about processes like perception, attention, memory and decision making. Stress has a major impact on cognition. As you enter the HSC, learn about cutting edge research into stress management and how it applies to academic performance and mental health.

What will students do?

Unlock the mysteries of the mind at SciX! You’ll explore cognition, learn tips for managing stress, and dive into the fascinating workings of the human brain. Students will learn how to collect and present scientific evidence and will have the opportunity to work with data from well-established tasks, collected online from participants across the world. Working with their mentor, students will create unique hypotheses based on the tasks used in their study. Students will then learn how to analyse data so that they can draw a conclusion related to their hypotheses. To do this they will use modern tools that help scientists understand, analyse and visualise information.

Areas of student interest

• Cognitive science
• Psychology
• Data analysis
• Biological science
• Stress management

• Project area(s)
  Electrochemistry, Solid-state Synthesis

• Project type(s)
  Chemistry, Engineering

Project overview
This project will look at how battery materials are developed, how research-scale batteries are made and most importantly how the battery performance parameters are measured. Particular emphasis will be placed on looking at electrode materials in different battery chemistries and looking at the sources of variation in the examination and subsequent analysis. Batteries are all around us. Different battery chemistries are used for different applications depending on aspects such as energy storage density, cost and power. For example, lead acid batteries are used for starter motors in conventional petroleum vehicles. Lithium-ion batteries were commercialised in 1991 and the scientists/engineers working on this were awarded the Nobel prize in chemistry in 2019. Lithium-ion batteries power mobile phones, laptops and electronic devices and are being widely used in electric vehicles and grid scale energy storage, e.g., the Hornsdale plant in South Australia. There still remain challenges in lithium-ion batteries, ranging from energy storage density to safety to cost. In order to develop the next generation of battery materials and entirely new battery chemistries, we need research and development. This project will give students a taste of this.

What will students do?
Students will be shown how research-scale lithium-ion batteries are made. From the electrode active materials, to electrode preparation and finally to coin cell assembly. This will either be via a session in the laboratory or via online videos/walk-through. Following this students will be given electrochemical performance data also known as charge-discharge curves. They will be able to compare the performance of each cycle and after a number of cycles. They can compare between batteries of the same electrodes/composition, between electrodes of different compositions and between entirely different battery systems (e.g., next generation sodium-ion and lithium-sulfur batteries).

Areas of student interest

• Energy and batteries
• Electrochemistry
• Designing new materials
• Solid-state chemistry
• Structure-property relations

Preequisites (not essential)

• Physics
• Chemistry

• Project type(s)
  Chemistry, Medical

Project overview
Medicinal chemistry is the science of developing new drugs to treat diseases. Medicinal chemistry has saved countless human lives, and has alleviated untold suffering during the 20th – 21st centuries. And it continues to be a vitally important endeavour today: for example, at this very moment, medicinal chemists are working feverishly around the globe to discover a cure for COVID-19. When developing a new medicine, it's important to ensure that the molecule can travel to the correct location within the body. As part of this, a careful balance must be struck between the molecule’s solubility in water (which enables the drug to be swallowed as a tablet, and dissolve in the gut) and its solubility in fat (which enables the drug to cross the lining of the gut and get into the bloodstream).

What will students do?
Medicinal chemists can alter the structure of a drug molecule in order to fine-tune its properties such as water/fat solubility and thereby identify the optimal drug. In this SciX experiment, students will do just that: they will systematically modify the structure of a drug candidate and they'll measure the properties of their “analogues” to identify which chemical structure gives the best drug-like properties. This experiment will give students an insight into the grand challenge that is medicine development in the 21st century.

Prerequisites

• Chemistry

Areas of student interest

• Medicinal chemistry
• Organic chemistry
• Synthesis
• Experimental lab-based chemistry
• Medicines

• Project type(s)
  Biology, Earth and Environmental Science

• Project focus
  Fieldwork

Project overview
Our rocky shores are a place of incredible biodiversity - home to juvenile fish, colourful seaweeds and cryptic octopuses. This project will teach you about where different rocky shore species live and why. Understanding the distribution of species within a habitat is important and can be used to monitor the impacts of climate change. Species distributions are important for understanding how whole ecosystems function. The rocky shore is a great place to see this concept in action because there is a huge variety in environmental factors (temperature, water retention, habitat type) over a very small area. Marine ecologists use these same foundational skills across a wide variety of ecological fields, such as monitoring the effects of climate change and sea level rise and how these are impacting species distributions and interactions.

