Western Melanesia-including New Guinea-sits at the crossroads of Asia and Australia and is one of the most interesting, puzzling, and understudied hyperdiverse regions on Earth. Clarifying how tectonic movements have sundered or joined different Melanesian landforms in the past several million years is key to understanding the origins of this biotic diversity. The intent of this project is to elucidate how the diversity and evolutionary history of the five major geological landforms that comprise most of western Melanesia have impacted evolution of that region's biota and to identify those ancient insular landmasses critical in the origin of lineages that colonised and radiated across New Guinea, Australia, and/or insular Asia. To meet this goal, we will construct dated phylogenetic trees on a multitude of reptile and amphibian (herpetofauna) lineages having different dispersal abilities, times of origin, and natural histories that span the five major landmasses of western Melanesia. We will use the dates and relationships recovered to identify areas and times of origin for each clade and trace their expansion to new regions. Cross-validation between these results and updated geological models will illuminate tectonic events that drove speciation and dispersal in the region. We use herpetofauna to address these questions because their variable but moderate trans-marine dispersal abilities allow them to better track geological history than do taxa having much greater (e.g., birds) or lesser (e.g., land snails) dispersal capabilities. This research will help to replace the outdated, unidirectional "out-of-New-Guinea" model for origins of Pacific biodiversity with a more dynamic and nuanced understanding that ancient, yet under-appreciated, land areas in Melanesia have long been important in shaping biotic evolution in the broader region.

The Interstitial Lung Diseases (ILDs) are a group of rare diseases characterised by inflammation and scarring in the lungs. ILDs can occur as a consequence of inhalation of specific causative agents (e.g., chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis due to pigeon exposure), as a complication of some types of autoimmune disease (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis, sarcoidosis), or with no known cause ('idiopathic'). Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most prevalent ILD, affecting fewer than 1 in 2000 people in the UK. Unlike many other rare diseases, ILDs are not caused by a single deleterious gene mutation, but rather by a combination of environmental factors and a background of genetic risk involving multiple genes. Identification of these genes can give us valuable insight into the disease but to do this, large datasets (upwards of a few hundred ILD cases) are needed. Genetic studies of ILD have been disadvantaged by the challenges in generating sufficient data given the rarity of the disease. For IPF, we united the international IPF research community bringing together data from 1000s of cases and controls and have identified multiple associations with genes that could help us to determine why and how IPF develops. By investigating those genes in human cell and tissue models with our collaborators, we are beginning to understand how they drive disease and, ultimately, whether this can lead us to new effective treatments. However, understanding the relevance of those genes to other ILDs beyond IPF, and identification of genes that might be specific to development of other ILDs, is still lacking because there simply is not enough data available. This proposal will directly address that challenge by performing the largest study of ILD genetics to date. We will generate new genetic data for ILD, including exposure-related ILDs, autoimmune-related ILDs and 'unclassifiable' ILDs, from existing stored sample sets through our established collaborative network (Aim 1). We will use analytic approaches that optimise our ability to discover genes that are either shared across multiple ILDs (Aim 2) or that might be specific to certain types or groups of ILDs (Aim 3). We will utilise biobank data to validate findings and will integrate our results with large molecular datasets to develop working hypotheses of how each gene might drive disease. Together with our collaborators with expertise in molecular techniques and access to human tissue samples, we will co-develop further gene-specific project proposals to functionally characterise their pathological role. The data generated by our proposal will be shared with the scientific community to support wider research into ILD. Our vision is that our findings will ultimately help patients by increasing our knowledge of the shared and distinct molecular pathways that drive different ILDs and be used to develop and target treatments. As it has been shown that medicines that target genes implicated by genetic studies are more likely to be effective, and recent clinical trials have shown that two drugs licensed for IPF are also effective in some other ILD types, this proposal is especially timely.

The purpose of the proposed research is to investigate the importance of sea-level feedbacks (SLF) in stabilizing marine-based ice sheets during their retreat. The proposed investigation will combine new late Pleistocene/Holocene relative sea-level constraints to be collected from raised shorelines, existing offshore marine cores, and isolation basins from across northwestern Scotland to refine the glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) models for the British Isles. The proposal will also investigate SLF feedbacks at a more local level and at the scale of a Late Pleistocene ice stream that once flowed through the Minch of northwestern Scotland. Specifically, we will test three hypotheses: 1.) SLF did not provide a stabilizing influence for the Minch Ice Stream during its retreat following the Last Glacial Maximum, 2.) along indented ice-sheet margins, SLF are governed not by the local ice front but by the regional GIA signal, and 3.) the influence of SLF in stabilizing marine ice streams is a function of the rheology of the Earth beneath it. One of the largest uncertainties related to future projections of sea-level rise is the influence of ice sheets. Model projections differ by as much as 2 m over the next 100 years depending on how existing ice sheets behave with respect to ongoing sea-level rise and warming. Our understanding of the feedbacks between ice sheet behaviour and sea-level changes at the scale of extant ice streams of concern (e.g. Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica, Jakobshavn Isbrae in Greenland) is limited to numerical models that have rarely been tested against real-world examples at decadal to century time-scales. The retreat of ice streams following the Last Glacial Maximum provides an excellent test ground for the factors controlling the behaviour of ice streams during their retreat. The data generated as part of this project will not only examine ice-sheet behaviour but also contribute to GIA models used to predict future sea-level changes and past studies of climate, paleogeography, and archaeology. It will also provide some of the first absolute ages on raised shorelines across northwestern Scotland.

