New vaccines and diagnostics to control viral disease in farmed crocodiles. Infection of farmed crocodiles with West Nile virus (WNV) causes lesions in the skin that render the hides unsuitable for high quality leather products. This results in >$20 million lost revenue to the Australian crocodile industry annually. We have developed a novel technology to generate safe and effective vaccines and diagnostic tests for WNV in animals. We aim to 1) conduct vaccine trials in farmed crocodiles to dete ....New vaccines and diagnostics to control viral disease in farmed crocodiles. Infection of farmed crocodiles with West Nile virus (WNV) causes lesions in the skin that render the hides unsuitable for high quality leather products. This results in >$20 million lost revenue to the Australian crocodile industry annually. We have developed a novel technology to generate safe and effective vaccines and diagnostic tests for WNV in animals. We aim to 1) conduct vaccine trials in farmed crocodiles to determine the optimum dose formulation and immunisation regime to provide long-lived protection against WNV disease; 2) validate pen-side tests to rapidly diagnose WNV infection in crocodiles on farms; and 3) transfer the technology to a manufacturing facility to ensure a commercial supply of the vaccines and diagnostic tests. Read moreRead less
Safeguarding Australia against vector-borne disease bio-incursions. Traditional diagnostic tests limited by their accuracy and ability to detect more than a few pathogens at one time, presents a major hurdle to protecting Australia's companion animals from a plethora of exotic and emerging vector-borne diseases (VBD). Many of these diseases also pose a major risk to public health. This project aims to develop, validate and verify a highly accurate, cost-effective, portable metabarcoding diagnost ....Safeguarding Australia against vector-borne disease bio-incursions. Traditional diagnostic tests limited by their accuracy and ability to detect more than a few pathogens at one time, presents a major hurdle to protecting Australia's companion animals from a plethora of exotic and emerging vector-borne diseases (VBD). Many of these diseases also pose a major risk to public health. This project aims to develop, validate and verify a highly accurate, cost-effective, portable metabarcoding diagnostic test capable of detecting known, emerging and novel parasitic, bacterial and viral VBD pathogens simultaneously, from clinical samples. The assay will represent a potential paradigm shift in the way VBD are tested, for the purpose of safeguarding Australia against VBD bio-incursions.Read moreRead less
Visualising Retinal Microglia as a Window into Brain Inflammation. This project aims to use the unique autofluorescence signature of immune cells, microglia, imaged in the retina, as an index of brain inflammation. This project expects to provide the fundamental knowledge to allow us to image microglia non-invasively and identify the presence of brain inflammation without needing to access the brain-proper. Expected outcomes include full characterisation of microglial autofluorescence in the ret ....Visualising Retinal Microglia as a Window into Brain Inflammation. This project aims to use the unique autofluorescence signature of immune cells, microglia, imaged in the retina, as an index of brain inflammation. This project expects to provide the fundamental knowledge to allow us to image microglia non-invasively and identify the presence of brain inflammation without needing to access the brain-proper. Expected outcomes include full characterisation of microglial autofluorescence in the retina and how it relates to brain inflammation. This should provide significant downstream benefits for the detection of inflammatory brain disease well before visible symptoms develop with substantial benefit for livestock, pets, zoo and conservation animals, as well as research knowledge. Read moreRead less
Developing a wildlife health intelligence and vaccine distribution system. This project aims to establish an industry-linked pipeline for vaccines to be delivered to animals in edible baits and a near real-time monitoring system for assessing the impact of management actions. This project will develop ultrasensitive diagnostic tests and incorporate biomarkers into baits from Australia's leading pest animal control company. Bait uptake and disease status in the field will be monitored using artif ....Developing a wildlife health intelligence and vaccine distribution system. This project aims to establish an industry-linked pipeline for vaccines to be delivered to animals in edible baits and a near real-time monitoring system for assessing the impact of management actions. This project will develop ultrasensitive diagnostic tests and incorporate biomarkers into baits from Australia's leading pest animal control company. Bait uptake and disease status in the field will be monitored using artificial intelligence technology developed in Tasmania. This integrated wildlife health intelligence and scalable vaccine platform can help protect the iconic Tasmanian devil from disease and increase Australia's preparedness for looming threats to the livestock industry such as African swine fever.Read moreRead less
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