Physiology and Pharmacology

Lisa Chilton

Senior Lecturer
lisa.chilton@jcu.edu.au

Comparison of PoCT for salivary cortisol with Salimetrics ELIZA Salivary Cortisol

31 Jul 2024 - 31 Jul 2025

Salivary cortisol has always been a useful tool for measuring and monitoring stress in individuals particularly in a research setting. This tool is now very much moving into a diagnostic setting with the use of salivary and hair cortisols as a part of routine psychiatric investigation. Methodological validation is important to ensure that the methods employed in research trials are validated to a standard expected in pathology laboratories and recommended by ISO15189 and local guidelines. This project will utilise salivary cortisol samples collected for two ongoing research trials to validate the Salimetrics Salivary Cortisol assay and provide researchers with quality assurance around their results.

Exploring the Long-Term Effects of Probiotic Supplementation in Premature Infants (Old ID 27028)

Donna Rudd

19 Oct 2020 - 31 Oct 2021

Probiotic supplementation is now standard care for pre-term infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU); significantly reducing the risk of Necrotising Enterocolitis (NEC) and mortality. What is not known is the long-term impact of this probiotic treatment on the developing infant gut microbiome. Evidence from a previous study shows positive effects, however, two important questions remain. 1. Microbes from probiotic supplementation appear to colonize the infant gut, cause positive modulation and reduce the incidence of disease, does this effect persist over the first year of life? 2. Should the criteria for probiotic supplementation be expanded to include all infants?

Diagnostic Approaches to Mental Health - The Allostatic Load (Old ID 27306)

Donna Rudd

12 Jul 2021 - 31 Aug 2025

The goal of this project is to establish allostatic load index as a predictive tool in psychiatry. I will study the role allostatic load index, a measure of multisystem adaptation to changing demands and stress/trauma, in predicting the development of serious mental illness by analysing a UK longitudinal data set.

Enriching student learning with interactive Anatomy and Physiology modules

Danica Vojisavljevic

20 Aug 2024

Development of interactive Anatomy and Physiology Modules for first year health science students to replace current textbook and reduce student costs. • Savings: approx. $95 each for 466 enrolled students • Potential student savings: $44,270.

A study of Waldenström macroglobulinaemia in Queensland

Donna Rudd

31 Aug 2024 - 25 Oct 2028

Waldenström macroglobulinaemia (WM) is a rare type of Lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL) characterised by bone marrow and an IgM monoclonal gammopathy. To date, no review of this disease within an Australian population has ever been performed. This research seeks to report epidemiological information from 2001-2020. Records will be sourced from each State and Territory cancer registry and be released by the Australian Cancer Database (ACD). Data collection will be funded using the Australian Institute of Medical Scientists (AIMS) Research Seeding Grant, with an awarded value of $2,500. A quote supplied by the ACD dated 18/07/2024 estimates this cost to be $1,869.

Development of a Centre for Tropical Pathology

Ailie Ross

25 Jul 2025 - 30 Dec 2025

In the short term, this funding will bring together a multi-disciplinary team to support the development of a lateral flow assays to support a category 1 grant application, however, a longer term goal is to develop a centre for point of care diagnostic testing and support for regional and remote areas of Australia and the Pacific. Access to timely and accurate diagnostic testing is a significant challenge in rural and remote areas of Australia. Many conditions require rapid diagnosis to facilitate early intervention and improve patient outcomes. The proposed POC tests will be affordable, portable, and easy to use, allowing healthcare providers to conduct on-site testing without requiring sophisticated laboratory infrastructure. PoCT is not a replacement of the full suite of laboratory tests. PoCT must be situated in the clinical care model at the appropriate time to allow for timely and accurate clinical decision making. Development of lateral flow PoCT: 1. To support diagnosis for AKI in premature neonates for NHMRC Ideas grant application but also to support neonatal and paediatric renal disease screening in rural and remote locations. 2. To support diagnostic and clinical decision making in the areas of pregnancy dysfunction and acute leukemias.

Novel Leukaemia and Lymphoma Diagnostics in Regional and Remote Settings

Ailie Ross

01 Jan 2026 - 31 Dec 2027

Summary: Townsville is the only site north of Brisbane that conducts the high-level testing required to accurately diagnose leukaemia and lymphoma, which cause a significant disease burden. When patients are from remote areas, a higher error rate can occur, impacting patient outcomes. This project seeks to design and validate novel technologies that can be implemented in regional and remote areas to improve diagnostic accuracy.