College of Medicine & Dentistry
Semagn Abate
- Doctor of Philosophy (Health)
- semagn.abate@my.jcu.edu.au
Joseph Kamara
- Senior Lecturer Disaster Health and Humanitarian Assistance
- joseph.kamara@jcu.edu.au
Eric Kalo
- Lecturer Medical Education
- eric.kalo@jcu.edu.au
Erin Waters
- JCU Associate Professor
- erin.waters@jcu.edu.au
Kannan Maharajan
- Associate Professor, Pharmacy
- kannan.maharajan@jcu.edu.au
Fahmida Begum Mina
- Doctor of Philosophy (Medical, Molecular and Veterinary Sciences)
- fahmidabegum.mina@my.jcu.edu.au
Lynsey Brown
- Adjunct Senior Lecturer
- lynsey.brown@jcu.edu.au
Ali Isin
- Adjunct Senior Research Fellow
- ali.isin@jcu.edu.au
Muideen Olaiya
- Senior Research Fellow
- muideen.olaiya@jcu.edu.au
Mila Grinblat
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow
- mila.grinblat@jcu.edu.au
Qualitative and quantitative assessment of undergraduate medical student perceptions, preferences, and knowledge acquisition in a regional medical school
A mixed-methods study evaluating undergraduate medical students' perceptions, preferences and knowledge acquisition following the integration of immersive virtual-reality (VR) activities into the curriculum at a regional medical school. Combining qualitative and quantitative measures, it examines how VR-based learning shapes student engagement, learning preferences and knowledge gain, generating evidence to guide the sustainable adoption of immersive technologies in medical education.
GREAT Study: Geriatric Retrieval And Transfer Study; A review of the characteristics of geriatric patients requiring rotary wing retrieval in Queensland
The GREAT Study will examine the clinical characteristics, retrieval pathways and outcomes of older patients undergoing aeromedical retrieval. The study will provide an empirical foundation for retrieval decision support, clinician training and goals-of-care discussions with older patients and their families. As JCU lead, I contribute expertise in study design, statistical analysis and interpretation and support the translation of findings into partner-led research outputs and clinical practice.
Developing affordable phylodynamic surveillance workflows for under-resourced settings
This project will develop affordable, robust phylodynamic surveillance workflows for regional and resource-limited settings by combining low-cost portable sequencing with modelling approaches that can accommodate lower-quality data. Building on previous work estimating transmission dynamics in drug-resistant community-associated MRSA outbreaks in Papua New Guinea and Far North Queensland, the team will optimise DNA extraction and multiplexed Oxford Nanopore sequencing, benchmark results against existing Illumina data, and quantify how sequencing technology, variant-calling pipelines, pathogen species and Bayesian prior choices affect epidemiological estimates. The project will establish best-practice workflows and software for routine genomic surveillance, strengthen collaboration across northern Australia and Papua New Guinea, and support more accessible evidence-based outbreak control and antimicrobial-resistance decision-making.
GREAT Study: Geriatric Retrieval And Transfer Study; A review of the characteristics of geriatric patients requiring rotary wing retrieval in Queensland
The GREAT Study will examine the clinical characteristics, retrieval pathways and outcomes of older patients undergoing aeromedical retrieval. The study will provide an empirical foundation for retrieval decision support, clinician training and goals-of-care discussions with older patients and their families.
