Modelling and control of mosquito-borne diseases in Darwin using long-term monitoring. Management of mosquito populations is a high public health priority because these insects can spread diseases such as malaria, dengue, Ross River virus, Barmah Forest virus, Murray Valley encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis and Kunjin/West Nile virus. Our research into the effectiveness of mosquito control programs in Darwin is of immediate national relevance and priority given the need to Safeguard Australia ....Modelling and control of mosquito-borne diseases in Darwin using long-term monitoring. Management of mosquito populations is a high public health priority because these insects can spread diseases such as malaria, dengue, Ross River virus, Barmah Forest virus, Murray Valley encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis and Kunjin/West Nile virus. Our research into the effectiveness of mosquito control programs in Darwin is of immediate national relevance and priority given the need to Safeguard Australia from invasive diseases. There is an urgency to undertake our research because global environmental change and increasing movements of people (particularly military personnel) from overseas regions where these diseases are endemic is increasing the vulnerability of northern Australia to the (re)establishment of mosquito borne diseases.Read moreRead less
Impact Of An Ivermectin Mass Drug Administration Program Against Endemic Scabies And Strongyloidiasis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,289,786.00
Summary
Overseas studies suggest sustainable and long term benefits can be obtained through the use of ivermectin in mass drug administration programs to control parasitic infections. Our study will be a critical first step in establishing if such a program can be successful in a remote Indigenous community setting, where the disease burden from scabies and strongyloidiasis (threadworm infections) is very high.
Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. This project aims to address diagnostic error in advanced technology systems, by providing a mechanism to assess and improve individual diagnosticians’ performance. Organisations that rely on their employees’ diagnostic skills rarely assess them once the operators become qualified, so there is no basis for interventions that might prevent diagnostic erro ....Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. Predicting the diagnostic performance of individuals and organisations. This project aims to address diagnostic error in advanced technology systems, by providing a mechanism to assess and improve individual diagnosticians’ performance. Organisations that rely on their employees’ diagnostic skills rarely assess them once the operators become qualified, so there is no basis for interventions that might prevent diagnostic errors affecting thousands. This research tests a new method of assessing diagnostic skills based on how skilled operators respond to cues. This project will test how employees’ diagnostic skills change and whether this change corresponds to measures of organisational performance. This research is expected to provide organisations with a tool to pre-empt diagnostic errors that could minimise costs to the economy.Read moreRead less
Centre For Research Excellence In Malaria Elimination
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,470,291.00
Summary
The CRE will work to accelerate progress towards malaria elimination in our region, through Surveillance, to develop better ways to monitor malaria transmission and discover who is infected, and to track movement of malaria parasites and spread of drug resistance. Diagnosis, to develop and test new, more sensitive ways of detecting malaria. Treatment, to fast track development of new antimalarials, and improve access to ensure all infected people get highly effective drugs.
Families and generational asset transfers: making and challenging wills in contemporary Australia. This project, in collaboration with Public Trust offices across Australia, will provide a national database on which sectors of the population fail to make wills and why. The results will inform innovative service models, law reform initiatives and public education campaigns.
Bringing back Australia's lost woodland biodiversity: towards strategic multi-species reintroductions. Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinction of any continent on the planet. This has reduced biodiversity and compromised many important ecological processes. What is the best way to re-build depauperate mammal communities with multi-species reintroductions? What effects do multi-species reintroductions have on recipient ecosystems? This project aims to explore these questions by reintr ....Bringing back Australia's lost woodland biodiversity: towards strategic multi-species reintroductions. Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinction of any continent on the planet. This has reduced biodiversity and compromised many important ecological processes. What is the best way to re-build depauperate mammal communities with multi-species reintroductions? What effects do multi-species reintroductions have on recipient ecosystems? This project aims to explore these questions by reintroducing three mammal species to a critically endangered temperate woodland: a carnivore (the eastern quoll), an insectivore (yellow-footed antechinus), and a herbivore (the eastern chestnut mouse). Results from this sequenced multi-species reintroduction experiment will have broad applicability to ecosystem restoration in Australia and overseas.Read moreRead less
Integrating fire and predator management to conserve threatened species. This project aims to empower land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native animals by developing decision-support approaches that facilitate integrated management of threatening processes. The project will use a combination of novel predictive models, field experiments and data syntheses to assist land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native fauna. This project will benefit biodiversity co ....Integrating fire and predator management to conserve threatened species. This project aims to empower land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native animals by developing decision-support approaches that facilitate integrated management of threatening processes. The project will use a combination of novel predictive models, field experiments and data syntheses to assist land managers to better conserve Australia’s threatened native fauna. This project will benefit biodiversity conservation by enabling more effective allocation of limited conservation resources.Read moreRead less
Improving the Governance of Species Lists. The aim of this project is to develop a system of governance for the creation of taxonomic lists. This project expects to apply knowledge of how other science organizations govern themselves to the governance of taxonomic lists, estimate the costs of current inefficiencies and identify impediments to improvement. Expected outcomes of this project include a process for validating global lists of species. This should provide significant benefits, such as ....Improving the Governance of Species Lists. The aim of this project is to develop a system of governance for the creation of taxonomic lists. This project expects to apply knowledge of how other science organizations govern themselves to the governance of taxonomic lists, estimate the costs of current inefficiencies and identify impediments to improvement. Expected outcomes of this project include a process for validating global lists of species. This should provide significant benefits, such as single lists of species that can be adopted at any scale and are readily comparable across countries and applications. A single list will ensure threatened species and those of quarantine or health concern don’t fall through the cracks and cause problems.Read moreRead less
A landscape-scale experimental test of factors driving mammal declines in northern Australia. Australia has suffered the highest rate of modern mammal extinctions in the world. Foxes have been largely responsible for this extinction in southern Australia and probably also Central Australia. However the decline in mammals in northern Australia has occurred later than that in the south, and in the absence of foxes. We will adopt an experimental approach to determine the mechanisms driving mammal d ....A landscape-scale experimental test of factors driving mammal declines in northern Australia. Australia has suffered the highest rate of modern mammal extinctions in the world. Foxes have been largely responsible for this extinction in southern Australia and probably also Central Australia. However the decline in mammals in northern Australia has occurred later than that in the south, and in the absence of foxes. We will adopt an experimental approach to determine the mechanisms driving mammal declines and extinctions in northern Australia. Populations of brush-tail tree rats (Conilurus penicillatus) will be translocated to suitable habitat on mainland sites that experience different fire regimes and predation pressures.Read moreRead less
Reconnecting Warlpiri communities with cultural heritage materials. The projects aims to reconnect Warlpiri communities with past documentation and recordings of their cultural heritage. Centred in Yuendumu, the project expects to unpack the significance of past documentation of cultural heritage for present day Warlpiri people who live in vastly different social worlds from their forebears. Through collaborations with Warlpiri families, and Partner Organisation, Pintupi Anmatyerr Warlpiri (PAW) ....Reconnecting Warlpiri communities with cultural heritage materials. The projects aims to reconnect Warlpiri communities with past documentation and recordings of their cultural heritage. Centred in Yuendumu, the project expects to unpack the significance of past documentation of cultural heritage for present day Warlpiri people who live in vastly different social worlds from their forebears. Through collaborations with Warlpiri families, and Partner Organisation, Pintupi Anmatyerr Warlpiri (PAW) Media and Communications, the project will see the set up of activities to engage with these materials and the production of resources for use by future generations.Read moreRead less