What will students do?
Students will have the opportunity to learn about biodiversity in the marine environment, using methods that marine scientists often use during their research. Students will also learn how to ID some of the most common species on the rocky shore as well as use microscopes to find tiny organisms living within seaweed. Students will also learn some basic statistical analysis to be able to test hypotheses about how marine biodiversity changes in different situations. With a range of possible organisms and factors to investigate, this project can be tailored to your interests.

Areas of student interest

• marine biology
• field-based science
• ecological statistics

Relevant subjects (not essential)

• biology
• earth and environmental science

• Project type(s)
  Chemistry, Physics 

• Project focus
  Computational

Project overview
At the forefront of technology, computational quantum chemistry has become a crucial tool in our understanding of chemistry allowing us to study the properties and processes that govern deep down at the molecular and atomistic levels. A very important application of computational quantum chemistry is that we can simulate how bonds in molecules vibrate and see how it leads to spectra in the infrared (Module 8, HSC Chemistry). Knowing the infrared spectra of molecules is essential in research as it can help us find unexpected molecules produced by life (biosignatures) in remote worlds; model the global warming potential of new compounds released into the atmosphere; and even trace down countries that are violating international agreements by burning too many fossil fuels. This project introduces the key concepts used in computational quantum chemistry, exploring its applications in multiple research fields.

What will students do?
Students will delve into the area of computational quantum chemistry, familiarising and employing research-level computer programs. Throughout the summer school, students will pursue a research project of their choice with the help of experienced PhD-student mentors, developing and improving upon high-valuable skills such as programming, data handling and storage, hypothesis formulation, and figures generation.

Areas of student interest

• biosignatures, scientific search for aliens
• exoplanets, astrophysics
• spectroscopy
• quantum chemistry & physics
• computational chemistry

Relevant subjects (not essential)

• chemistry
• physics

• Project type
  Physics

• Project focus
  Experimental, Computational

Project overview
Quantum computing is the latest tech innovation promising to change the way we do science. When we make components of computers small enough, they start to follow the rules of quantum physics, which produces some very strange results. In the last few decades, we’ve realised that we can use this to our advantage. The properties of quantum mechanics can be used to solve extremely large problems, from modelling the weather or the economy, to cracking codes. The very first quantum computers are being built right now, all over the world.

What will students do?
Students will get to use a real quantum computer, located in IBM’s quantum computing laboratory. Using the online IBM Q Experience program, they will run a variety of quantum algorithms on both a simulator and a quantum computer and compare the results to determine the accuracy of the quantum computer.

Prerequisites

• physics
• mathematics 

Areas of student interest:

• 3D-printing
•  material science
•  fundamental science
•  chemistry
•  medicine
•  tissue
• engineering

Associated subjects:

• Chemistry
• Biology

Project overview

3D printing has revolutionised regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. The ability to precisely position soft biomaterials allows the formation of 3D structures for tissue restoration, artificial blood vessels, and potentially enables the rebuilding of complete organs.

These 3D-printed structures require a well-defined scaffolding matrix material which is constructed by an extrudable biopolymer ink. The ink is usually a mixture of different biomaterials in a soft hydrogel form which allows the encapsulation of different cell types and other additions that make the resulting materials very useful in the field of medicine.

What students will do

In this project, students will learn the requirements for a successful soft bioink for 3D printing, including what influences the extrudability, the stability of the resulting constructs, and the important properties for biocompatibility. This will facilitate discussions surrounding the importance of improving materials and 3D printing so that the technology can be used for healthcare applications in the future: from wound healing to organ replacement what are the challenges and how do we bridge them? The students will experiment with a range of sustainable and biocompatible biomaterials that are commonly used in bioink compositions. They will then utilise Computer-aided Design (CAD) software to create their own 3D designs and after getting familiar with the bioprinting process, will print their own bioink structures.

