Project: Optimising use of existing and emerging SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics to support the public health response to COVID-19
McVernon Group
While the world waits for a safe, effective, and widely available COVID-19 vaccine, early detection of cases remains key to public health efforts to control the pandemic. A multitude of laboratory diagnostic tests are being developed, but these need to be used strategically to maximise their effectiveness. This epidemiological project will evaluate different testing strategies utilising data from two COVID-19 studies (the Optimise and Spit studies) that have begun enrolling in 2020, including consideration of test performance, acceptability, feasibility and resource requirements, alongside disease epidemiology and population characteristics. Study findings regarding appropriate strategies for a range of situations will inform state and national testing strategies.
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McVernon Group
9 vacancies
Professor Jodie McVernon is a physician with subspecialty qualifications in public health and vaccinology. She has extensive expertise in clinical vaccine trials, epidemiologic studies and mathematical modelling of infectious diseases, gained at the University of Oxford, Health Protection Agency London and the University of Melbourne. Her work focuses on the application of a range of cross-disciplinary methodological approaches, including mathematical and computational models, to synthesise insights from basic biology, epidemiological data and sociological research. These models advance understanding of the observed epidemiology of infectious diseases and inform understanding of optimal interventions for disease control.
McVernon Group Current Projects
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Sample size determination for within-host animal studies of infection
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science
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Optimising use of existing and emerging SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics to support the public health response to COVID-19
PhD/MPhil
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Bias in vaccine effectiveness studies
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Modelling spatial and demographic heterogeneity of malaria transmission risk
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science
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Measuring the association between influenza presentations and invasive group A Streptococcus infections (iGAS)
Master of Biomedical Science
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Epidemiology of Scarlet Fever in Victoria
Master of Biomedical Science
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Buruli ulcers’ Most Wanted – Understanding the mosquito associated with the flesh-eating bacteria, Mycobacterium ulcerans.
Master of Biomedical Science
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Optimal design of competitive mixture experiments
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science
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Exploring the association between hepatitis C and invasive group A streptococcus infections (iGAS)
Master of Biomedical Science
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Investigating the determinants of persistent or recurrent infections with group A Streptococcus
Master of Biomedical Science
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Invasive Streptococcus A – piecing together clinical, genomic and public health aspects of the puzzle
PhD/MPhil
Research degrees at the Doherty Institute are administered by the University of Melbourne.