COVID-19 Research Grants Awarded

A significant grant awarded to Associate Professor Allison Imrie will fund further research developing an antibody test to understand community spread of COVID-19.

The grant was awarded by WA State Government Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science & Innovation.

An antibody test would identify those who have contracted COVID-19 in the past, even if they did not display symptoms. Current tests indicate if the virus is present at the time the sample was taken, while the new approach would test for antibodies in the patient’s immune system. The presence of antibodies would indicate a previous infection that may have not been diagnosed.

“The funding will let us set up our systems, our assays, and allow us to enrol a cohort of people who have already been infected here in Western Australia. We can then follow them over time to really understand how their immune response is maintained or not” said Dr Imrie.

Antibody tests can help scientists track the spread of the virus and could help guide vaccine development.

Video- Associate Professor Allison Imrie explains her research grants