Areas of student interest:

• Varied topic areas depending on the dataset
• Choose Big data
• Analysing and visualising trends and relationships

Suitable for students who:

• Want a very customisable project and high levels of independence
• Want to develop their data science skills

Project overview

Bring your own data to unveil patterns and draw insights. If you already have a research topic in mind and have identified an existing large dataset, or if you're unsure of a topic and want to use one of our pre-identified datasets to learn data science skills, this project is for you. In "Unlocking Big Data," you'll dive straight into data analysis, skipping the data collection phase, to explore complex questions using large datasets. Even if you've never coded before, we'll teach you everything you need to know to get started with Python.

Data science is a highly employable skill both within and outside of science. By participating in this project, you'll gain valuable experience in analysing data, identifying patterns and trends, and effectively communicating your findings.

What students will do:

In this project group, students will learn how to use Python to identify, visualise, and communicate patterns and trends in data. Whether working with their own dataset or one of the datasets we've provided, experienced data scientists will guide students through the process of data cleaning, exploratory data analysis, statistical analysis, and data visualisation.

By the end of the project, students will have developed essential data science skills that are in high demand across various industries.

They will be capable of testing hypotheses using datasets, drawing meaningful conclusions, and discovering new questions for further research.

Areas of student interest

• Data Science
• Machine Learning
• Artificial Intelligence

Relevant subjects

(not essential):

• Physics
• Chemistry
• Biology

Project overview

Welcome to a cross-disciplinary project that melds chemistry, biology, and computer science to tackle a pressing issue: bacterial resistance. We're diving into the world of polymers—large molecules with a repetitive structure—to understand their role in fighting bacterial infections. By using machine learning, we hope to predict which polymers have the highest potential for antimicrobial activity. This is not just an academic exercise; it's an opportunity to contribute to realworld solutions.

What students will do

You'll start by gaining a foundational understanding of polymers and their antibacterial properties. But we won't stop at theory; you'll also get hands-on experience in creating polymer samples. Next, you'll transition to the computational side of the project. Using existing datasets, you'll employ machine learning algorithms to predict the antimicrobial efficacy of various polymers. You'll navigate through model selection, data preprocessing, feature selection, and result analysis. The ultimate goal? To find the machine learning model that best predicts a polymer's ability to fight bacterial infections. This is your chance to make a tangible impact in the scientific community.

RNA in Disease

• Project type(s)
  Bioinformatics

• Area
  Biology, Medical

Project overview
All cells in the body carry the same DNA, but they each express a unique pattern of ribonucleic acid (RNA), that changes based on the cell’s activity. This pattern, called the ‘transcriptome’, can now be sequenced at a single cell level, revealing unprecedented information about cell functions and therefore health and disease.

Bioinformatics is the use of computer algorithms and statistics to analyse large biological datasets such as transcriptomes. With the increasing availability of RNA sequencing data, researchers can now freely investigate the complex role of genetics in a wide range of health conditions.

What will students do
Students will perform a bioinformatic analysis on pre-processed RNA sequencing data from healthy and diseased brain tissues. With a documented R notebook, students will perform a computational analysis of the data to identify potential markers of disease, drug targets or any questions they design. This project suits students with interests in medicine, genetics and human biology. Though programming experience is not necessary, this project is suited for students wanting to develop their skills.

Areas of student interest

• Genetic and nongenetic disease
• Medicine
• Psychology
• Neuroscience

Relevant subjects (not essential)

• Biology
• Chemistry

• Project type(s)
  Bioinformatics

• Area
  Biology, Medical

Project overview
Cancer cells can grow and divide very quickly. In this hands-on project, you will use rapidly growing cells to model how cancer behaves and test different compounds to see whether they can slow down or kill the cells. You will use microscopes to observe changes in the cells and perform experiments to measure how well each treatment works. You will experience how scientists investigate and develop potential cancer treatments.