College of Medicine & Dentistry
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
Anna Vnuk
- Academic Coordinator, Cairns
- anna.vnuk@jcu.edu.au
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
Developing culturally appropriate mental health assessment tools for older adults living in the Torres Strait (Old ID 27220)
The aim of the study is to develop culturally appropriate mental health assessment tools for older adults (e.g. aged 45 and over) living in the Torres Strait. Data from yarning circles with Torres Strait community members and health care staff will be used to identify how mental health disorders are expressed in the Torres Strait. A Delphi process will then be used to identify appropriate tools for assessing these domains of mental ill health for use in older adults in the Torres Strait. These tools will then be piloted to determine acceptability and validated for use in the Torres Strait.
The KidGen National Kidney Genomics Program – improving genomic outcomes for Australian families with genetic kidney disease (Old ID 27287)
The KidGen National Kidney Genomic Program is an Australian national and translational genomics program addressing the clinical need to urgently improve identification and diagnosis of novel monogenic rare kidney diseases. Our vision is to improve the diagnostic and clinical outcomes of Australian patients and families affected by genetic kidney disease (GKD) through personalised application of novel genomic approaches at national scale and within a multidisciplinary context. We will materially increase the genetic diagnosis rate in this space towards 70% by 2025 whilst enabling earlier and more efficient genomic diagnosis of rare kidney disorders. World-leading genomic approaches will be utilised to improve connection and capacity, including the application of advanced research and functional genomics to identify and validate novel gene variants in our extensive patient cohort. Through our established national network of multidisciplinary clinics this will inform clinical options and pathways for affected Australian families and accelerate translation and integration of genomics knowledge and technology into kidney clinical practice.
Treatment as Prevention in Correctional Facilities in Southern Africa (TasP Prisons) (Old ID 22496)
Limited data from Southern Africa suggest that concentration of HIV-infected individuals and high-risk sexual behaviours in correctional facilities may be driving HIV transmission in incarcerated populations. Despite the implications of incarceration - related HIV transmission on individual and public health, little evidence exists to guide implementation of HIV prevention strategies in these settings. One such strategy, Treatment as Prevention (TasP), offers promise to: (1) prevent HIV transmission among incarcerated men having sex with men and people who use drugs; and (2) improve inmate health and tuberculosis control. In this project we will implement TasP in three correctional facilities - one in Zambia and two in South Africa - and evaluate TasP implementation as a strategy to coordinate the HIV care continuum and assure appropriate TB assessment among HIV-infected inmates.
Exploring the Long-Term Effects of Probiotic Supplementation in Premature Infants (Old ID 27031)
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?
Reptiles
- 2023
- John Wiley & Sons Ltd
- Researchers:Ellen Ariel
Do educational interventions improve prescribing skills of medical students compared to no additional learning? A systematic review
- 2023
- Taylor & Francis
- Researchers:Andrew MallettTarun Sen Gupta
Validation of key sponge symbiont pathways using genome-centric metatranscriptomics
- 2023
- Wiley-Blackwell
- 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