research

infectious diseases & microbiology

summary

Our research focuses on enhancing current strategies to diagnose, treat and prevent infectious diseases in children. It encompasses basic and applied medical microbiology as well as cellular immunology to explore the mechanisms by which pathogens cause disease and their interaction with the host immune response.

We have a particular interest in infections that are important to child health worldwide such as diarrhoeal illnesses, respiratory infections and tuberculosis.

group leader(s)

Roy Robbins -Browne

Professor Roy Robins-Browne
Infectious diseases & microbiology
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
Royal Children's Hospital
Flemington Road
Parkville Victoria 3052
T +61 3 8344 8275
E r.browne@unimelb.edu.au

group leader biography

 

 

Professor Nigel Curtis
Infectious diseases & microbiology
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute

T +61 3 9345 4090
E  nigel.curtis@rch.org.au

current research projects

Project 1: Understanding how Escherichia coli causes diarrhoea

We are studying E. coli to discover how certain types are able to cause diarrhoea and other diseases. The aim of this research is to develop tools that will allow us to distinguish pathogenic from harmless E. coli varieties and to develop interventions to treat and prevent infections with these bacteria. Project led by Professors Roy Robins-Browne.

Project 2: Prevention of infections with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

Enterotoxin-producing strains of E. coli are an important cause of diarrhoea and death in children in developing countries, and the commonest cause of travellers' diarrhoea worldwide. As no effective vaccines are available for these infections, we are investigating a novel technique for vaccine delivery to develop one. We are also working on strategies to prevent travellers' diarrhoea that do not require immunisation. Project led by Professors Roy Robins-Browne and David Jackson (University of Melbourne).

Project 3: BCG immunisation and the immune response

Susceptibility of BCG vaccine strains to antituberculous antibiotics
The Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is the most commonly administered vaccine worldwide. Complications associated with it are rare, but are increasingly reported in immunocompromised children. Previously, little data existed regarding the susceptibility of different BCG strains to antibiotics. In this study we determined the susceptibility of five genetically distinct strains to twelve anti-tuberculous drugs, showing that the susceptibility patterns vary between different BCG vaccine strains. Project led by Dr Nicole Ritz and Professor Nigel Curtis.

Influence of BCG vaccine strain on the immune response and protection against tuberculosis

The Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is the only currently available vaccine to protect against tuberculosis (TB). As a result of its development, several different vaccine strains are used worldwide. Animal and limited human data suggests that the particular BCG strain currently used influences the immune response to the vaccine and thereby the effectiveness of protection against TB. We are currently conducting a NHMRC funded randomised study, comparing the immune response of infants immunised with three different BCG vaccine strains (http://www.anzctr.org.au/trial_view.aspx?ACTRN=12608000227392). We aim to determine which of these commonly used BCG vaccine strains provides the best protection against TB. Project led by Dr Nicole Ritz and Professor Nigel Curtis.

Comparison of the immune response to BCG in children and adults
The Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine protects children against disseminated forms of tuberculosis (TB) but has much lower protection rate against pulmonary disease in adults. One possible explanation is that in adults the immune response to BCG immunisation is less protective. By analysing the cellular immune response and corresponding cytokine profiles in children and adults after BCG immunisation, we aim to identify whether there are significant differences induced by BCG vaccine to the immune response at different ages. Project led by Dr Nicole Ritz and Professor Nigel Curtis.

Non-specific effects of BCG immunisation

The Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is primarily given to protect against tuberculosis (TB). However, studies show that children who have been immunised with BCG vaccine also have a lower mortality related to diseases other than TB. We are investigating how BCG immunisation influences the immune response to routine childhood immunisations given in the first year of life.

