Epidemics, mortality and longevity in Tasmania, 1838-1930. This project will investigate areas of contemporary importance that can only be explored using historic-demographic data. National benefits include (1) gaining a better understanding of how epidemics spread through families and communities, and possible mortality and case-fatality rates, to assist in preparation for future epidemics; (2) improved accuracy in projecting older-age mortality and population ageing in Australia and other coun ....Epidemics, mortality and longevity in Tasmania, 1838-1930. This project will investigate areas of contemporary importance that can only be explored using historic-demographic data. National benefits include (1) gaining a better understanding of how epidemics spread through families and communities, and possible mortality and case-fatality rates, to assist in preparation for future epidemics; (2) improved accuracy in projecting older-age mortality and population ageing in Australia and other countries; and (3) more precise estimates of women's capacity to naturally conceive and carry to term by characteristics such as her age, her partner's age, and her number of previous births. The project will also result in augmentation of a unique publicly available dataset.Read moreRead less
Mosquito-borne viruses - how they cause disease and novel approaches to prevention. In Australia, Ross River virus (RRV) is the most common insect borne virus that affects human health. There were more than 60,000 confirmed cases of RRV between 1993 and 2008. While not fatal, the disease is responsible for significant morbidity that has both social and economic costs for the individual, their family and the community. This project has several national benefits. It will elucidate whether there is ....Mosquito-borne viruses - how they cause disease and novel approaches to prevention. In Australia, Ross River virus (RRV) is the most common insect borne virus that affects human health. There were more than 60,000 confirmed cases of RRV between 1993 and 2008. While not fatal, the disease is responsible for significant morbidity that has both social and economic costs for the individual, their family and the community. This project has several national benefits. It will elucidate whether there is an association between RRV strain and the severity of disease and if there are human factors that affect the seriousness of symptoms. Knowledge of both of these could provide new avenues for the design of prevention and treatment strategies.Read moreRead less
Molecular dissection of malaria parasite motility and host-cell invasion across the lifecycle. Malaria parasites move in a unique way, gliding across cell surfaces and infecting host cells using a unique molecular motor. This research aims to understand the molecular mechanics behind parasite movement and use this to develop novel drugs that might throw a spanner in the parasite motor, blocking movement and thereby preventing malaria disease.
Developing methods for the analysis of massively parallel sequencing data in family studies. This project will develop analytical methods to use the latest, high-throughput method of generating sequencing data, i.e. the letters of the human genome alphabet. These tools will be used to identify the causal mutations in families with inherited disorders, leading to diagnostic tests for these families.
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
Developing mathematical models of infection and transmission to link biology, epidemiology and public health policy. Infectious diseases constitute a significant burden on the health of the population. Understanding how best to control them requires a multi-faceted approach, combining data from biology, medicine and population health with mathematical and computational models of disease transmission. This project will investigate the "flu" and other diseases.
Epidemics in large populations: long-term and near-critical behaviour. The project aims to prove qualitative and quantitative results concerning aspects of the long-term behaviour of near-critical epidemics, including the probability and duration of a large outbreak, and the total number of people infected. This project is a theoretical study of stochastic models of epidemics in large populations. The project will focus on emerging epidemics, where the average number of contacts, infection and r ....Epidemics in large populations: long-term and near-critical behaviour. The project aims to prove qualitative and quantitative results concerning aspects of the long-term behaviour of near-critical epidemics, including the probability and duration of a large outbreak, and the total number of people infected. This project is a theoretical study of stochastic models of epidemics in large populations. The project will focus on emerging epidemics, where the average number of contacts, infection and recovery rates are such that the basic reproduction number of the disease is near the critical value 1. The project will plan to both analyse particular epidemic models and develop new methodologies applicable in broader contexts. The mathematical predictions will be tested through simulations and comparison to real-world data. The significant outcome of the project should be the advancement in mathematical understanding of infectious disease spread, eventually leading to improved epidemic surveillance and control, and resulting in more effective protection of public health, improved quality of life, and obvious economic benefits.Read moreRead less
Solving the puzzle of complex disease - genes and their interactions with the environment. Many human diseases are caused by the interplay of genetic predisposition (nature) and the environment (nurture); but their causes remain a mystery, since much past research has focused on these aspects in isolation. This project will aim to better understand these complex diseases using a multi-factorial approach that brings both nature and nurture together.
Data-driven phylodynamics: molecular evolution to epidemiology. This project aims to uncover how different environmental and ecological variables drive the emergence of pathogens with increased transmissibility or virulence, known as variants. This will be achieved through extensive analyses of virus genome data.
This project expects to generate new knowledge in the field of pathogen evolution using novel data-driven statistical techniques for genomic analyses.
Expected outcomes of this proje ....Data-driven phylodynamics: molecular evolution to epidemiology. This project aims to uncover how different environmental and ecological variables drive the emergence of pathogens with increased transmissibility or virulence, known as variants. This will be achieved through extensive analyses of virus genome data.
This project expects to generate new knowledge in the field of pathogen evolution using novel data-driven statistical techniques for genomic analyses.
Expected outcomes of this project are a new understanding of the circumstances under which pathogen variants emerge and a suite of statistical tools to exploit the vast genome data available.
This should provide significant benefits by generating new knowledge with the potential to improve biosecurity, agriculture, and heath.
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