Queensland COVID-19 research
This page of Queensland’s research related to the COVID-19 pandemic is compiled from information provided by Queensland universities and research institutes.
While many of our researchers are working on potential vaccines, treatments and other medical interventions, other researchers are applying their expertise to other impacts of the pandemic upon our economy and other aspects of society. The data includes immediate research activity, recent relevant work, proposed research (subject to available funds) and other responses using the resources and expertise of our research organisations.
Listing all of 14 matching responses out of 149 total responses.
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A systematic review of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare utilisation September 2021
This systematic review by the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare sought to determine the extent and nature of changes in utilisation of healthcare services during COVID-19 pandemic by comparing utilisation of services during the pandemic to at least one comparable period in prior years. Services included visits, admissions, diagnostics, and therapeutics. The review included 81 studies across 20 countries that reported on over 11 million services pre-pandemic and 6.9 million services during pandemic. The review concluded that healthcare utilisation decreased by about a third during the pandemic, with considerable variation, and with greater reductions among people with less severe illness. While addressing unmet need remains a priority, studies of health impacts of reductions may help health-systems prioritise higher-value care in the post-pandemic recovery.
#Treatment#Diagnostics
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Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare
Bond University - Contact details
- Asst Prof Ray Moynihan
Asst Prof
raymoynihan@bond.edu.au
+617 5595 4787 - Collaborations
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- Co-Researcher:
- Sharon Sanders - Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare
- Dr Zoe A Michaleff - Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare
- Asst Prof Anna Scott - Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare
- Justin Clark - Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare
- Emma J To - University of Calgary
- Assoc Prof Mark Jones - Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare
- Eliza Kitchener - Griffith University
- Melissa Fox - Health Consumers Queensland
- Minna Johansson - Cochrane Sustainable Healthcare
- Eddy Lang - University of Calgary
- Anne Duggan - Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare
- Proff Ian Scott - Princess Alexander Hospital
- Dr Loai Albarqouni - Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare
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Queensland Family Cohort Study investigates impacts of COVID-19 on Queensland babies September 2021
A Queensland-first trial that will assess the impacts of COVID-19 on expectant parents and their unborn babies is being carried out at Mater Mothers’ Hospitals. Augmenting the current Queensland Family Cohort Study, the Mater Research research team are recruiting 300 families who have endured the stress brought on by the COVID-19 crisis, while being pregnant. Mater Research Professor Vicki Clifton said it was important to capture data from both expectant mothers and fathers during this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic to see what the impacts of the crisis were on families, the pregnancy and their babies as they developed. “We know from previous research undertaken on the impacts of the 2011 Queensland floods that you don’t need to be directly affected by a crisis to have increased stress hormones in your system and we know that this affects the placenta and there is a change in the developmental profiles of the baby.”
“It’s important that while we have, and continue to experience a pandemic, that we are evaluating the impacts on these families and also how this will influence their babies’ development up until they are school age,” Professor Clifton said. The Queensland Family Cohort Study pilot began in 2018 with the aim to address disease at its core and determine how a baby’s health and exposure in early life influences the onset of disease in the future.
#Diagnostics#Mental health and wellbeing
- Centre
- Contact details
- Prof Vicki Clifton
Professorial Fellow
vicki.clifton@mater.uq.edu.au
+617 422 939 723 - Collaborations
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- Research partners:
- University of Queensland
- Queensland University of Technology
- Griffith University
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A scalable virus trap for the COVID-19 virus September 2021
A prototype for a rapid test for COVID-19 that could deliver results in 5-15 minutes is being developed that could potentially identify COVID-19 silent spreaders within the community. This report proposes a specific and highly sensitive SARS-CoV-2 detection method based on nanoyeast single-chain-variable fragment. The test uses a simple colour change from clear to blue liquid to indicate a positive test. The simplicity of the test and suitability for mass manufacture within Australia could make it suitable for a major step-change in mass population screening. NEW INFORMATION: The system can also be readily programmed for any pathogen, or future outbreak.
#Diagnostics
- Centre
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Centre for Clinical Research
The University of Queensland - Contact details
- Prof Matt Trau
Senior Group Leader
m.trau@uq.edu.au
+61 7 334 64173 - Collaborations
- Co-rearcher: Professor Stephen Rose, UQ Centre for Clinical Research (Honorary Principal Research Fellow)
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CoViBac: Host response and secondary pneumonia in COVID-19 September 2021
Secondary infections and immune dysregulation represent life threatening yet poorly understood COVID-19 complications. This Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship joint project (the CoViBac study) led by Dr Olusola Olagoke from the GeneCology Research Centre with A/Prof Erin Price and colleagues at the Pathogen-Omics lab at the Sunshine Coast Health Institute, will use cutting-edge next-generation (dual RNA metatranscriptomic) sequencing technology alongside rapid diagnostics to better understand the gene expression in the co-pathogens (bacteria, fungi, and viruses) and human hosts and the immune responses that drive COVID-19 morbidity and mortality. This information is essential to devising better diagnostics and treatment strategies for people with COVID-19, and for preventing progression to severe disease.
#Diagnostics
- Centre
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GeneCology Research Centre and Sunshine Coast Health Institute
University of the Sunshine Coast - Contact details
- Dr Olusola Olagoke
Vaccine Research Fellow
oolagoke@usc.edu.au
+61 7 5456 5568 - Collaborations
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- Co-researchers:
- Dr Derek Sarovich
- A/Prof Erin Price, Co-lead of the Pathogen-Omics lab team
- Dr Tim Baird - Clinical lead - Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service
- Sunshine Coast University Hospital
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Better statistical methods to discover host genetic factors in symptom response to SARS-CoV-2 infection August 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has infected >5 million people worldwide. While the majority of infected individuals recover within a few weeks of infection, others develop severe forms, that in some cases prove fatal. To date, the causes of differences in symptom response are unknown. In this proposal, we seek to discover genetic factors that can contribute to explaining these differences. Our findings have the potential to inform the design and analysis of clinical trials for vaccines and treatments.
#Diagnostics#Infection management#Treatment
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Institute for Molecular Bioscience
The University of Queensland - Contact details
- Dr Loic Yengo Dimbou
ARC DECRA Fellow
l.yengo@imb.uq.edu.au
+617 3346 2095 - Collaborations
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- Collaborators:
- Professor Peter Visscher, Institute for Molecular Bioscience
- Professor Naomi Wray, Institute for Molecular Bioscience
- Jian Yang, , Institute for Molecular Bioscience
- Dr Kirsty Short, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
- Martin Tobin, UK Biobank
- Harold Sneider, Lifelines Biobank, Netherlands
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The Immuno-Storm Chip for COVID-19 patients - An early warning for immune system over-reaction in cancer treatment and COVID-19 August 2021
The team at the Centre for Personalised Nanomedicine, led by Prof Matt Trau, have developed a nanopillar chip to read molecular signatures in the blood, such as those left by immune cells. The latest data show that the majority of COVID-19 deaths seem to arise (very quickly) after a cytokine storm where the immune system of a patient over-responds to the infection, killing the patient. Deploying this technology, to detect these cytokine storms early, could save many lives by prioritising hospital treatment and resources to those patients in danger.
#Diagnostics#Infection management#Treatment
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Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
The University of Queensland - Contact details
- Professor Matt Trau
Senior Group Leader
m.trau@uq.edu.au
+617 3346 4173 - Collaborations
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- Collaborators:
- Dr Alain Wuethrich, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
- Ms Junrong Li, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
- Dr Andreas Behren at the Olivia Newton John Cancer Centre
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The impact of diabetes on the severity of COVID-19 August 2021
In conjunction with Mater Medical Research at the Translational Research Institute, a team at the Univeristy of Queensland, led by Dr Kirsty Short is recruiting patients with and without diabetes who have been infected to determine whether all patients with diabetes are susceptible to severe COVID-19 or if there is a subset that is particularly susceptible. Funded by the Medical Research Future Fund, the researchers will also be investigating the long term immunity of patients to the virus and determining if this wanes faster in patients with diabetes.
#Diagnostics
- Centre
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School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
The University of Queensland - Contact details
- Dr Kirsty Short
Australian Research Fellow
k.short@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 54226 - Collaborations
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- Collaborators:
- Dr Linda Gallo (UQ)
- Dr Helen Barret (Mater Research)
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Understanding immunity to COVID-19 May 2021
Professor Denise Doolan at AITHM James Cook University is part of an Australian and international collaboration to understand immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and why individuals respond differently, and to develop diagnostics for COVID-19 suitable for rapid point-of-care measurement of immunity in low transmission and resource-poor areas.
#Immunology#Diagnostics
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Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine
James Cook University - Contact details
- Professor Denise Doolan
Professorial Research Fellow
Denise.Doolan@jcu.edu.au
+617 4232 1492 - Collaborations
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- Prof Katherine Kedzierska, Peter Doherty Institute, University of Melbourne
- Australian National University
- Burnet Institute, Monash University
- The University of Queensland
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Chimeric insect-specific viruses for laboratory and point-of-care diagnosis of emergent viral disease July 2021
Effective outbreak response is reliant on the rapid production of scaleable, inexpensive and accurate diagnostic assays. This Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship project led by Dr Jody Hobson-Peters from the UQ School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences will expand on an innovative program to use insect-specific viruses to produce authentic, recombinant antigens for emergent viruses, including COVID-19. These antigens will be applied to high-throughput laboratory assays and rapid hand-held diagnostics, enabling vigilant testing for viral disease in Queensland communities.
#Diagnostics
- Centre
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School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
The University of Queensland - Contact details
- A/Prof Jody Hobson-Peters
Research Fellow
j.peters2@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 54648 - Collaborations
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- Queensland Health
- BioCifer
- Australian Red Cross Lifeblood
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Spatial mapping of COVID-19 infected tissues May 2021
We used cutting-edge spatial mapping tools to identify and compare cells in the lungs of COVID-19 patients, to that of influenza and healthy tissue. This work has identified genes which are exclusive to COVID-19 and may be used to stratify disease severity early on.
#Data science#Diagnostics#Immunology
- Centre
- Contact details
- Dr Arutha Kulasinghe
NHMRC Research Fellow
arutha.kulasinghe@qut.edu.au
+617 3138 6227 - Collaborations
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- Collaborators:
- Dr Fernando Guimaraes Diamantina Institute
- Prof Gabrielle Belz Diamantina Institute
- Dr Kirsty Short School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
- Prof Ken O’Byrne Institute of Health Biomedical Innovation, QUT
- A/Prof Melissa Davis, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
- Dr Chin Wee Tang, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
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Automating Infectious Disease Surveillance with Artificial Intelligence May 2021
During viral pandemics, bacterial infections can significantly increase disease severity and result in unnecessarily high death rates. Disease severity is further complicated by high rates of antimicrobial resistance. This Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship project led by Dr Brian Forde at the UQ Centre for Clinical Research will evaluate and develop an integrated artificial intelligence platform to automate and enhance existing genomic surveillance practices to reduce the burden of these infections when healthcare resources are stretched.
#Data science#Diagnostics
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Centre for Clinical Research
The University of Queensland - Contact details
- Dr Brian Forde
Fellow in Microbial Bioinformatics
b.forde@uq.edu.au
+61 7 334 65042 - Collaborations
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- Forensic and Scientific Services
- Pathology Queensland
- Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital
- Princess Alexandra Hospital
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Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on patients with reduced heart function June 2020
Patients with reduced heart function may be particularly at risk as data indicates that severe COVID-19 infections can cause heart muscle damage and heart failure. Research led by Dr Rivers, a Cardiologist at St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital (part of Wesley Medical Research), aims to find out why COVID-19 is of particular risk to people with heart issues. The project involves 100 patients with reduced heart function who are diagnosed with COVID-19. Using smartphone technology to avoid the need to attend healthcare facilities, the impact of COVID-19 infection on measured heart function and symptoms of heart failure will be monitored over a period of 6 months.
#Diagnostics
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COVID-19 Rapid Response Research Centre
Wesley Medical Research - Contact details
- Dr John Rivers
Cardiologist at St Andrew’s Memorial Hospital
jpr.epr@gmail.com
07 3016 1111
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Development and validation of a Raman spectroscopy assay for COVID-19 antigen detection in mucus August 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has crippled economies, forced lockdowns and infected millions and killed thousands globally. In collaboration with a number of partner organisations this Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship project led by QUT’s Dr Kristyan Guppy-Coles will develop and validate a rapid, highly-accurate, inexpensive method for detecting COVID-19 in body fluid via novel surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.
#Diagnostics
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Science and Engineering Faculty
Queensland University of Technology - Contact details
- Dr Kristyan Guppy-Coles
kristyan.guppycoles@qut.edu.au - Collaborations
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- Metrohm
- Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology
- FLEW Solutions
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Point-of-care diagnostic device incorporating microfluidic technology and electrochemical biosensing platform for COVID-19 detection August 2020
This Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship project led by Dr Yusuf Kaneti will develop a novel portable point-of-care diagnostic device for the rapid and sensitive detection of COVID-19 in non-clinical settings. This diagnostic device will incorporate micro?uidic technology and a portable electrochemical biosensor to provide all-in-one function for isolation, puri?cation, and detection of coronavirus RNA. The device will have the potential to accelerate COVID-19 testing in Queensland’s regional areas.
#Diagnostics
- Centre
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Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
The University of Queensland - Contact details
- Dr Yusuf Kaneti
v.kaneti@uq.edu.au - Collaborations
- AI Fluidics Pty Ltd
Other Queensland COVID-19 initiatives
- Queensland Government
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) business assistance finder
- Life Sciences Queensland
- Life Sciences Queensland joins the data-powered alliance to stop COVID-19
Key Australian COVID-19 initiatives
- Australian Academy of Science
- Rapid Research Information Forum (RRIF)
- COVID-19 Expert Database
Key international COVID-19 initiatives
- CORD-19 (COVID-19 Open Research Dataset)
- Free database of 130,000 plus COVID-19 open research papers