Bacterial pathogens are a major cause of illness and death, producing diseases ranging from acute infections to cancer. However, not all infected individuals will succumb to these pathologies. What factors dictate which individuals develop these diseases is an important complex question. The core focus of my research is the identification and characterisation of novel host factors that are involved in resistance or susceptibility to bacterial-associated diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Systems-based Study, Intervention, Diagnosis And Control Of Gastrointestinal Parasites
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,538,220.00
Summary
Gastrointestinal parasites cause billions of infections and hundreds of thousand of deaths globally each year. Even in developed countries, these parasites remain an important public health risk, through the cost of their control, the acute impacts of infection and their contribution to post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome and chronic fatigue. My team employs cutting-edge methods to improve their diagnosis, surveillance, treatment and control.
E. coli is a normal inhabitant of the human intestine, but some varieties can cause serious infections that may lead to the premature death of children, especially in less developed countries. The aims of this study are to learn more about these harmful varieties of E. coli and to enhance our ability to detect them in samples from patients and the environment.
Exploration Of The Role Of Microbes In Gastrointestinal Diseases
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$687,974.00
Summary
This fellowship will investigate diseases of the gastrointestinal tract of children. The research program will undertake a range of is a highly innovative projects including; development of an effective rotavirus vaccine to be administered to newborns; genetic characterisation of rotavirus strains able to escape vaccine protection; and how alterations in the human gut microbiome (bacteria and viruses) influence the development/relapse of CrohnÍs disease.
A Cluster RCT Of The Impact Of A Community-based Hygiene And Sanitation Programme On Infection With Intestinal Parasites Following Mass Albendazole Chemotherapy In Timor-Leste
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,178,136.00
Summary
Intestinal parasites cause anaemia, stunting, wasting and poor mental development in childhood, and are related to poverty and poor hygiene. Treatment with antiparasitic drugs cures infections in human hosts, but does not prevent rapid re-infection when people contact a parasite-contaminated environment. We will quantify the impact of a hygiene and sanitation programme that reduces environmental contamination in communities that receive mass treatment with the antiparasitic drug albendazole.
Anti-sporulation Strategies For Clostridium Difficile Infections
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$651,559.00
Summary
Hospital-acquired infections with the bacterium Clostridium difficile are a major global public health concern with highly virulent isolates emerging overseas in 2002 and in Australia in 2010. These strains have spread through our hospitals and are also found in the community. This project will increase our understanding of how these strains spread and will provide knowledge that is critical for developing improved strategies for preventing these infections.
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.
Norovirus Infection At The Stress Granule-PKR-p-elF2α Axis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$505,967.00
Summary
This project application will aim to investigate and understand how viruses that cause vomiting and diarrhoea are able to infect, proliferate and spread within the human body. It aims to address how viruses are able to avoid and replicate in the presence of an effective immune response. We have evidence showing that Noroviruses are able to exploit certain antiviral proteins to paradoxically aid in virus replication and survival.
Combating E. Coli Diarrhoea By Disarming Bacterial Virulence
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$674,737.00
Summary
E. coli causes severe and persistent diarrhoea which affects the health of millions of people worldwide. Although antibiotics may alleviate E. coli diarrhoea, these bacteria are becoming resistant to most drugs. In this study, we will use state-of-the-art technology to discover novel types of drug that treat and prevent infection with E. coli, without harming the beneficial bacteria in the gut.
Class-specific Virulence Determinants Of Atypical Enteropathogeneic E. Coli
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$672,134.00
Summary
Some varieties of E. coli cause diarrhoea, but they are difficult to diagnose in the laboratory. The aim of this study is to find specific genes of disease-associated E. coli that could be used as targets to identify these bacteria in patients with diarrhoea. The discovery of genes from E. coli that could be used as diagnostic targets will provide invaluable tools to study the epidemiology and clinical impact of these bacteria in patients in Australia and overseas.