Project 4: Tuberculosis in children

Comparison of commercial interferon gamma releases assays in children
Tuberculosis (TB) accounts for significant morbidity and mortality in children worldwide. The diagnosis of childhood TB remains challenging as signs and symptoms are often non-specific and cultures for the causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, often remain negative. The recently launched global plan to Stop TB 2006-2015 highlights the need for accurate, simple and low cost diagnostic tests for the detection of TB.  Previously, the century-old tuberculin skin test was the only diagnostic test available for the detection of latent TB (a 'dormant' stage of the disease). Recently, new immunodiagnostic tests, known as interferon-gamma release assays (IGRA), based on the in vitro T cell responses to M. tuberculosis-specific antigens, have become available. These blood tests appear to perform well in adults but our studies suggest they may be less reliable in children. We have compared the performance of commercially available IGRA with the tuberculin skin test for the diagnosis of TB in at-risk children and found significant discordance between the results of TST and IGRA (predominantly TST positive/IGRA negative). Project led by Dr Tom Connell and Professor Nigel Curtis.

team members

  • Kristy Azzopardi - Research Assistant
  • Vanessa Clifford - PhD Student (UoM Paeds)
  • Lianne Cox - PhD Student (UoM Paeds)
  • Andrew Daley - RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
  • Susan De Bono - Research Assistant
  • Benjamin Forbes - Research Assistant
  • Susie Germano - Research Assistant
  • Elizabeth Hartland - HONORARY FELLOW
  • Dawn Harwood - RESEARCH AFFILIATE
  • Frances Oppedisano - Laboratory Manager
  • Kirsten Perrett - PhD Student (UoM Paeds)
  • Pierre Smeesters - VISITING ACADEMIC
  • Natasha Swan - Research Assistant
  • Christel Zufferey - Postdoctoral Fellow

