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Prevention Of Group A Streptococcal Disease In The Developing World: Investigating Innovative Control Strategies For Rheumatic Heart Disease And Impetigo
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$178,614.00
Summary
Group A streptococcal diseases, including rheumatic heart disease and impetigo, are major causes of illness globally, mostly in developing countries. This proposal is a comprehensive investigation into new ways of curbing these diseases, including using ultrasound screening for rheumatic heart disease, community wide treatment for impetigo and laboratory testing for new vaccines. The studies will be done in Fiji and will be relevant for other developing countries and for Indigenous Australians.
Evidence-driven Strategies To Reduce The Burden Of Infections Among Indigenous Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$267,859.00
Summary
Dr Asha Bowen will be building the evidence to reduce the burden of infectious diseases in Australia's Indigenous children during her early career fellowship. This will include a randomised controlled trial on the treatment of acute gastroenteritis in the Northern Territory and developing new strategies to reduce the burden of skin infections in children living in remote communities.
Targeting The Human Immune Response To Bacterial Superantigens.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$165,424.00
Summary
This research investigates the human immune response to infection with toxin producing bacteria. Toxins activate the human immune system which can lead to serious illness or the development of disease that can progress rapidly and be associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Investigating the harmful effects of infection with toxin producing bacteria in humans and the damage caused by their toxins is essential for the development of effective therapeutic strategies.
Defining The Mechanism Of Invasive Disease Caused By Diverse Group A Streptococcal M Serotypes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$393,061.00
Summary
Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus; GAS) causes life-threatening invasive infections including flesh-eating disease and toxic shock syndrome (>600,000 cases and 163,000 deaths per year). We recently discovered the trigger for invasive disease in a globally disseminated GAS strain. The aim of this work is to determine whether this trigger applies to other strains associated with GAS invasive disease. These studies will allow the development of new therapeutics and treatments.
Investigating The Antimicrobial Activity Of Zinc At The Host-pneumococcal Interface
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,768.00
Summary
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a human-only bacterium that is responsible for killing more than one million people every year. This project will analyse how the human immune system fights this bacterium, and subsequently, how the bacteria manages to subvert these attacks and survive in the human host. This will provide crucial information for developing new drugs against this pathogen, in an attempt to combat the ever-increasing problem of antibiotic resistance.
Urinary tract infections are among the most common infectious diseases in humans, with approximately 40% of adult women having experienced at least one. I aim to characterise and compare the dynamics of the innate immune response in the urinary tract, in response to uropathogens and characterise bacterial factors affecting such responses. Understanding immune function provides important new understanding into these disease processes that may result in the development of new treatment approaches.
Effects Of Antibiotics, Vaccines And Environment On The Population Biology Of Bacterial Respiratory Pathogens In Australian Indigenous Children – A Synthesis Of Studies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$316,449.00
Summary
For over 20 years researchers in the Northern Territory have studied middle ear and lower respiratory infections which severely affect Indigenous children. Projects have included antibiotic and vaccine interventions, however disease rates remain high. Much has been learned about the bacteria causing these infections and the effects of interventions. This study will synthesise these findings, and explore environmental influences, to further inform prevention and treatment strategies.