A resistance-resilient strategy to prevent device-associated biofilm infections
Biofilm infections on catheters, vascular lines, and other implanted or indwelling medical devices are a major clinical problem because they are difficult to treat, often persist despite antibiotic therapy, and commonly require repeat procedures or device removal. These infections increase morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs, and the burden is likely to grow in Australia with an ageing population and rising use of medical devices. Current antibiofilm approaches have had limited success because most target specific bacterial pathways and are often narrow in scope, vulnerable to escape, and difficult to apply across different pathogens and device settings. This project will test a new idea for preventing biofilm infection: instead of targeting a single pathway, it will target the membrane state bacteria need to switch into biofilm growth. Our preliminary work shows that biofilm formation depends on membranes remaining within an optimal fluidity range. When membrane fluidity is pushed outside this range, biofilm development is disrupted. This makes membrane fluidity an attractive target because it is a fundamental physical requirement for biofilm formation rather than a species-specific pathway. We will determine whether this principle can be used against major multidrug-resistant pathogens that commonly cause device-associated infection. We will test whether selected fatty acids and lipid synthesis inhibitors can prevent or reduce biofilm formation across priority pathogens, identify the most effective intervention conditions, and evaluate the most promising approaches in device-relevant infection models. We will also define the membrane features linked to biofilm success or failure, providing a foundation for future intervention design. This project will establish proof-of-concept for a new antibiofilm strategy, identify practical intervention leads, and provide a foundation for reducing chronic device-associated infection in Australia.
Get Online Week Grant 2026
Get Online Week Grant 2026: Supporting CALD communities to improve their digital skills.
Translating the HELP-C Framework into Rural Student-Led Healthcare: A Stakeholder Engagement Case Study with Murtupuni Centre for Rural and Remote Health
This stakeholder-engagement project will translate the HELP-C Framework into the rural student-led healthcare context of the Murtupuni Centre for Rural and Remote Health in Mount Isa. Activities will include rapid context mapping, mapping local evaluation priorities against the HELP-C Framework, a one-day stakeholder workshop in Mount Isa, and the development of a locally relevant evaluation roadmap and feasibility-focused case study report. The project will examine meaningful and feasible indicators across student experience, service delivery, health outcomes, community priorities and reporting needs, and will inform a potential future multi-site evaluation pathway
Translating mental health peer support into practice for consumers in rural and regional emergency departments: feasibility and pilot testing
Funded by Medibank Private to evaluate placing embedding workers with lived experience into resource-constrained rural hospital emergency settings.
ConnectED: Avoiding unnecessary ED presentations for people with mental illness
Avoiding unnecessary ED presentations for people with mental illness. HCF Research Foundation, Health Services Research Grants. Awarded 2025, $340,840 excluding GST over three years from January 2026. Chief investigator Associate Professor Kevin Mc Namara. Evaluates the ConnectED lived and living experience peer worker model in rural emergency departments.
Leveraging NQ telehealth experience for contextually informed process guidelines to optimise health service access, quality and safety in rural and remote Australia (NQ Telehealth Project)
To optimise the quality (including accessibility) and safety (including cultural safety) of health care for rural, remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in NQ by optimising the use of telehealth as part of health care delivery.
A case–control comparison of acute-phase peripheral blood gene expression in participants diagnosed with minor ischaemic stroke or stroke mimics
- 2023
- BioMed Central
- Researchers:Andrew CalcinoRhondda JonesMatt FieldJonathan GolledgeJoseph Moxon
Lophomonas as a respiratory pathogen-jumping the gun
- 2024
- American Society for Microbiology
- Researchers:Richard Bradbury
Is strongyloidiasis a zoonosis from dogs?
- 2024
- Royal Society
- Researchers:Richard Bradbury
Strongyloides fuelleborni kellyi in New Guinea: Neglected, ignored and unexplored
- 2021
- CSIRO Publishing
- Researchers:Richard Bradbury
Parasitic disease surveillance, Mississippi, USA
- 2021
- US Department of Health and Human Services
- Researchers:Richard Bradbury
Title:
Lung Foundation Australia
Start Date:
01 Jan 2003
End Date:
01 Jan 2005
Start Date:
01 Jan 2005
End Date:
01 Jan 2008
Start Date:
01 Jan 2017
End Date:
01 Jan 2017
Start Date:
01 Jan 2023
End Date:
01 Jan 2023
Start Date:
01 Jan 2010
End Date:
01 Jan 2014
Start Date:
30 Jun 2026
Start Date:
01 Jan 2009