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Find out more about the scholarship opportunities at the Wesfarmers Centre, including Training Scholarships and Higher Degree by Research Scholarships.

Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines & Infectious Diseases resources

Research

Campylobacter jejuni is a bacterial pathogen recognised as a major cause of foodborne illness worldwide. While Campylobacter jejuni generally does not grow outside its host, it can survive outside of the host long enough to pose a health concern. This review presents an up-to-date description and evaluation of biological, mathematical, and statistical approaches used to understand the behaviour of this foodborne pathogen and suggests future avenues which can be explored.

Research

The Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) is a 24-item self-report measure of alexithymia. Originally developed in English, it was designed to try to enable more comprehensive (i.e., facet-level and valence-specific) alexithymia assessments. This study aimed to introduce and validate a Polish version of the PAQ. Our sample were 1,008 people (69.44% females, 30.06% males and 0.50% non-binary) aged 18-78 (M = 29.69, SD = 14.15) from the general community.

Research

No studies have yet examined high-resolution shifts in the spatial patterns of human movement in Australia throughout 2020 and 2021, a period coincident with the repeated enactment and removal of varied governmental restrictions aimed at reducing community transmission of SARS-CoV-2. We compared overlapping timeseries of COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions, epidemiological data on cases and vaccination rates, and high-resolution human movement data to characterize population-level responses to the pandemic in Australian cities.

ORIGINS is the largest study of its kind in Australia, following 10,000 children, from their time in the womb, over a decade to improve child and adult health.

Research

To reduce peanut allergy prevalence, infant feeding guidelines now recommend introducing peanuts in an age-appropriate form (such as peanut butter) as part of complementary feeding. However, due to a lack of randomized trial evidence, most infant feeding and food allergy prevention guidelines do not include tree nuts. The aims of this trial were to determine safety and feasibility of dosage consumption recommendations for infant cashew nut spread introduction.

Research

Research has shown differences in how fathers and mothers respond to a child's cancer diagnosis. Previous studies have highlighted that sociocultural norm shape fathers' experiences of their child's cancer diagnosis. Our phenomenological qualitative study aimed to examine the lived experiences of fathers whose children have been diagnosed with cancer and explore the impact of sociocultural gender roles.

Research

Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance continues globally as part of the World Health Organization's goal to eradicate poliomyelitis. The Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit, Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance network, and National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory collaborate in AFP surveillance in Australia, capturing and reviewing cases of AFP for all aetiologies in order to exclude poliovirus. We aimed to describe the AFP epidemiology in childhood over an 11 year period.

News & Events

All participating families to receive $10 e-voucher for this generous donation.*

Research

T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) is a rare and aggressive lymphatic cancer, often diagnosed at a young age. Patients are treated with intensive chemotherapy, potentially followed by a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Although prognosis of T-LBL has improved with intensified treatment protocols, they are associated with side effects and 10-20% of patients still die from relapsed or refractory disease. Given this, the search toward less toxic anti-lymphoma therapies is ongoing.

Research

To present a case study of the considerations of mandatory fortification with folic acid in Australia and New Zealand.

Research

Lung transcriptomics studies in asthma have provided valuable information in the whole lung context, however, deciphering the individual contributions of the airway and parenchyma in disease pathogenesis may expedite the development of novel targeted treatment strategies. In this study, we performed transcriptomics on the airway and parenchyma using a house dust mite (HDM)-induced model of experimental asthma that replicates key features of the human disease.

News & Events

Hear from Avril Bezant, ORIGINS Data Coordinator, and Alexis Harun, ORIGINS Paediatric Coordinator, and be reminded that it’s never too late to pursue your passion along with their hopes for women entering a STEM career.

Research

Respiratory syncytial virus is the second most common cause of infant mortality and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in older adults (aged >60 years). Efforts to develop a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine or immunoprophylaxis remain highly active.

News & Events

ORIGINS featured heavily at this years Child and Adolescent Health Services (CAHS) Symposium, with presentations from our Co-Director, Professor Desiree Silva, and ORIGINS Data Manager, Dr Sarah Whalan.

News & Events

Yesterday, we were delighted to host close to 200 people at The ORIGINS 2024 Showcase, which explored the power of longitudinal cohorts, now and in