Research Projects
Evaluation of BCGΔBCG1419c:ESAT6-PE25SS in immunocompetent and immunocompromised mouse models of TB (Old ID 27605)
Ana Maria Valencia Hernandez
01 Jun 2022 - 31 May 2023
Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health concern that causes more than 1.5 million deaths each year. Vaccination is considered one of the most effective ways to eliminate TB. However, the only licensed TB vaccine, called BCG, provides limited protection against the disease in adults and can cause dangerous side effects in people with weaker immune systems. This project aims to investigate whether a new vaccine candidate can induce a stronger immune response and better protection against tuberculosis in mice with normal immune systems and is well-tolerated in mice with compromised immune systems, when compared with the original BCG vaccine.
Strengthening the Quality of Dementia Care in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Residential Aged Care (Old ID 27652)
Yvonne Hornby-Turner
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.
NESP 3.8 Carbon abatement & biodiversity enhancements through controlling feral ungulate disturbance in wetlands. (Old ID 28970)
Nathan Waltham
01 Jan 2023 - 20 Dec 2025
Ungulates (pigs, buffalo, cattle) damage the landscape in northern Australia. This impact is particularly evident in coastal wetlands, that provide a range of ecosystem services such as carbon abatement, biodiversity and water quality. Attempts to control ungulates have required expensive mitigation action, with mixed levels of success. In this project we examine the carbon and biodiversity services that controlling ungulates has in coastal areas. Importantly, this research contributes to the development of new methodologies to attract market investments from big businesses, such as blue carbon and biodiversity certificates.
ABCD Case Studies Project: Quality improvement in Aboriginal primary health care: lessons from the best to better the rest. (Old ID 20865)
Sarah Larkins
01 Jan 2014 - 30 Jun 2017
High performing primary health care (PHC) services are essential to "close the gap" in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes. Little previous research has investigated the contextual factors around a particular service that influence the success of quality improvement initiatives. We aim to transfer knowledge about the processes that facilitate the success of quality improvement initiatives in these services whilst building research and evaluation capacity in the services.
Evaluating the impacts of improving postharvest processing of sea cucumbers in the western Pacific region (Old ID 21051)
Simon Foale
01 Jul 2013 - 30 Jun 2017
Sea cucumbers are significant to Pacific Island communities as a high value export commodity - in dried form as 'beche-de-mer'. A major issue facing sea cucumber fishers is the poor quality of processing by them which reduces the value of their product and their resulting income. Support to fishers in processing sea cucumbers to a high export quality, using the best methods, will likely improve their incomes and their concept is the basis for this project. This project partners JCU with Southern Cross University and fisheries departments in Kiribati, Tonga and Fiji. The JCU component of the project will focus particularly on the potential to develop novel (non-dried) methods for sea cucumber processing which may broaden the range of products produced from sea-cucumbers, open up new markets for these products, and increase the overall value of this industry and potential benefits to Pacific Island communities.
Conflicting temporalities of climate governance: a comparative sociology of policy design and operationalisation in Australia and the UK (Old ID 21170)
Stewart Lockie
05 Jun 2013 - 04 Jun 2017
This research will investigate the ways in which climate governance both reflects and reconstitutes our understanding of the temporal dynamics of anthropogenic climate change. Through a comparative case study of Australia and the UK, the project aims to promote a deeper understanding of potential contradictions between the temporalities of global environmental change and the temporalities of governance strategies developed in response to it: to develop a more sophisticated sociological theorization of the temporalities of socio-ecological change; and to contribute to informed debate in Australia and elsewhere concerning the utility of key conceptual frameworks and policy instruments.
ARC Research Hub for advanced breeding to transform prawn aquaculture (Old ID 21529)
Dean Jerry
01 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2020
Project Seadragon will establish the world's largest black tiger prawn farm, significantly boosting the Australian aquaculture sector. To operate with maximum efficiency and maintain international competitiveness, Project Seadragon will require transformative technologies in advanced animal breeding to produce high-yielding, genetically improved, farm strains. The ARC ITRH will coalesce world-leading animal geneticists, research and service providers, and Australia's largest prawn farm, and gather the genomic resources, commercial phenotypic data, and apply cutting-edge genetic and genomic selection methodologies, leading to the most advanced and industry transformative improvement program for any aquaculture species globally.
Quality Improvement in Indigenous Primary Health Care: Leveraging Effective Ambulatory Practices (LEAP) (Old ID 22468)
Sarah Larkins
01 Jan 2016 - 31 Dec 2016
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.
Endangered Frog Surveys Kuranda (Old ID 22494)
Conrad Hoskin
20 Jan 2016 - 30 Apr 2016
This project is to survey wildlife at a site in the Kuranda region, with particular focus on endangered frog species.
IUCN MACBIO Project 00801: Arnavon Islands Marine Reserve Review (Old ID 23042)
Simon Foale
01 Jan 2017 - 30 Jun 2017
The consultant will conduct a review of lessons learned from the establishment of the Arnavon Islands Community Marine Reserve Solomon Islands. The review will entail al literature review as well as interviews with key stakeholders and participants in the establishment and management of the reserve. The outputs from the review will include a technical report, one or more video products and one or more information posters. The project will involve travel to the Solomon Islands, including to the reserve and the adjacent communities.