Development of new tools for surveillance of chlamydial infections in sheep. This project aims to improve health in sheep and reduce on-farm losses for Australian producers, by developing new serological tests for chlamydial infections in sheep. These infections can result in significant on-farm losses and loss of trade in the live export industry. Currently, surveillance of chlamydial infections is hindered by outdated serological tools that are unreliable and difficult to interpret. The ser ....Development of new tools for surveillance of chlamydial infections in sheep. This project aims to improve health in sheep and reduce on-farm losses for Australian producers, by developing new serological tests for chlamydial infections in sheep. These infections can result in significant on-farm losses and loss of trade in the live export industry. Currently, surveillance of chlamydial infections is hindered by outdated serological tools that are unreliable and difficult to interpret. The serological tests to be developed aim to be species-specific tests to detect the most important chlamydial sheep pathogens. This in turn endeavours to improve domestic surveillance, reducing on-farm losses and costs, and improve market opportunities for Australian sheep exporters as well as informing veterinary populations on best practice treatment.Read moreRead less
Development of an immune enhancing vaccine to protect Tasmanian devils against a contagious cancer. The iconic Tasmanian devil is threatened with extinction from a uniformly fatal transmissible facial cancer. Our team has shown in proof of concept that the cancer cells can be recognised by the devil immune system. This project will develop and test a vaccine against the tumour, which will ultimately protect devils in the wild.