Search

Research

During a pandemic when hospitals are stretched and patients need isolation, the role of hospital-in-the-home (HITH) providing acute medical care at home has never been more relevant. We aimed to define and address the challenges to acute home care services posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL; Leishmania donovani) cases produce interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor in response to soluble leishmanial antigen in whole-blood assays. Using transcriptional profiling, we demonstrate the impact of interleukin-10, a cytokine implicated in VL, on this response.

Research

To assess the scale of ethnic inequalities in severe maternal morbidity (SMM) rates and quantify the contribution of maternal characteristics to these disparities. This is a retrospective cohort study. A whole-of-population linked administrative data from 2002 to 2015 in Western Australia.

Research

Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Human Rhinovirus are the most frequent cause of respiratory tract infections in infants and children and are major triggers of acute viral bronchiolitis, wheezing and asthma exacerbations.

Research

Otitis media is very common in Aboriginal children in Western Australia and chronic ear disease causes major problems in speech and language development and education. Up until recently, most programmes dealing with the problem of OM have focused on clinical interventions rather than prevention. The Enhanced Prevention Working Group was established as part of the WA Child Ear Health Strategy (2017–2021). The Group has worked collaboratively to develop a set of recommendations for prevention of OM in Aboriginal children.

Research

Background: β-lactam antibiotics are associated with a variety of immune-mediated or hypersensitivity reactions, including immediate (type I) reactions mediated by antigen-specific IgE. Objective: We sought to identify genetic predisposing factors for immediate reactions to β-lactam antibiotics.

Research

The advent of modern "omics" technologies (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) are attributed to innovative breakthroughs in genome sequencing, bioinformatics, and analytic tools. An organism's biological structure and function is the result of the concerted action of single cells in different tissues.

Research

To investigate feasibility of aquatic high intensity interval training for adolescents with cerebral palsy, who can ambulate independently but may choose a mobility aid in some circumstances.

Research

The gut microbiome is a well-recognized modulator of host immunity, and its compositions differ between geographically separated human populations. Systemic innate immune responses to microbial derivatives also differ between geographically distinct human populations. However, the potential role of the microbiome in mediating geographically varied immune responses is unexplored. We here applied 16S amplicon sequencing to profile the stool microbiome and, in parallel, measured whole-blood innate immune cytokine responses to several pattern recognition receptor (PRR) agonists among 2-year-old children across biogeographically diverse settings. Microbiomes differed mainly between high- and low-resource environments and were not strongly associated with other demographic factors. We found strong correlations between responses to Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and relative abundances of Bacteroides and Prevotella populations, shared among Canadian and Ecuadorean children.

Research

Conventional vaccine design has been based on trial-and-error approaches, which have been generally successful. However, there have been some major failures in vaccine development and we still do not have highly effective licensed vaccines for tuberculosis, HIV, respiratory syncytial virus, and other major infections of global significance. Approaches at rational vaccine design have been limited by our understanding of the immune response to vaccination at the molecular level. Tools now exist to undertake in-depth analysis using systems biology approaches, but to be fully realized, studies are required in humans with intensive blood and tissue sampling.