publications

  • Amir LH., Cullinane M., Garland SM., Tabrizi SN., Donath SM., Bennett CM., Cooklin AR., Fisher JR., Payne MS. The role of micro-organisms (Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans) in the pathogenesis of breast pain and infection in lactating women: study protocol. BMC Pregnancy and child birth 11 (54) (2011) PubMed
  • Baldi DL., Higginson EE., Hocking DM., Praszkier J., Cavaliere R., James CE., Bennett-Wood V., Azzopardi KI., Turnbull L., Lithgow T., Robins-Browne RM., Whitchurch CB., Tauschek M. The type II secretion system and its ubiquitous lipoprotein substrate, SslE, are required for biofilm formation and virulence of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. INFECTION AND IMMUNITY 80 (6) : 2042 - 2052(2012) PubMed
  • Bryant PA., Smyth GK., Robins-Browne R., Curtis N. Technical Variability Is Greater than Biological Variability in a Microarray Experiment but Both Are Outweighed by Changes Induced by Stimulation. PLOS ONE 6 (5) (2011) PubMed
  • Clifford V. The placebo mystique: Implications for clinical trial methodology. JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH 47 (6) : 361 - 366(2011) PubMed
  • Clifford V., Crawford NW., Royle J., Lazzaro T., Danchin M., Perrett KP., Lee KJ., Buttery JP. Recurrent apnoea post immunisation: Informing re-immunisation policy. VACCINE 29 (34) : 5681 - 5687(2011) PubMed
  • Clifford V., Garland SM., Grimwood K. Prevention of neonatal group B streptococcus disease in the 21st century. JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH (2011) PubMed
  • Clifford V., Heffernan HM., Grimwood K., Garland S. Variation in erythromycin and clindamycin resistance patterns between New Zealand and Australian group B streptococcus isolates. AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY 51 (4) : 328 - 332(2011) PubMed
  • Dunne EM., Manning J., Russell FM., Robins-Browne RM., Mulholland EK., Satzke C. The effect of pneumococcal vaccination on nasopharyngeal carriage of S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, M. catarrhalis, and S. aureus in Fijian children. J Clin Microbiol. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY (2011)
  • Dunne EM., Ong EK., Moser RJ., Siba PM., Phuanukoonnon S., Greenhill AR., Robins-Browne RM., Mulholland EK., Satzke C. Multilocus Sequence Typing of Streptococcus pneumoniae by Use of Mass Spectrometry. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY (2011) PubMed
  • Garland SM. Human papillomavirus vaccination: where to now?. SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS 87 (2011)
  • Garland SM., Brotherton JML., Condon JR., McIntyre PB., Stevens MP., Smith DW., Tabrizi SN. Human papillomavirus prevalence among indigenous and non-indigenous Australian women prior to a national HPV vaccination program. BMC Medicine 9 (1) (2011)
  • Garland SM., Cottrill E., Markowski L., Pearce C., Clifford V., Ndisang D., Kelly N., Daley AJ. Antimicrobial resistance in group B streptococcus: the Australian experience. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY 60 (2) : 230 - 235(2011) PubMed
  • Garland SM., Skinner SR., Brotherton JML. Adolescent and young adult HPV vaccination in Australia: Achievements and challenges. Preventive Medicine 53 (2011)
  • Garland SM., Tobin JM., Pirotta M., Tabrizi SN., Opie G., Donath S., Tang ML., Morley CJ., Hickey L., Ung L., Jacobs SE., ProPrems Study Group. The ProPrems trial: investigating the effects of probiotics on late onset sepsis in very preterm infants. BMC INFECTIOUS DISEASES 11 (2011) PubMed
  • Hernandes RT., Velsko I., Sampaio SC., Elias WP., Robins-Browne RM., Gomes TA., Girón JA. Fimbrial adhesins produced by atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli strains. Applied and environmental microbiology (2011)
  • Ismail IH., Oppedisano F., Joseph SJ., Boyle RJ., Robins-Browne RM., Tang ML. Prenatal administration of Lactobacillus rhamnosus has no effect on the diversity of the early infant gut microbiota. PEDIATRIC ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY (2011)
  • Jayasinghe YL., Moore EE., Tabrizi SN., Grover SR., Garland SM. Human papillomavirus in adolescents: Lessons learned from decades of evaluation. JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH (2011) PubMed
  • Lehtinen M., Ault KA., Lyytikainen E., Dillner J., Garland SM., Ferris DG., Koutsky LA., Sings HL., Lu S., Haupt RM., Paavonen J. Chlamydia trachomatis infection and risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS 87 (5) : 372 - 376(2011) PubMed
  • Moore EE., Danielewski JA., Garland SM., Tan J., Quinn MA., Stevens MP., Tabrizi SN. Clearance of Human Papillomavirus in Women Treated for Cervical Dysplasia. OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY 117 (1) : 101 - 108(2011) PubMed
  • Moore EE., Jayasinghe Y., Olsson CA., Romaniuk H., Sasongko V., Patton GC., Garland SM. Assessment of first sexual intercourse in young women with a history of childhood sexual abuse. AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY 51 (3) : 276 - 279(2011) PubMed
