Search

Research

Neisseria meningitidis is commensal of the human pharynx and occasionally invades the host, causing the life-threatening illness invasive meningococcal disease. The meningococcus is a highly diverse and adaptable organism thanks to natural competence, a propensity for recombination, and a highly repetitive genome.

Research

Asha Rosemary Bowen Wyber BA MBBS DCH FRACP PhD GAICD FAHMS OAM MBChB MPH FRACGP PhD Head, Healthy Skin and ARF Prevention Senior Research Fellow

Research

Streptococcus pyogenes (also known as group A Streptococcus , Strep A) is an obligate human pathogen with significant global morbidity and mortality. Transmission is believed to occur primarily between individuals via respiratory droplets, but knowledge about other potential sources of transmission via aerosols or the environment is limited. Such knowledge is required to design optimal interventions to control transmission, particularly in endemic settings.

The Strep A & ARF Therapeutics research team are working to accelerate research and clinical trials to improve penicillin formulation and treatment methods, to end RHD.

Research

Medicine acceptability is crucial for paediatric drug development, yet its assessment remains challenging due to the multifaceted nature of sensory attributes like taste, smell, and mouthfeel. Traditional methods of acceptability evaluation often involve complex questionnaires and lack standardisation, leading to difficulties in a comparative analysis across studies.

Research

Regular intramuscular (i.m.) benzathine penicillin G (BPG) injections have been the cornerstone of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) secondary prophylaxis since the 1950s. Patient adherence to IM BPG is poor, largely due to pain, the need for regular injections every 3-4 weeks and health sector delivery challenges in resource-limited settings. There is an urgent need for new approaches for secondary prophylaxis, such as an implant which could provide sustained penicillin concentrations for more than 6 months.

Research

Meta-analyses and single-site studies have established that children are less infectious than adults within a household when positive for ancestral SARS-CoV-2. In addition, children appear less susceptible to infection when exposed to ancestral SARS-CoV-2 within a household. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) has been associated with an increased number of paediatric infections worldwide.

Research

Edaravone is one of two main drugs for treating motor neurone disease (MND). This review proposes a specific quality target product profile (QTPP) for edaravone following an appraisal of the issues accounting for the poor clinical uptake of the approved IV and oral liquid edaravone formulations. This is followed by a review of the alternative oral formulations of edaravone described in the published patent and journal literature against the QTPP.

Research

Half of all pregnancies at risk of malaria worldwide occur in the Asia-Pacific region, where Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax co-exist. Despite substantial reductions in transmission, malaria remains an important cause of adverse health outcomes for mothers and offspring, including pre-eclampsia. Malaria transmission is heterogeneous, and infections are commonly subpatent and asymptomatic.

Research

The use of adjunctive antibiotics directed against exotoxin production in Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) is widespread, and is recommended in many guidelines, but there is limited evidence underpinning this.