Infectious Diseases

We aim to change the trajectory of global childhood and adult health to reduce the impact of infectious diseases and allergies.

Improving the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases in children is at the heart of everything we do. To achieve this, our research comprises both clinical and laboratory-based studies, with a focus on global collaboration.

Our clinical research includes randomised controlled trials, observational studies and systematic reviews of best practice. Our laboratory research encompasses basic and applied immunological, as well as microbiological studies, to explore the mechanisms by which pathogens interact with the host immune response.

Our focus

We have a particular interest in infections that are important to child health worldwide, such as tuberculosis, COVID-19 and other respiratory infections, diarrhoeal illnesses and neonatal sepsis.

A key focus of our current work is the investigation of the specific and off-target (heterologous) effects of Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination.

Our team is investigating the hypothesis that the immunomodulatory effects of BCG influence the development of infant immunity to enhance protection against infections and reduce susceptibility to allergic disease. In infants, our MIS BAIR trial is investigating the beneficial off-target effects of neonatal BCG vaccination in protecting against infection, eczema, allergy and asthma.

We have also investigated the impact of BCG vaccination on the incidence and severity of COVID-19. Our multinational BRACE trial is amongst the world’s largest studies on the off-target effects of the BCG vaccine, with almost 7,000 healthcare workers enrolled in Australia, Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Beyond investigating the off-target effects of BCG, we are also interested in vaccine responses to other vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines and the MMR vaccine, and are studying factors that influence disease risk in different populations. Another focus area is the optimisation of antimicrobial use to improve the quality of care for children with infectious diseases and the prevention of harm from antimicrobial therapy, specifically in children.

Professor Nigel Curtis | MCRI Annual Showcase 2020

Professor Nigel Curtis is a paediatric infectious diseases physician, clinician-scientist and leader of the Infectious Diseases group at Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI). Nigel is investigating whether a 100-year-old vaccine can protect healthcare workers against COVID-19.

BRACE trial in the media

This Australian-led study is amongst the world’s largest trials on the off-target effects of the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine. Almost 7,000 healthcare workers are enrolled in Australia, Brazil, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

BRACE trial – Behind the Scenes

Take a peek behind the curtain of the definitive trial on the off-target effects of the BCG vaccine. Follow sample shipments from across the globe to the MCRI laboratories, see our clinics in action and learn what the data team is up to, as the BRACE trial seeks to determine whether BCG vaccine reduces the incidence of symptomatic and severe COVID-19, as well as other respiratory illnesses and allergic diseases.

BRACE in Brazil

The BRACE trial extended into Brazil when COVID-19 infections were skyrocketing. Hear from our investigators Professor Julio Croda and Professor Margareth Dalcolmo about how the multinational BCG vaccine study is going, and what will happen next.

BRACE – Clinical Trials Day 2021

Hear from Ann Ginsberg, of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, about how the BRACE trial has risen to the challenge of running the largest BCG vaccine study for healthcare workers during the global pandemic.

MIS BAIR – BCG for allergy and infection reduction study

A vaccine that was routinely used in Australia to prevent tuberculosis in the 1980s could reduce the rate of allergies and infections in infants and children.