New manufacturing methods are required if we are to live sustainably on the earth. In the electronics industry there is enormous interest in the possibility of manufacturing devices using organic materials: they can be manufactured sustainably from earth-abundant resources at energy costs that are typically significantly less than those associated with the production of equivalent inorganic materials. Electronic devices based on organic components are now readily available in the high street. For example, organic light-emitting diodes are used to produce the displays used in some high-end TV sets and in smartphones (e.g. iPhone X). However, a fundamental problem prevents the realisation of the full potential of organic materials in electronic devices. When light is absorbed by molecular semiconductors, it causes the creation of excitons - pairs of opposite charges - that carry excitation through the device. However, the excitons in organic materials recombine and cancel themselves out extremely rapidly - they can only move short distances through the material. This fundamental obstacle limits the application of organic materials in consumer electronics and also in many other areas of technology - in quantum communications, photocatalysis and sensor technologies. We propose an entirely new approach to solving this problem that is based on combining molecular designs inspired by photosynthetic mechanisms with nanostructured materials to produce surprising and intriguing quantum optical effects that mix the properties of light and matter. On breadboards, threaded mounts hold optical components relative to one another so that rays of light can be directed through an optical system. This proposal also aims to design breadboards, but of a very different kind. The smallest components will be single chromophores (light absorbing molecules), held at fixed arrangements in space by minimal building blocks called antenna complexes, whose structures are inspired by those of proteins involved in photosynthesis. Antenna complexes are designed and made from scratch using synthetic biology and chemistry so that transfer of energy can be controlled by programming the antenna structure. Instead of using threaded mounts, we will organise these components by attachment to reactive chemical groups formed on solid surfaces by nanolithography. In these excitonic films, we will develop design rules for efficient long-range transport. In conventional breadboards, light travels in straight lines between components. However, we will use the phenomenon of strong light-matter coupling to achieve entirely different types of energy transfer. In strong coupling, a localised plasmon resonance (an light mode confined to the surface of a nanoparticle) is hybridised with molecular excitons to create new states called plexcitons that combine the properties of light and matter. We will create plexcitonic complexes, in each of which an array of as many as a thousand chromophores is strongly coupled to a plasmon mode. In these plexcitonic complexes, the coupling is collective - all the chromophores couple to the plasmon simultaneously, and so the rules of energy transfer are completely re-written. Energy is no longer transferred via a series of linear hopping steps (as it is in organic semiconductors), but is delocalised instantaneously across the entire structure - many orders of magnitude further than is possible in conventional organic semiconductors. By designing these plexcitonic complexes from scratch we aim to create entirely new properties. The resulting materials are fully programmable from the scale of single chromophores to macroscopic structures. By combining biologically-inspired design with strong light-matter coupling we will create many new kinds of functional structures, including new medical sensors, 'plexcitonic circuits', and quantum optical films suitable for many applications, using low-cost, environmentally benign methods.

We will launch a new CDT, focused on composite materials and manufacturing, to deliver the next generation of composites research and technology leaders equipped with the skills to make an impact on society. In recent times, composites have been replacing traditional materials, e.g. metals, at an unprecedented rate. Global growth in their use is expected to be rapid (5-10% annually). This growth is being driven by the need to lightweight structures for which 'lighter is better', e.g. aircraft, automotive car bodywork and wind blades; and by the benefits that composites offer to functionalise both materials and structures. The drivers for lightweighting are mainly material cost, fuel efficiency, reducing emissions contributing to climate change, but also for more purely engineering reasons such as improved operational performance and functionality. For example, the UK composites sector has contributed significantly to the Airbus A400M and A350 airframes, which exhibit markedly better performance over their metallic counterparts. Similarly, in the wind energy field, typically, over 90% of a wind turbine blade comprises composites. However, given the trend towards larger rotors, weight and stiffness have become limiting factors, necessitating a greater use of carbon fibre. Advanced composites, and the possibility that they offer to add extra functionality such as shape adaptation, are enablers for lighter, smarter blades, and cheaper more abundant energy. In the automotive sector, given the push for greener cars, the need for high speed, production line-scale, manufacturing approaches will necessitate more understanding of how different materials perform. Given these developments, the UK has invested heavily in supporting the science and technology of composite materials, for instance, through the establishment of the National Composites Centre at the University of Bristol. Further investments are now required to support the skills element of the UK provision towards the composites industry and the challenges it presents. Currently, there is a recognised skills shortage in the UK's technical workforce for composites; the shortage being particularly acute for doctoral skills (30-150/year are needed). New developments within industry, such as robotic manufacture, additive manufacture, sustainability and recycling, and digital manufacturing require training that encompasses engineering as well as the physical sciences. Our CDT will supply a highly skilled workforce and technical leadership to support the industry; specifically, the leadership to bring forth new radical thinking and the innovative mind-set required to future-proof the UK's global competitiveness. The development of future composites, competing with the present resins, fibres and functional properties, as well as alternative materials, will require doctoral students to acquire underpinning knowledge of advanced materials science and engineering, and practical experience of the ensuing composites and structures. These highly skilled doctoral students will not only need to understand technical subjects but should also be able to place acquired knowledge within the context of the modern world. Our CDT will deliver this training, providing core engineering competencies, including the experimental and theoretical elements of composites engineering and science. Core engineering modules will seek to develop the students' understanding of the performance of composite materials, and how that performance might be improved. Alongside core materials, manufacturing and computational analysis training, the CDT will deliver a transferable skills training programme, e.g. communication, leadership, and translational research skills. Collaborating with industrial partners (e.g. Rolls Royce) and world-leading international expertise (e.g. University of Limerick), we will produce an exciting integrated programme enabling our students to become future leaders.