College of Medicine & Dentistry


Catrina Felton-Busch

Catrina Felton-Busch

Amy Brown
Faith Alele

Faith Alele

Sally West

Sally West

Subir Sarker

Subir Sarker

Kehinde Obamiro

Kehinde Obamiro

(COMFITE) Efficacy, acceptability and adherence with custom-made footwear in people with a history of diabetes-related foot disease. (Old ID 26968)
Joseph Moxon - Medicine
01 Jan 2021 - 12 Dec 2022
Approximately 8% (n=80,000) of Northern Australians have diabetes of whom about a quarter (n=20,000) will develop foot disease putting them at risk of amputation and death and costing ~$24 million each year. The most common cause of diabetes-related foot complications is excessive pressure on an area of an insensate foot. Footwear designed to limit pressure on the feet has been shown to reduce the risk of foot ulcers. The most appropriate type of footwear is however unknown. This pilot clinical trial examines the efficacy and acceptability of footwear designed to the shape of an individuals’ feet using three-dimensional printing.
Assessment of Renal Function in Neonates and infants using Cystatin C. (Old ID 27135)
Donna Rudd - Physiology and Pharmacology
26 Feb 2021 - 31 Dec 2022
Diagnosis of early acute kidney injury (AKI) can prevent renal failure in babies (<2 years of age). This non-invasive method validation study will utilise parallel alternative method testing for renal function tests, to examine the clinical applicability and accuracy of implementing Cystatin-C (Cys-C), as a preferred biomarker for early AKI by: (1) determining if Cys-C is a more sensitive marker of impaired renal function and decline compared to serum creatinine in this cohort; (2) determine if eGFR derived from Cys-C is a more sensitive predictor of renal function decline; and (3) produce a clinical reference range for Cys-C for this cohort.
ADAPTTS - App-Based Diet and Physical Activity Tools for the Torres Strait (Old ID 27530)
Rachel Quigley - Cairns Clinical School
01 Mar 2022 - 01 Mar 2024
The aim of this project is to develop and validate dietary and physical activity assessment tools for use in the Torres Strait. Having culturally appropriate assessment tools embedded in primary health care services will facilitate appropriate identification and referral for at risk patients. This will promote best practice care in the region leading to better health outcomes and improved service delivery for the benefit of Torres Strait Islanders living in Far North Queensland. The project also is a collaboration between researchers at JCU Healthy Ageing Research Team (HART), clinical staff in TCHHS and local NGOs based in the Torres Strait.
Developing culturally appropriate assessments for people with dementia (Old ID 28929)
Rachel Quigley - Cairns Clinical School
01 Apr 2022 - 31 Dec 2023
This study's aim is to develop culturally appropriate measures of anxiety and depression for older adults living with dementia in the Torres Strait. This is of significance given high rates of psychological distress identified in First Nations peoples. Outcomes from the study will (1) improve the accurate and timely diagnosis of comorbid psychological conditions in people with dementia; and (2) clarify differential diagnosis of dementia in older Torres Strait adults. Having culturally appropriate tools will facilitate equity of assessment for treatment within an underserved and disadvantaged group and ensure appropriate treatment and management within this vulnerable population of older adults.
Modelling future testing needs for SARS-CoV-2 (Old ID 27032)
Michael Meehan - PHTM - Research Methods
21 Oct 2020 - 22 Oct 2020
The Project will enable greater understanding of the current and projected future testing demand for severe acute respiratory acute syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in Australia. The scope of this project is limited to assessing the demand for laboratory based, or near patient point-of-care, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, the gold standard test to diagnose COVID-19.
Proposed development of revised framework for operational and implementation research in health and disease control programmes. (Old ID 27222)
Michelle Redman-MacLaren - Medicine
26 Apr 2021 - 24 Sep 2021
Strong, responsive and resilient health systems are the critical foundation for global health security. Health systems depend on effective functioning of both people and networks in order to implement effective disease control programmes, detect and respond quickly to infectious disease threats and develop evidence-informed policy/practice. The purpose of this work is to develop a revised framework for operational and implementation research (OR/IR) in health and disease control programs. This framework can be used to develop adequate and sustainable OR/IR capacity in public health programs and create an organisational culture of policy and practice that is informed by evidence-informed decision making.
Proposed development of revised framework for operational and implementation research in health and disease control programmes. (Old ID 27222)
Karen Johnston - Medicine
26 Apr 2021 - 24 Sep 2021
Strong, responsive and resilient health systems are the critical foundation for global health security. Health systems depend on effective functioning of both people and networks in order to implement effective disease control programmes, detect and respond quickly to infectious disease threats and develop evidence-informed policy/practice. The purpose of this work is to develop a revised framework for operational and implementation research (OR/IR) in health and disease control programs. This framework can be used to develop adequate and sustainable OR/IR capacity in public health programs and create an organisational culture of policy and practice that is informed by evidence-informed decision making.
Assessment of the efficacy of a novel treatment for Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) (Old ID 26206)
Joseph Moxon - Medicine
01 Jul 2018 - 31 Dec 2020
Blockage of leg arteries (peripheral artery disease - PAD) leads to severe exertional leg pain (intermittent claudication), impaired walking ability, reduced health-related quality of life, and high risk of amputation and death. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that metformin, a cheap and safe medication, promotes formation of new vessels, improves microcirculation and muscle function,s and limits pain.
Strengthening the Quality of Dementia Care in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Residential Aged Care (Old ID 27652)
Rachel Quigley - Cairns Clinical School
01 Feb 2022 - 31 May 2022
Aim: Develop and field-test an audit tool for assessing the standard of dementia care in Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander residential aged care (RAC), against Quality Standards and Best Practice guidelines for dementia care. Method: - Undertake scoping review on best practice dementia care; - Develop a standardised audit tool based on scoping review evidence; - Field-test tool to evaluate face and content validity and inter-rater reliability. Outcome: Best practice dementia care audit tool and accompanying manual. Significance: Groundwork for a larger funding application to Dementia Australia that will test the audit tool and inform the feasibility and acceptability of a continuous quality improvement approach for strengthening dementia care in Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander RAC.
Quality Improvement in Indigenous Primary Health Care: Leveraging Effective Ambulatory Practices (LEAP) (Old ID 22468)
Continuous quality improvement (CQI) initiatives are well-accepted as an effective means for improving quality of care at primary health care (PHC) services. However, there remains significant variation in the quality of care provided between individual services and the degree of response to CQI activities. This sis so despite active and effective CQI networks supported by a number of organisations. Understanding the detail of this variability is vital before quality improvement initiatives in Indigenous PHC can be effectively scaled-up and expanded. We aim to enhance understanding of how quality improvement initiatives in Indigenous PHC can be rolled out on a broader scale, particularly in services that face capacity and resource-based challenges, through I0 building on our understanding of how contextual factors interact to facilitate or limit the success of CQI initiatives; and ii) collaborative development and testing of a toolkit of interventions to address barriers to improvement.
Start Date: 14 May 2025
Start Date: 03 Jun 2025
Start Date: 01 Jan 2012
Reseracher: Subir Sarker (Associate Professor, Microbiology)
Reseracher: Subir Sarker (Associate Professor, Microbiology)
Reseracher: Subir Sarker (Associate Professor, Microbiology)
Reseracher: Abdul-Aziz Seidu (Lecturer, Public Health)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2024
End Date: 01 Jan 2024
Reseracher: Abdul-Aziz Seidu (Lecturer, Public Health)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2024
End Date: 01 Jan 2024
Reseracher: Amanda Meyer (Senior Lecturer, Anatomy and Pathology)
Start Date: 16 Jun 2025