Research Activities

We are interested in the interactions between host and pathogen in acute and chronic infections.
Including: 
Severe sepsis- Sepsis has a high mortality rate, there is an urgent need for adjunct therapies to improve patient outcomes. We are investigating immunological responses in patients with sepsis and looking at the potentially positive effects of low dose aspirin. This study is supported by experiments in animal and in vitro models of sepsis and biofilm related infections.  

Understanding inflammation in the stomach to guide development of new vaccines against Helicobacter pylori. This bacterium infects up to half of the world population and causes chronic, potentially fatal disease. We are investigating the complex regulation of inflammation in the stomach to understand how to better design vaccines.  

Novel Wound dressings using silver nano-structured fabrics.
In collaboration with Prof. Vipul Bansal's group ( RMIT) we are developing wound infection models to test novel wound dressings based on TCNQ. These fabrics have strong anti-microbial properties and are predicted to also enhance wound healing. See: https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2016/april/nano-enhanced-textiles-clean-themselves-with-light/

2018:
Two new projects on novel vaccination strategies in poultry: Applicants for PhD positions are being sought:
1)    Development of methods for the selection and delivery of vaccine antigens and other biologically active proteins using live microbial vectors. This project will design and test antigen expression constructs that will investigate different approaches to deliver multiple antigens in the most effective way, using live microbes as delivery vehicles.  
2)    Development of methods to enhance specific immune responses to vaccine antigens. There are opportunities to improve the effectiveness

Research Keywords

Researching in the following areas: Helicobacter, Host-pathogen interactions, Sepsis, Vaccine development, Wound infections