  • Nunn A., Zaller N., Cornwall A., Mayer KH., Moore E., Dickman S., Beckwith C., Kwakwa H. Low Perceived Risk and High HIV Prevalence Among a Predominantly African American Population Participating in Philadelphia's Rapid HIV Testing Program. AIDS PATIENT CARE AND STDS 25 (4) : 229 - 235(2011) PubMed
  • Ritz N., Connell TG., Tebruegge M., Johnstone BR., Curtis N. Tuberculous dactylitis-an easily missed diagnosis. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES 30 (11) : 1303 - 1310(2011) PubMed
  • Ritz N., Dutta B., Donath S., Casalaz D., Connell TG., Tebruegge M., Robins-Browne R., Hanekom WA., Britton WJ., Curtis N. The influence of BCG vaccine strain on the immune response against tuberculosis: a randomised trial. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF RESPIRATORY AND CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE (2011)
  • Ritz N., Tebruegge M., Camacho-Badilla K., Haeusler GM., Connell TG., Curtis N. To TST or not to TST: Is tuberculin skin testing necessary before BCG immunisation in children?. VACCINE (2011) PubMed
  • Ritz N., Yau C., Connell TG., Tebruegge M., Leslie D., Curtis N. Absence of interferon-gamma release assay conversion following tuberculin skin testing. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TUBERCULOSIS AND LUNG DISEASE 15 (6) : 767 - 769(2011) PubMed
  • Samarawickrema NA., Tabrizi SN., Hewavisenthi J., Leong T., Garland SM. Distribution of human papillomavirus genotypes in archival cervical tissue from women with cervical cancer in urban Sri Lanka. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GYNECOLOGY & OBSTETRICS 115 (2) : 180 - 182(2011) PubMed
  • Srikhanta YN., Gorrell RJ., Steen JA., Gawthorne JA., Kwok T., Grimmond SM., Robins-Browne RM., Jennings MP. Phasevarion Mediated Epigenetic Gene Regulation in Helicobacter pylori. PLOS ONE 6 (12) (2011)
  • Tabrizi SN., Law I., Buadromo E., Stevens MP., Fong J., Samuela J., Patel M., Mulholland EK., Russell FM., Garland SM. Human papillomavirus genotype prevalence in cervical biopsies from women diagnosed with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or cervical cancer in Fiji. SEXUAL HEALTH 8 (3) : 338 - 342(2011) PubMed
  • Tan A., Yang J., Tauschek M., Praszkier J., Robins-Browne RM. Autogenous Transcriptional Regulation of the regA Gene, Encoding an AraC-Like, Essential Virulence Regulator in Citrobacter rodentium. JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY 193 (7) : 1777 - 1782(2011) PubMed
  • Tan SE., Garland SM., Rumbold AR., Tabrizi SN. Comparison of the INNO-LiPA and PapType Assays for Detection of Human Papillomavirus in Archival Vulva Dysplasia and/or Neoplasia Tissue Biopsy Specimens. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY 49 (11) : 3980 - 3982(2011)
  • Tebruegge M., Curtis N. Mycobacterium marinum infection. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 719 : 201 - 210(2011)
  • Tebruegge M., Pantazidou A., Clifford V., Gonis G., Ritz N., Connell T., Curtis N. The age-related risk of co-existing meningitis in children with urinary tract infection. PLOS ONE 6 (11) (2011)
  • Tebruegge M., Pantazidou A., Curtis N. HOW COMMON IS CO-EXISTING MENINGITIS IN INFANTS WITH URINARY TRACT INFECTION?. ARCHIVES OF DISEASE IN CHILDHOOD 96 (6) (2011) PubMed
  • Tebruegge M., Pantazidou A., Curtis N. Oral Ivermectin for the Treatment of Pediculosis Capitis. PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASE JOURNAL 30 (4) : 362 - 363(2011) PubMed
  • Tebruegge M., Pantazidou A., Curtis N. What's bugging you? An update on the treatment of head lice infestation. ARCHIVES OF DISEASE IN CHILDHOOD-EDUCATION AND PRACTICE EDITION 96 (1) : 2 - 8(2011) PubMed
  • Templeton DJ., Twin J., Jin F., Grulich AE., Garland SM., Tabrizi SN. Chlamydia trachomatis serovars in community-based HIV-positive and HIV-negative men who have sex with men in Sydney, Australia. SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS 87 (6) : 501 - 502(2011) PubMed
  • Twin J., Moore EE., Garland SM., Stevens MP., Fairley CK., Donovan B., Rawlinson W., Tabrizi SN. Chlamydia trachomatis Genotypes Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Australia. SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES 38 (4) : 279 - 285(2011) PubMed
  • Twin J., Taylor N., Garland SM., Hocking JS., Walker J., Bradshaw CS., Fairley CK., Tabrizi SN. Comparison of Two Mycoplasma genitalium Real-Time PCR Detection Methodologies. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY 49 (3) : 1140 - 1142(2011) PubMed
  • Vernet G., Saha S., Satzke C., Burgess DH., Alderson M., Maisonneuve JF., Beall BW., Steinhoff MC., Klugman KP. Laboratory-based diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia: state of the art and unmet needs. CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION 17 : 1 - 13(2011) PubMed
  • Wlodzimierz O., Najnigier B., Stelmasiak T., Robins-Browne RM. Randomized control trials using a tablet formulation of hyperimmune bovine colostrum to prevent diarrhea caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in volunteers. SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY 46 (40762) : 862 - 868(2011) PubMed
  • Yang J., Tauschek M., Robins-Browne RM. Control of bacterial virulence by AraC-like regulators that respond to chemical signals. TRENDS IN MICROBIOLOGY 19 (3) : 128 - 135(2011) PubMed