2020

14 December 2020

Synthesis and Evaluation of a Series of Bis(pentylpyridinium) Compounds as Antifungal Agents

A series of bis(4‐pentylpyridinium) compounds with a variety of spacers between the pyridinium headgroups was synthesised, and the antifungal activity of these compounds was investigated. Lengthening the alkyl spacer between the pentylpyridinium headgroups from 12 to 16 methylene units resulted in increased antifungal activity against C. neoformans and C. albicans, but also resulted in increased hemolytic activity and cytotoxicity against mammalian cells.

14 December 2020

WHO priority pathogen list for fungi

Led by MBI's Fungisphere Node Leader, Dr Justin Beardsley, the team will develop a WHO priority pathogen list for fungi.

23 November 2020

Changes in public preferences for technologically enhanced surveillance following the COVID-19 pandemic: a discrete choice experiment

As governments attempt to navigate a path out of COVID-19 restrictions, robust evidence is essential to inform requirements for public acceptance of technologically enhanced communicable disease surveillance systems. We examined the value of core surveillance system attributes to the Australian public, before and during the early stages of the current pandemic.

16 November 2020

Modelling transmission and control of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia

There is a continuing debate on relative benefits of various mitigation and suppression strategies aimed to control the spread of COVID-19. Here we report the results of agent-based modelling using a fine-grained computational simulation of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. This model is calibrated to match key characteristics of COVID-19 transmission.

03 September 2020

ARC Future Fellowship 2020 success

Congratulations to Associate Professor Holly High who has been awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship for her work on reproductive health policy rollout in Laos.

03 September 2020

Extensive Homoplasy but No Evidence of Convergent Evolution of Repeat Numbers at MIRU Loci in Modern Mycobacterium tuberculosis Lineages

More human deaths have been attributable to Mycobacterium tuberculosis than any other pathogen, and the epidemic is sustained by ongoing transmission.

28 July 2020

MBI Colloquium 2020

The MBI annual colloquium is open to anyone with an interest in the areas of emerging/re-emerging infectious diseases and biosecurity, with a particular emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region.

13 July 2020

Revealing COVID-19 transmission in Australia by SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing and agent-based modeling

Examining the added value of near real-time genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 in a subpopulation of infected patients during the first 10 weeks of COVID-19 containment in Australia and compare findings from genomic surveillance with predictions of a computational agent-based model (ABM).

07 July 2020

MRFF grant success

Australian Government invests in cutting-edge research projects and clinical trials to drive new ideas and achieve new discoveries to improve quality of life and survival rates, and boost our nation’s strong reputation as a global leader in medical research.

07 July 2020

Global antimicrobial resistance and use surveillance system (GLASS) report

Launched in 2015 by the World Health Organization, GLASS has been conceived to progressively incorporate data from surveillance of AMR in humans, such as monitoring of resistance, use of antimicrobial medicines, AMR in the food chain and in the environment.