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

Review of Tokelau's Clinical Health Services and Patient Referrals Sceme (Old ID 26397)
Michelle Redman-MacLaren - Medicine
05 Dec 2018 - 30 Jun 2020
The Tokelau Government has asked for an independent review of the Tokelau Patient Referrals Scheme (TPRS) and clinical health services. In partnership with the Tokelau Government, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has engaged a Massey University-led team to do the review. Our proposal is distinguished by three features in particular: the team is Pacific-led, the review design is bottom up, participatory and solutions-focussed, and our approach is grounded in a Tokelauan world view of health and wellbeing. This approach will allow for the co-creation of knowledge, will ensure that the review is inclusive of a diversity of views, including marginalised groups, and will enable us to undertake an in-depth review which reflects the social, economic, cultural and spiritual context. Methodological innovations such as use of the Systems Assessment Tool and particpatory co-design workshops will enable us to generate robust findings combining quantitative and qualitative data.
Generation of novel peptide-MHC antibody therapies to combat seasonal and pandemic potential influenza virus (Old ID 28968)
Influenza pandemics have caused significant morbidity and mortality throughout history. The 1918 influenza pandemic resulted in 25-50 million deaths globally. Myrio Therapeutics is a Melbourne-based company leading the development of antibodies directed to peptide-MHC (pMHC) targets. Myrio’s competitive edge is provided by a patented Retained Display (ReD) discovery platform allowing rapid isolation of high affinity human single chain antibodies, which are readily converted into different therapeutic formats. Myrio has identified several first-in-class antibodies against highly conserved influenza virus peptides presented on common human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) for further testing in vitro and in vivo in mice.
Exploring the educational and program impact of strategies to increase high quality GP registrar supervision and training in underserved communities in north-western Queensland (Old ID 25073)
Richard Murray - Medicine
01 Jul 2018 - 30 Jun 2019
This project builds on the previously funded ACRRM ERG - to develop a general practice workforce that is aligned with population health needs and optimising workforce sustainability and training in rural and remote areas. The first project identified underserved communities where GP registrar training capacity could be better targeted by strategically establishing registrar training posts in underserved communities. New training posts have been established or are in development in the underserved areas identified by the first project. This new project will evaluate these new training posts; measuring the educational impact of training in underserved areas and the impact of training posts on local communities.
Governance and accountability: the experience of Aboriginal Health Workers (Old ID 25066)
Steph Topp - PHTM - Tropical Health
01 Jul 2018 - 31 Dec 2018
This program will form a foundational component of Dr. Topp’s long term vision to develop a JCU-based health systems governance research program focussing on Australia’s remote and rural health workforce. The proposed project encompasses the first empirical study on AHW governance in Australia, leveraging collaborations with key industry stakeholders in the tropical north. Outcomes, both publications and established industry relationships, will form the basis for future competitive grant applications that extend Dr. Topp’s research expertise and presence, including by opening up new opportunities for collaborations with international colleagues working in the health system governance and accountability domain.
Classifying the Type and Severtiy of Traumatic Injury in North Queensland: A Multicentre Retrospective Study (Old ID 26830)
Hayley Letson - Medicine
01 Oct 2020 - 01 Mar 2023
Queenslanders living in regional, rural and remote areas having a higher incidence of traumatic injury and are disadvantaged by prolonged prehospital times. The aim of this project is to define and describe trauma patients transported by aeromedical emergency services to and between Townsville, Cairns, Mt Isa and Mackay hospitals over a 3 - year period (2016-2018). A key objective is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of clinical interventions and therapies from point-of-injury to hospital admission, and patient outcomes to hospital discharge. This data will help inform all stakeholders on the current state of emergency trauma care in the tropics.
Clinical and economic evaluation of novel blood tests for stroke (Old ID 23159)
Joseph Moxon - Medicine
01 Aug 2017 - 01 Sep 2021
This clinical study aims to test the ability for 2 novel blood borne markers to 1) diagnose stroke and 2) predict patient outcomes 90 days after stroke onset. In partnership with the Townsville Hospital, I will recruit presenting patients suffering suspected stroke and collect blood samples at presentation and after 24 hours as part of their usual care. Blood will be analysed for circulating concentrations of the novel markers which will be statistically compared to current gold standards in stroke assessment. Patients will be followed up at 3 months to assess disability, and perform economic analyses to quantify healthcare costs.
Tilapia Biocontrol Project. (Old ID 27044)
Ellen Ariel - Microbiology and Immunology
01 Jul 2020 - 31 Oct 2022
Determine the susceptibility of two tilapia species present in Australian waterways (O. mossambicus and T. mariae ) to TiLV and demonstrate the efficacy of TiLV as a potential biocontrol agent for tilapia in Australia.
Working it Out Together! Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander led co-design for a strong and deadly health workforce (Old ID 27074)
Building a stable, well-trained and culturally safe health workforce is a crucial part of delivering high quality primary health care (PHC) services. Previous attempts to strengthen rural/remote health workforce have failed, partly because they have not integrated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and lived experience with necessary policy and systems support. There has been little research into culturally safe strategies to improve workforce stability in complex PHC context. This project will bridge these gaps through a community-led, place-based planning approach, engaging service providers, policy-makers and funders to co-design workforce strategies and models of care that are locally relevant, successful and sustainable. This community-based participatory project uses a mixed methods quasi-experimental pre-post design to implement co-designed actions to explore: How do we systematically embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into place-based planning and action for a stable and effective workforce that engenders community trust in local PHC delivery? Working with key sector partners in four service-based rural/remote clusters across Qld, NT and NSW, we will co-design and trial strategies to strengthen workforce competency and stability (by strengthening local career pathways for Indigenous people and strengthening cultural competency of non-Indigenous staff), and use community-centred impact and economic evaluation. Our team is majority Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and builds on relationships and learnings developed through our ongoing PHC system improvement work. Each jurisdictional team comprises a local Indigenous PHC service, community-controlled peak body, primary health network, government health department and university partner. This optimal mix will ensure successful implementation of sustainable strategies and translation into policy and practice for improved community access to quality PHC and health outcomes.
Resistance to inundation in green turtle eggs (Old ID 21938)
Ellen Ariel - Microbiology and Immunology
01 Dec 2014 - 30 Nov 2017
The experiments will compare the susceptibility of green turtle eggs to inundation during different stages of their development.
Preventing reperfusion injury in stroke with an acutely dosed NK1R antagonist prodrug (Old ID 27621)
Alan Nimmo - Dentistry
01 Jan 2022 - 31 Dec 2023
Stroke represents a major clinical and societal burden, being a leading cause of adult disability, dementia, and death. The aim is to develop a novel therapeutic approach to significantly improve patient outcomes following an ischaemic stroke through the development of a novel therapeutic agent that can be delivered in conjunction with current approved reperfusion therapy. The plan involves critical de-risking efforts to deliver a low-risk strategy for progression to clinical trial. The plan focuses on the development of prodrugs of the NK1R antagonist, befetupitant, appropriately soluble for i.v. dosing, and accompanied by preclinical PK-PD data for formal, rapid preclinical development.
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