College of Medicine & Dentistry
Sharron Long
- Lecturer, Medical Education
- sharron.long1@jcu.edu.au
Kerrianne Watt
- Adjunct Professor
- kerrianne.watt@jcu.edu.au
Damien Paris
- Associate Professor - Reproductive Physiology
- damien.paris@jcu.edu.au
David Plummer
- Adjunct Professor
- david.plummer@jcu.edu.au
Catherine Seaton
- Senior Research Officer
- catherine.seaton@jcu.edu.au
Anupama Bangara Kulur
- Lecturer, Physiology/Pathophysiology
- anupama.bangrakulur@jcu.edu.au
Patricia Graves
- Adjunct Professorial Research Fellow
- patricia.graves@jcu.edu.au
Yvonne Hornby-Turner
- Adjunct Research Fellow
- yvonne.hornbyturner@jcu.edu.au
Geoffrey Dobson
- Professor
- geoffrey.dobson@jcu.edu.au
Robi Islam
- Senior Lecturer, Pharmacy
- robi.islam@jcu.edu.au
METformin for treating peripheral artery disease Related walking Impairment Trial (MERIT) (Old ID 27507)
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a very common chronic cardiovascular disease of ageing affecting approximately 1 million older Australians and causing substantial leg pain on walking (intermittent claudication), marked functional impairment, reduced quality of life (QOL) and very high risk of major adverse cardiovascular and limb events. Vulnerable populations (e.g. regional or remote, lower income and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations) have much greater PAD-related burden. Our past consultations with patients indicate that improvements in walking is their number one priority. The only widely available PAD treatment in Australia is revascularisation but this does not improve walking distance and has substantial safety concerns. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that metformin safely improves leg blood supply. MERIT is a placebo-controlled randomised trial performed across 7 sites. The importance of the trial has been endorsed by patients, Heart Foundation, Queensland Health and Australian and New Zealand Society for Vascular Surgery and Alliance for Cardiovascular Trials. If positive, MERIT will identify a cheap, safe and widely available drug to improve the function and QOL of millions of older adults worldwide who have PAD.
METformin for treating peripheral artery disease Related walking Impairment Trial (MERIT) (Old ID 27507)
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a very common chronic cardiovascular disease of ageing affecting approximately 1 million older Australians and causing substantial leg pain on walking (intermittent claudication), marked functional impairment, reduced quality of life (QOL) and very high risk of major adverse cardiovascular and limb events. Vulnerable populations (e.g. regional or remote, lower income and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations) have much greater PAD-related burden. Our past consultations with patients indicate that improvements in walking is their number one priority. The only widely available PAD treatment in Australia is revascularisation but this does not improve walking distance and has substantial safety concerns. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that metformin safely improves leg blood supply. MERIT is a placebo-controlled randomised trial performed across 7 sites. The importance of the trial has been endorsed by patients, Heart Foundation, Queensland Health and Australian and New Zealand Society for Vascular Surgery and Alliance for Cardiovascular Trials. If positive, MERIT will identify a cheap, safe and widely available drug to improve the function and QOL of millions of older adults worldwide who have PAD.
Improving clinical pathways for abdominal aortic aneurysm through incorporating biomarkers (Old ID 27513)
MRF2015999
20 million people worldwide have weakening of their main abdominal artery (abdominal aortic aneurysm; AAA) and are at high risk of both major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and AAA related events (AAA repair and rupture-related death). Most AAAs are identified at a small size when their risk of rupture is low. Management of small AAA focuses on repeat aortic imaging every 6 months to identify when the threshold diameter (50mm in women and 55mm in men) is reached for elective surgical AAA repair. Most small AAAs continue to grow in size and eventually undergo repair. No drugs have been shown to limit AAA growth and the clinical pathway focuses on identifying those needing surgery rather than medical management. There are no established means to individualise care. Our interviews with patients and health professionals indicate that the number one deficiency in current AAA management is the lack of individualising medical management to reduce the high incidence of MACE and AAA related events. Our international AAA alliance is uniquely placed due to our resources (biobank-registry) and IP (bioinformatics, clinical, engineering software, genomics, biomarkers, machine learning and pathogenesis) to addresses this unmet clinical need.
Improving clinical pathways for abdominal aortic aneurysm through incorporating biomarkers (Old ID 27513)
MRF2015999
20 million people worldwide have weakening of their main abdominal artery (abdominal aortic aneurysm; AAA) and are at high risk of both major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and AAA related events (AAA repair and rupture-related death). Most AAAs are identified at a small size when their risk of rupture is low. Management of small AAA focuses on repeat aortic imaging every 6 months to identify when the threshold diameter (50mm in women and 55mm in men) is reached for elective surgical AAA repair. Most small AAAs continue to grow in size and eventually undergo repair. No drugs have been shown to limit AAA growth and the clinical pathway focuses on identifying those needing surgery rather than medical management. There are no established means to individualise care. Our interviews with patients and health professionals indicate that the number one deficiency in current AAA management is the lack of individualising medical management to reduce the high incidence of MACE and AAA related events. Our international AAA alliance is uniquely placed due to our resources (biobank-registry) and IP (bioinformatics, clinical, engineering software, genomics, biomarkers, machine learning and pathogenesis) to addresses this unmet clinical need.
