BRACE trial PhD opportunities

Looking for a clinical or immunological PhD project?

If you’re interested in being part of the world’s largest study on the off-target effects of Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, you’re in the right place. Based at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, the BRACE trial has some exciting clinical and immunological PhD projects.

Project supervisors

Professor Nigel Curtis

Professor Nigel Curtis

Primary Supervisor 

  • BRACE trial Chief Principal Investigator
  • Head of the Infectious Diseases Research Group at MCRI
  • Professor of Paediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Melbourne
  • Head of Infectious Diseases at The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne
Read about Professor Nigel Curtis
Dr Nicole Messina

Dr Nicole Messina

Co-supervisor

  • Biosample and Laboratory Lead on the BRACE trial at MCRI
  • Team Leader of the Infectious Diseases Research Group at MCRI
  • Honorary Fellow, Department of Paediatrics, Melbourne Medical School at the University of Melbourne
Read about Dr Nicole Messina
Dr Laure Pittet

Dr Laure Pittet

Co-supervisor

  • Clinical Data and Safety Lead on the BRACE trial at MCRI
  • Paediatrician, Honorary Clinical Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne
Read about Dr Laure Pittet

Project details

Besides protecting against its target disease, tuberculosis, the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine has beneficial off-target ('heterologous' or 'non-specific') effects on human health, including reducing all-cause infant mortality, likely by protecting against non-mycobacterial infectious diseases. This protection is proposed to result from the immunomodulatory effects of BCG.

Our team has established two randomised controlled trials (RCTs) investigating whether BCG protects against non-mycobacterial diseases:

  • The BRACE trial: our international RCT of 6,828 healthcare workers from five countries to determine if BCG vaccination reduces the incidence of symptomatic and severe COVID-19, as well as other respiratory illnesses and allergic diseases.
  • Melbourne Infant Study: BCG for Allergy and Infection Reduction (MIS BAIR): our RCT of neonatal BCG vaccination in over 1,200 Melbourne children to determine if BCG protects against allergic disease, eczema, asthma and other infections.

PhD projects will use the extensive data and sample biobank from participants in one or both trials to study the off-target effects of BCG. The clinical project will use the extensive demographic and symptom data from our participants to better understand COVID-19 and risk factors for severe disease. The laboratory project will involve characterising BCG-induced changes in the immune system. You will use a combination of in vitro stimulation assays, flow cytometry, multiplex cytokine assays, epigenetic analysis and gene expression analyses.

The findings will provide important insights into the immunomodulatory effects of BCG and the associations between these changes and the beneficial clinical effects of this vaccine, as well as the immunological features associated with a higher risk for severe COVID-19. We are also exploring the immune response to COVID-19 vaccines in our participants and the impact of BCG on this.

Interested in joining the team of over 400 researchers and staff?

To find out more or to apply, contact us by email