Funding_

Funding opportunities

Exploring the challenges facing human, animal and ecosystem health

The Institute encourages research that improves understanding of the complex pathogen, host, environment interactions that fuel the emergence and spread of infectious diseases.

Funding opportunities

Congratulations to the following applicants who were successful in the 2022 seed funding round.  We look forward to hearing about the research outcomes in the coming year.

Applicant Title
Najla Nasr Interferon alpha treatment to reactivate latent HIV
Kazi Rahman Japanese Encephalitis in northern New South Wales
Auriol Purdie A rapidly deployable vaccine platform generating CD4+ T cell responses to prevent economically important syndromic conditions in Australia livestock
Benjamin Dickson Delineating the risk factors and source of neonatal acquisition of multi-drug resistant Gram-negative pathogens in high burden countries in South-East Asia and the Pacific
Sheryl Chang Modelling the impact of opinion dynamics on the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
Carissa Bonner Optimising youth-centred health communication via social media during COVID-19 and beyond.
Medhi Tabar Investigating the therapeutic potential of a novel antiviral epigenetic factor in innate immunity and respiratory viral infection
Winkie Fong Virulome and resistome assessment of Group B Streptococcus in maternal colonisation and neonatal invasive disease
Jessica Agius Genomic Insights into Exotic and Indigenous Non-Typhoidal Salmonella Serovars of Significance to Public Health 
Shona Chandra Genomic resolution of invasive non-typable Streptococcus pneumoniae using a hybridised assembly approach
Eby Sim Genomic resolution of clinical Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli isolated in New South Wales

Congratulations to the following applicants who were successful in the 2021 seed funding round.  We look forward to hearing about the research outcomes in the coming year.

Applicant Title
Anneliese Ashhurst Mucosal vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 to generate protection in the upper respiratory tract
Michael Gotsbacher Mapping phage biodistribution and imaging infection using PET
Veysel Kayser Hybrid Iron-Gold Nanoflowers as a Novel Protein-based Vaccine Platform: a Further Step Towards Universal Influenza and COVID-19 Vaccines
Phoebe Williams Streamlining the treatment of urinary tract infections in children:  A non-inferiority, pragmatic, adaptive trial to evaluate oral fosfomycin versus standard-of-care in children with multidrug-resistant infections
Eunok Lee Identifying immunotherapy candidates for enhancing CTL response against persistent HIV
Hien Duong Bacteriophage nanorobots
Ramon Shaban COVID-19 Outbreak Management within Disability Group Home and Residential Aged Care Facilities across Western Sydney: a Donabedian health evaluation
Nicholas Coleman Investigating links between antibiotic resistance and heavy metal resistance genes in plasmid genomes and metagenomes 
Bethany Horsburgh Developing a genomic toolkit for understanding Hendra virus disease
Yoon Kyung (Rachel) Chang Targeting intracellular Chlamydial infections in koalas by liposome-encapsulated bacteriophages
Farah Al-Ansari Investigation of the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the related preventive measures and risk factors in 2022 Arbaeen mass gathering
Cameron Webb Improved effectiveness of vector identification: Implications for surveillance of mosquito-borne pathogens and associated vector species
Pooja Sethiya CDK function and potential as a novel pan-fungal drug target
Nicholas Wood Immune responses following SARS C0V-2 vaccines in Australian children

Congratulations to the following applicants who were successful in the 2020 seed funding round.  We look forward to hearing about the research outcomes in the coming year.

Applicant Title Node
Tim Newsome Therapeutic targeting of TGF-β and Smad3 in SARS-CoV-2 infection Respiratory Tract Infections
Verlaine Timms Tracking medically relevant Legionella pneumophila to aid outbreak control One Health
Laszlo Irinyi Nanopore Sequencing using the Flongle as fast diagnostic tool for direct diagnosis of mycosis from clinical samples Fungisphere
Ramon Shaban Video camera technology for auditing and monitoring healthcare worker infection prevention and control practices for COVID-19 and other high-consequence infectious diseases: An exploratory and evaluative study Ethics and Politics of Infection
Justin Beardsley Assessing the zoonotic potential of Candida species in Vietnamese chicken farms Fungisphere
Christine Griebsch The return of a zoonotic disease - Leptospirosis in Sydney and the role of rats in disease "hot spots" One Health
Harunor Rashid Hand hygiene to reducing respiratory-tract infection transmission among Hajj pilgrims: a feasibility trial (Project HHRTIHajj) Mass-gathering medicine
Carola Venturini Tracking phage-bacteria dynamics in vivo using fluorescence  AMR - Precision ID
Auriol Purdie Integrating mycobiome and microbiome analyses in studies of the interplay between soil, vegetation and livestock  Fungisphere
Hannah Kim Saliva-based precision dosing in children using fluconazole as a model to explore feasibility Fungisphere

This large-scale funding opportunity is specifically aimed at groups that are driven by strong preliminary data and collaboration. Projects up to $50,000 will be funded and must be concluded within 1-2 years.

Submissions will be evaluated using a double-stage procedures. Initially screening will be performed by an executive team to ensure that the objectives and minimum quality criteria are met. Then a multidisciplinary advisory board, composed of members from major schools and disciplines will consider the strategic importance and strength of the application.

Contact us to find out more about applying for this funding call.