The first six pilot projects have been funded to help close critical gaps in health outcomes in northern Australia and the Asia-Pacific region as part of the unique collaborative program Improving Health Outcomes in the Tropical North (HOT NORTH), led by Menzies. Twelve pilot projects per year will be supported by HOT NORTH.

The pilot projects are an integral component of the HOT NORTH program, as they assist northern researchers to conduct preliminary research that could lead to future external funding. Projects will help to close the gap in Indigenous health disadvantage, provide new evidence to combat tropical diseases and prepare and protect the north from emerging infectious threats. HOT NORTH has five themes, with pilot projects in the first round awarded to researchers in skin health, chronic diseases, antimicrobial resistance and emerging threats and diseases transmitted by mosquitoes.

The first round of pilot projects were awarded to:

  • Dr Daniel Cooper, Menzies School of Health Research
    • Project title: Effect of regularly dosed paracetamol on renal function in Plasmodium knowlesi malaria (PACKNOW Study)
       
  • Professor Scott Ritchie, James Cook University
    • Project title: Can mosquito excreta be used to enhance detection of Australian vector-borne diseases?
  • Dr Ella Meumann, Menzies School of Health Research
    • Project title: Genomic Epidemiology of Tuberculosis in the Northern Territory
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  • Dr Suman Majumdar, Burnet Institute
    • Project title: Enhanced screening and preventive therapy for TB in Daru, South Fly District, Papua New Guinea (ESCAPE-TB)
  • Dr Athira Rohit, Menzies School of Health Research
    • Project title: Exploration of child feeding practices in Indigenous Australians
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  • Associate Professor Steven Tong, Doherty Institute
    • Project title: Clindamycin Adjunctive therapy for Severe Staphylococcus aurEus Treatment Evaluation (CASSETTE)

HOT NORTH is funded as part of the Australian Government’s Northern Australia Tropical Disease Collaborative Research Program derived from policies outlined in the White Paper, Developing Northern Australia.

The HOT NORTH participating institutions are: