Infectious Diseases Group

Research Group Leader
Professor Nigel Curtis
rncurtis@unimelb.edu.au

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+613 9345 6366

Research Overview

Under the campus partnership, our research is embedded in MCRI. Full research profile may be found at https://www.mcri.edu.au/research/themes/infection-and-immunity/infectious-diseases-microbiology or https://www.mcri.edu.au/users/professor-nigel-curtis

The research of the Infectious Diseases Group focuses on improving the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases in children. It comprises both clinical and laboratory-based research studies. The clinical research aspect includes randomised controlled trials, observational studies and systematic reviews of best practice. Our laboratory research encompasses basic and applied medical microbiology, as well as immunological studies 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 tuberculosis and other respiratory infections, diarrhoeal illnesses and neonatal sepsis. A major focus of our research involves improving the diagnosis of childhood tuberculosis by identifying and validating novel cytokine biomarkers. Another key focus of our current work is the investigation of the heterologous effects of 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 a large randomised controlled trial, the Melbourne Infant Study: BCG for Allergy and Infection Reduction (MIS BAIR), we are closely following over 1200 infants over the first five years of life with embedded clinical and immunological studies.

Collaborators

International Collaborations:

Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, The Netherlands
University of British Columbia, Canada
Peruvian University Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
University of Oxford

Funding

National Health and Medical Research Council
John Burge Trust

Research Publications

1. Corticosteroids and infliximab impair the performance of interferon-γ release assays used for diagnosis of latent tuberculosis.

Edwards A, Gao Y, Allan RN, Ball D, de Graaf H, Coelho T, Clifford V, Curtis N, Williams A, Faust SN, Mansour S, Marshall B, Elkington P, Tebruegge M.

Thorax. 2017 Feb 3. pii: thoraxjnl-2016-209397. doi: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2016-209397. [Epub ahead of print]

PMID: 28159773