College of Medicine & Dentistry


Semagn Abate

Semagn Abate

Joseph Kamara

Joseph Kamara

Eric Kalo

Eric Kalo

Erin Waters

Erin Waters

Kannan Maharajan

Kannan Maharajan

Fahmida Begum Mina

Fahmida Begum Mina

Lynsey Brown

Lynsey Brown

Ali Isin

Ali Isin

Mila Grinblat

Mila Grinblat

Mechanisms determining Marfan syndrome severity (Old ID 27110)
Sacha Jensen - Molecular and Cell Biology
01 Jan 2021 - 31 Dec 2023
Marfan syndrome (MFS), caused by defects in the protein fibrillin-1, has a wide spectrum of severity with symptoms affecting the heart, bones and eyes. The cause of this variation in severity is unclear. Severe, neonatal MFS and Beal's syndrome result from mutations in corresponding parts of the proteins fibrilin-1 and fibrillin-2. Using clues from these diseases, this project will use new cell engineering techniques to determine why some fibrillin mutations are more severe than others. The results are relevant not only to understanding MFS, but also to understanding how the tissues in our bodies are developed and maintained.
Consumer and Community Research Partnerships: Enabling capacity and strength in rural, regional, and remote northern Queensland health and medical research
Karen Johnston - Medicine
01 Jan 2025 - 31 Dec 2026
Consumer and community involvement in health and medical research can meaningfully improve research and associated health outcomes by incorporating lived experience into a research project. Anecdotally, there is limited consumer and community involvement occurring in investigator-led research within hospitals and health services in northern Queensland. This research will explore the unique capabilities, opportunities, and motivations for consumer and community involvement in research among three northern Queensland rural, regional, and remote hospital and health services. Strategies will be identified to enable consumer and community involvement in research within these health services, prioritised by consumers, community members and health researchers. It is anticipated that strategies and learnings from this project can be adapted more broadly to northern Australia, particularly other rural, regional, and remote contexts.
Aeromedical Retrieval of people with Acute Behavioural Disturbance in Queensland – ELEVATE Study (Phase 2)
Kris McBain-Rigg - PHTM - Tropical Health
27 Jun 2023 - 31 Dec 2026
PhD Candidate Dr Clinton Gibbs and Dr Kris McBain-Rigg will undertake interviews with staff of Aeromedical Retrieval Services throughout Queensland to explore their experiences of retrieval of patients diagnosed with Acute Behavioural Disturbances (ABD).
Aeromedical Retrieval of people with Acute Behavioural Disturbance in Queensland – ELEVATE Study
Kris McBain-Rigg - PHTM - Tropical Health
01 Jan 2023 - 31 Dec 2025
The aeromedical retrieval of people with Acute Behavioural Disturbance is a challenging process for a vulnerable group of patients. Due to the nature of the persons illness, the balance between providing timely access to care and risks during transfer is complex. This project aims to use a mixed methods approach to explore this patient group and the perceived challenges of their aeromedical retrieval, test current practice, identify areas for improvement and assess methods of optimising care provided before, during, and after transfer.
Validating a culturally safe model for general practice consultations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, to assess the cultural safety of a general practitioner.
This project seeks to validating a culturally safe model for general practice consultations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, in order to explore if the cultural safety of a general practitioner can be objectively assessed.
Community-Led Approaches to Teaching Australian South Sea Islander History
Michelle Redman-MacLaren - Medicine
01 Jan 2025 - 31 Dec 2030
ARC Discovery Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award This project argues that a new approach to teaching Australian South Sea Islander history in primary and secondary school education is urgently needed to address conditions by which Australian South Sea Islander students are made disadvantaged at school. Through a Tok Stori methodological approach that draws on community knowledges, this project will develop new ways of teaching Australian South Sea Islander history. It will work towards implementing the kind of meaningful progress that failed to follow the 1993 Recognition, build transnational research links, and increase and strengthen the capacity of Australian South Sea Islander educators and researchers.
Community-Led Approaches to Teaching Australian South Sea Islander History
Michelle Redman-MacLaren - Medicine
01 Jan 2025 - 31 Dec 2030
ARC Discovery Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award This project argues that a new approach to teaching Australian South Sea Islander history in primary and secondary school education is urgently needed to address conditions by which Australian South Sea Islander students are made disadvantaged at school. Through a Tok Stori methodological approach that draws on community knowledges, this project will develop new ways of teaching Australian South Sea Islander history. It will work towards implementing the kind of meaningful progress that failed to follow the 1993 Recognition, build transnational research links, and increase and strengthen the capacity of Australian South Sea Islander educators and researchers.
SARS_CoV2 Immune Landscape in the Tropics
Daniel Browne - Microbiology and Immunology
27 Jan 2025 - 26 Jan 2026
COVID-19 continues to pose a significant health risk in tropical regions of Australia, where high-risk populations are often concentrated. This project aims to establish an immunology research group within James Cook University's College of Medicine and Dentistry to explore the T-cell immune responses to COVID-19 in these tropical populations. Leveraging a cost-effective, high-throughput RT-qPCR technique developed at JCU, we will assess and track the immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 peptide epitopes in donors over several months. The study will optimize this method for fresh blood samples, gather preliminary data on immune variability, and inform the design and budgeting of a larger-scale future investigation.
Is inositol a potential therapy for abdominal aortic aneurysm? (Old ID 22440)
Joseph Moxon - Medicine
01 Dec 2015 - 31 Dec 2017
AIMS: Preliminary data demonstrate that inositol consumption limits experimental AAA development. This project builds on initial findings using the following aims: assess the ability of inositol to limit AAA growth (Aim 1) and rupture (Aim 2) in mouse models. SIGNIFICANCE: Identifying a drug to slow AAA growth and limit rupture has potential to improve patient care and reduce in-hospital costs associated with AAA management. OUTCOMES: This study will underpin competitive funding applications to the NHMRC and/or NFHMRI to further assess inositol status in human AAA patients.
Start Date: 01 Jan 1994
End Date: 01 Jan 1998
Start Date: 01 Jan 2019
Start Date: 01 Jan 2011
End Date: 01 Jan 2018
Start Date: 01 Jan 2018
End Date: 01 Jan 2020
Reseracher: Jane Harte (Associate Dean, Students)
Start Date: 01 Jan 1998
End Date: 01 Jan 2019
Reseracher: Catherine Rush (Associate Professor)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2012
End Date: 01 Jan 2015
Start Date: 01 Jan 2003
End Date: 01 Jan 2003
Reseracher: Jane Harte (Associate Dean, Students)
Start Date: 01 Jan 1999
End Date: 01 Jan 1999
Reseracher: Haleagrahara Nagaraja (Head, Foundation Studies)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2018