Improving clinical pathways for abdominal aortic aneurysm through incorporating biomarkers (Old ID 27513)
MRF2015999
20 million people worldwide have weakening of their main abdominal artery (abdominal aortic aneurysm; AAA) and are at high risk of both major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and AAA related events (AAA repair and rupture-related death). Most AAAs are identified at a small size when their risk of rupture is low. Management of small AAA focuses on repeat aortic imaging every 6 months to identify when the threshold diameter (50mm in women and 55mm in men) is reached for elective surgical AAA repair. Most small AAAs continue to grow in size and eventually undergo repair. No drugs have been shown to limit AAA growth and the clinical pathway focuses on identifying those needing surgery rather than medical management. There are no established means to individualise care. Our interviews with patients and health professionals indicate that the number one deficiency in current AAA management is the lack of individualising medical management to reduce the high incidence of MACE and AAA related events. Our international AAA alliance is uniquely placed due to our resources (biobank-registry) and IP (bioinformatics, clinical, engineering software, genomics, biomarkers, machine learning and pathogenesis) to addresses this unmet clinical need.
Establishing a North Queensland Liver Tumour Library: New therapeutic approaches for advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma
The treatment options for advanced stage HCC patients remain poor. We found that the inhibition of a heat shock protein (HSP) with a small molecule inhibitor can restrict HCC growth. Now we intend to use pre-clinical models to test whether the combination of HSP inhibition and current immune based therapies are better in reducing tumour load. This will be undertaken using advanced cell biology techniques and mouse models. This new therapy may be able to be adapted to patients and could lead to improving their choice of therapies and outcome.
Trauma Care in the Tropics: A Multi-centre Retrospective Analysis. (Old ID 26855)
High quality pre-hospital trauma care and timely access to emergency aeromedical retrieval services is paramount for an efficient, sustainable healthcare system in North Queensland. We propose to identify and classify trauma patients in the North Queensland since 2016 to assess the magnitude of the total injury burden and evaluate the chain-of-care from the prehospital environment, through patient transfer, to hospital discharge. The dataset generated will provide valuable insights into patterns of primary retrieval, trauma distribution, and service provisions and gaps.
Reducing Dementia Risk in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities (Old ID 26279)
The aim of the project is to address these issues through the development of a range of interventions to specifically target the high rates of dementia in Indigenous communities. This project will use a Participatory Action Research approach to enable communities to identify and prioritise dementia risk reduction strategies/potential risk and protective factors. Using a Continuous Quality Improvement Framework, primary health care centries will address modifiable dementia risk factors to change practice and systems through the development of culturally appropriate interventions. The outcome will be a culturally appropriate framework that incorporates evidence-based best-practice guidelines for delivering community specific interventions for risk reduction and prevention of dementia.
Carrier Rates of Group A Streptococci (GAS) in Australian Wet Tropics (Old ID 24783)
It is now possible to do a cheap rapid PCR analysis directly in the GP clinic for presence of Group A Streptococci in a throat swab and obtain a result in 8 minutes. This study intends to clarify the carrier rate of Group A Streptococci in Australian Wet Tropics. This knowledge is crucial to be able to correctly interpret test outcomes in patients with a sore throat.
Emergency Examination Authorities and their impacts on Emergency Departments in North Queensland (Old ID 26314)
Emergency Departments (EDs) receive persons suffering major disturbances in their mental capacities, detained and transported by police or ambulance. The Public Health Act 2005 requires police and ambulance officers to make out an Emergency Examination Authority (EEA) at handover. This study investigates how EDs in north Queensland have responded. From handover at the ED, the PHA prescribes specific responsibilities, e.g. a doctor or health practitioner must explain to the person that they may be detained for 6-12 hours, the ED Director can order their forced return if they abscond and must take reasonable steps to return patients to a place requested.
Regenerating lizard tails: A new model for investigating lymphangiogenesis
- 2003
- Researchers:Suzy Munns
Association of osteoprotegerin with human abdominal aortic aneurysm progression
- 2005
- American Heart Association
- Researchers:Jonathan Golledge
A simple plan: cnidarians and the origins of developmental mechanisms
- 2004
- Nature Publishing
- Researchers:David Miller
Title:
Men are shaving off their eyelashes on TikTok, here's why that might be a bad idea, The Conversation
Start Date:
14 May 2025
Start Date:
15 May 2025
Start Date:
03 Jun 2025
Start Date:
01 Jan 2012
Title:
Grants Review
Start Date:
01 Jan 2024
End Date:
01 Jan 2024
Title:
Public Health Advocacy
Start Date:
01 Jan 2024
End Date:
01 Jan 2024
Start Date:
16 Jun 2025