PROFILE
Dr Allison Imrie
Started at UWA: 2009
Virologist investigating emergent viral diseases and discovering novel viruses
Recent emergences and re-emergences of new and virulent infectious diseases such as COVID-19, Zika, influenza and dengue make it clear that viral pathogens continue to pose serious public health threats in the Indo-Pacific region. To meet these challenges we need to understand how viruses are transmitted in the region, and how they cause disease. Dr allison imrie
Dr Imrie is an Associate Professor in UWA’S School of Biomedical Sciences whose research is focused on viruses and anti-viral immunity. Her early work with human immunodeficiency virus at UNSW Centre for Immunology focussed on virus transmission between transmitter and recipient pairs, including transmission of antiviral drug resistant HIV species.
She also characterised immune responses in early HIV infection. She was invited to work with the Global Program on AIDS in the World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office to advise member states to develop short and medium term plans for AIDS prevention and control and to assist with establishing HIV testing and surveillance programs in the region.
This experience informed her subsequent work at University of Hawaii at Manoa on mosquito-borne viral diseases of public health importance including dengue, and investigations of viral molecular epidemiology and immunopathogenesis.
Since joining UWA she has worked with colleagues in the Indo-Pacific region to investigate neglected tropical diseases including dengue, Zika, Chikungunya and leptospirosis, and in Australia on viruses introduced by returning travellers as well as endemic viruses including Ross River virus, Barmah Forest virus, and Murrey Valley encephalitis virus.
She served as a technical advisor with DFAT’s Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security to develop the 2019-2022 Strategic Framework, for Pacific Island Countries. She collaborates with colleagues in Australia and the US to identify novel mosquito-borne viruses. Most recently she has been funded to investigate immune responses in people diagnosed with coronavirus infection, and works with the Western Australian COVID Immunity Collaborative to assess protective immune responses in natural infection and vaccination.
How long have we been on the lookout for emerging diseases?
Funding
Immune responses in COVID-19 Vaccinees
Imrie, A. & Needham, M. University of Notre Dame Australia, WA Department of Jobs Tourism Science and Innovation JTSI. 1/07/21 → 30/06/22
Precision-immunology assisted by on-chip machine learning to create a test for neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2
Imrie, A., Marshall, B., Lundin, S., Fulurija, A. & Hubble, L.Government of Western Australia, Department of Health 14/06/21 → 13/06/22
WA Government (JTSI and WA Chief Scientist) COVID19 Research Grants - Screening for new drugs to treat COVID-19 using compounds from WA plants, fungi, marine organisms etc
Flematti, G., Chooi, H., Bond, C. & Imrie, A. WA Department of Jobs Tourism Science and Innovation JTSI 24/07/20 → 30/09/22
WA Government (JTSI and WA Chief Scientist) COVID19 Research Grants - Developing antibody test crucial for understanding community spread
Imrie, A. WA Department of Jobs Tourism Science and Innovation JTSI 24/07/20 → 30/09/22
SARS-CoV-2 genotyping and B-cell responses in community groups and returned travellers
Imrie, A., Smith, D. & Panta, K. Snow Medical Research Foundation Limited 13/05/20 → 11/05/22
Determinants of human milk-mediated protective immunity against COVID-19
Verhasselt, V., Macchiaverni, P., van den Elsen, L., Imrie, A., Rodriguez, J., McGuire, M., Kollmann, T. & Boss, M. Government of Western Australia, Department of Health 1/02/21 → 31/12/21
Projects
Western Australian COVID Immunity Collaborative
Teaching
- MICR3320 Viruses and Viral Diseases
- MICR3305 Immunobiology and Immune Diseases
- MICR2209 Introduction to Infectious Diseases and Immunology
- MICR5842 Principles of Infection and Immunity
- MICR5835 Vectors of Infectious Diseases and Vector Control
- MICR85832 Diagnostic Medical Microbiology
- MICR5831 Molecular and Cellular Microbiology
- IMED2001 Body Defences
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