I lead an internationally recognised research program that examines how governments can best respond to alcohol and illegal drugs – a significant health and social problem in Australia. My research generates new evidence to inform drug policy and I study how to translate research into meaningful information that governments can use. My aim is to improve how Australia responds; reducing the community harms and improving the health of those affected by alcohol and drugs.
The Development And Evaluation Of Public Health Strategies For Preventing Infectious Diseases In Populations At Risk
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$863,413.00
Summary
The research program proposed in this application will focus on strategies for reducing the impact of infectious diseases in populations most at risk. It will provide new knowledge that will lead to direct public health outcomes, including large reductions in curable sexually transmitted infections in remote Aboriginal communities, comprehensive assessments of the effectiveness of national immunisation programs against important infections and lowered HIV transmission in Asia-Pacific countries.
The major objective of this research is to advance the development of highly effective malaria vaccines through i) defining mechanisms and targets of human immunity to malaria to establish a rational basis for vaccine design; ii) advancing the development of lead candidates and promising new candidates and combinations; iii) advancing vaccine platforms that induce potent protective immune responses; iv) develop and validate urgently-needed immunological assays for vaccine development and testing
Psychosocial Impact Of Genetic Counselling And Testing
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$782,856.00
Summary
This research program assesses the psychological and behavioural impact of new genetic technologies to allow the identification of individuals most at risk of developing negative outcomes and the planning of appropriate targeted interventions. It will lead to the development, evaluation and dissemination of highly innovative patient education strategies that facilitate informed choices and support people in translating their choices into appropriate screening and risk-reducing behaviours.
I am an NHMRC Australia Fellow and mathematical statistician by training, specializing in the design and analysis of family and twin studies. I lead or co-lead large international molecular, environmental, genetic and analytic epidemiology family resources for studying breast, bowel and other cancers. My vision is realise the full potential of these studies to improve the health and well-being people at increased familial or genetic risk of these diseases.
Cars And Cities: Reducing Road Trauma And Enhancing Population Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$707,370.00
Summary
The aim of this Fellowship is to generate novel research findings to inform and facilitate reductions in the burden of road injury in Australia. The research program will place considerable emphasis on road injury prevention from a systems-perspective and will, for the first time, extend prevention efforts more ‘up-stream’ with respect to how our cities are designed to minimise road trauma and enhance population health.
New Technologies To Reduce The Population Burden Of Sexually Transmitted Infections
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$772,605.00
Summary
I propose a five year program of public health research on the evaluation of innovative technologies to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and their adverse consequences in populations at highest risk; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, youth, men who have sex with men and people in high STI-burden resource-limited countries. My research over the next five years will lead to substantial improvements in the health of people at greatest risk of STIs.
Dengue is a serious viral disease that is spread by mosquitoes. Dengue results in hundreds of thousands of children and young adults being hospitalized in Asia every year, and some patients die. There is no vaccine or specific treatment. In this fellowship I will lead a research program that aims provide doctors with the tools to diagnosis and treat dengue more efficiently and to develop a novel biological control to prevent dengue being transmitted by mosquitoes.
Enhanced Prevention And Control Of Sexually Transmitted Infections
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$782,370.00
Summary
The entire developed world is witnessing dramatic increases in bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs), the likes of which have not been seen since prior to the emergence of the HIV epidemic in the 1980s. My vision is to reduce the burden of STIs by identifying innovative, cost-effective approaches to STI prevention and management that are acceptable to the populations affected (including healthcare workers and people are risk of STIs) and able to be implemented on a broad scale.
Inflammatory Airway Diseases In Children: Mechanisms Underlying And Preventative Strategies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$823,008.00
Summary
Professor Sly’s research concentrates on understanding why some children develop chronic lung disease and on finding ways to prevent this from happening.