The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) invites you to participate in a short survey about your
interaction with the ARDC and use of our national research infrastructure and services. The survey will take
approximately 5 minutes and is anonymous. It’s open to anyone who uses our digital research infrastructure
services including Reasearch Link Australia.
We will use the information you provide to improve the national research infrastructure and services we
deliver and to report on user satisfaction to the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research
Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) program.
Please take a few minutes to provide your input. The survey closes COB Friday 29 May 2026.
Complete the 5 min survey now by clicking on the link below.
CHARACTERISATION OF NOVEL PICORNAVIRUS-LIKE VIRUSES IDENTIFIED FROM PATIENTS WITH ACUTE RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$366,998.00
Summary
The common cold and serious chest colds are usually due to viral infections, and mostly occur in children. Unfortunately we can only be certain of the virus causing this illness in as little as 15% of cases. We intend to address this lack of research by examining, in detail, a new virus we recently identified in a child with serious respiratory illness that required admission to hospital. Testing by our laboratory suggests that the new virus is related to picornaviruses (which cause some common ....The common cold and serious chest colds are usually due to viral infections, and mostly occur in children. Unfortunately we can only be certain of the virus causing this illness in as little as 15% of cases. We intend to address this lack of research by examining, in detail, a new virus we recently identified in a child with serious respiratory illness that required admission to hospital. Testing by our laboratory suggests that the new virus is related to picornaviruses (which cause some common colds) but seems to be present in children with far more serious illness. Our study plans to more completely identify the new picornavirus-like virus (PLV) using the tools of molecular biology and the expertise of a senior team of Australian scientists and clinicians who have recently made several virus discoveries in Australia, demonstrating that Australian virus research is capable of achieving highly competitive results that benefit our hospitals and especially their young patients. Our studies will develop extremely sensitive tests which rely on the detection of very small amounts of the viral genome. We can use these tests to determine what the whole virus looks like, when it might occur during the year and whether the PLV are found worldwide. Our studies will also produce viral proteins in the laboratory and use these to make new tests for stored blood samples. If a blood sample comes from a patient who has previously been infected by PLV, their blood will contain specific antibodies which we will then be able to detect. We also intend to determine whether some strains of PLV are more or less likely to cause serious illness than others. Improved understanding of these and other viruses minimises the chance of illness spreading within a hospital, helps scientists to decide against which viruses to design vaccines and drugs and aids medical doctors to better identify what once went undiagnosed.Read moreRead less
Viral Factors Involved In Flavivirus Replication And Virus-host Interactions
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$743,696.00
Summary
With our increased understanding of virus-host interactions it has become apparent that small, non-structural proteins and small RNAs of most viruses are vital for numerous, often multiple, functions in the viral life cycle. In the proposed project, we seek to gain a detailed understanding of the functions of small nonstructural protein NS2A and small abundant viral RNAs of medicaly important encephalitic flaviviruses, which have remained so far elusive and are at the cutting-edge in the researc ....With our increased understanding of virus-host interactions it has become apparent that small, non-structural proteins and small RNAs of most viruses are vital for numerous, often multiple, functions in the viral life cycle. In the proposed project, we seek to gain a detailed understanding of the functions of small nonstructural protein NS2A and small abundant viral RNAs of medicaly important encephalitic flaviviruses, which have remained so far elusive and are at the cutting-edge in the research field. We anticipate that with a better understanding of the roles of these factors in flaviviral replication and pathogenesis, novel targets for antiviral therapies and-or molecular determinants for inclusion in candidate vaccines will be identified.Read moreRead less
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.
Influenza A Virus PB1-F2 Protein: A Putative Virulence Factor And Initiator Of Inflammation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$474,718.00
Summary
Influenza virus produces a protein of undefined function called PB1-F2. Infection of mice with virus expressing PB1-F2 from virulent strains causes severe lung inflammation, while PB1-F2 from milder seasonal viruses does not. We will examine how PB1-F2 influences virulence of human influenza in the ferret, which exhibits the same illness as humans. This work will help understand the disease severity of newly evolved influenza viruses of humans and the role of PB1-F2 in mediating this.
Defining The Contribution Of Skin Gamma Delta T Cells To Cutaneous Immunosurveillance, Immunity And Disease After HSV Infection.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$601,386.00
Summary
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) causes genital herpes and encephalitis. Disease is severe in the immunocompromised and the newborn. HSV enters through breaks in the skin or mucosa, where it first encounters gamma delta T cells. We have recently made the key finding that HSV can infect gamma delta T-cells shortly after inoculation. Here we will study how they contribute to the immune response when a virus enters the skin in mice and human tissues. This may lead development of new topical antiviral vac ....Herpes simplex virus (HSV) causes genital herpes and encephalitis. Disease is severe in the immunocompromised and the newborn. HSV enters through breaks in the skin or mucosa, where it first encounters gamma delta T cells. We have recently made the key finding that HSV can infect gamma delta T-cells shortly after inoculation. Here we will study how they contribute to the immune response when a virus enters the skin in mice and human tissues. This may lead development of new topical antiviral vaccines.Read moreRead less
Activation Of The Respiratory Syncytial Virus Fusion Protein
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$582,072.00
Summary
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is the most important viral cause of respiratory tract disease in both infants and the elderly. However, there are few available options for control, whether by vaccination or therapeutic intervention. This proposal investigates the way RSV infects cells. A clearer understanding of the molecular basis of this process should provide potential targets for new drugs that can block this process and new insights for the generation of vaccine candidates.
HIV/AIDS remains a major global threat with ?37 million individuals living with HIV in 2014. Antiretroviral drugs have transformed HIV from a death sentence into a chronic disease. Public health organisations recommend dramatic scale up of drugs for HIV treatment and prevention. However, a major threat is that drug options will be exhausted in the long-term due to drug resistance and toxicity. The major aim of this study is to advance the development of an entirely new drug class for HIV.
Influenza remains an important disease and exacts a high toll in both morbidity and mortality each year. This project will identify the carbohydrates that are utilised by influenza virus to initiate infection throughout the body and map how these carbohydrates interact with the key viral surface proteins. This research will provide new insight into the emergence of new influenza virus strains and cross-species pathogenicity.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Matrix Protein-Host Protein Interactions As Targets For Therapeutics
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$686,885.00
Summary
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes more deaths in winter than influenza, being the major cause of viral pneumonia in infants worldwide, and a potent lower respiratory pathogen in the elderly and immunosuppressed adults. The present proposal will apply a range of techniques to search for new inhibitors of viral infection which target host-virus interactions, as the first step towards new generation anti-viral agents to treat RSV infection.
Burden Of Respiratory Infection In The First 2 Years Of Life: A Birth Cohort Study Of Emerging Respiratory Pathogens.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,168,963.00
Summary
Respiratory illnesses are extremely common, but there is little information about patterns of infection in the community using modern diagnostic tests. Children have the highest rates of infection and transmit to all other age groups. We intend to recruit 138 newborns to monitor respiratory symptoms and collect specimens for testing in the first two years of life. This will allow us to document illnesses due to known and newly identified respiratory pathogens.