Healthy ageing and non-communicable diseases

Viruses such as HIV are thought to accelerate ageing and increase susceptibility to age-related diseases.

Burnet's research investigates how infections may contribute to inflammageing. Inflammageing is chronic inflammation associated with ageing and it contributes to many age-related diseases, including primary immunodeficiencies, autoimmunity and cancer.

We study immune ageing and viral infections to explore how viral infections induce long-lasting changes in immune cells, increasing the risk of chronic inflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular disease.

We also study the needs of people with HIV as they age. Projects such as Ageing Well with HIV focus on social support, mental wellbeing and health needs of older people living with HIV. We developed a website to highlight access to support services.

Monoclonal antibodies have revolutionised many treatments by enhancing the power of the immune system to fight diseases. Burnet is the only medical research institute in Australia that is altering antibodies to improve how effective they are in immune responses. This pioneering work could be applied to the treatment of cancer, inflammation, and infectious diseases. You can read more about our patented Stellabody technology. 

We’re also researching ways to modify anti-HIV antibodies to eliminate HIV-infected cells.

Preventative health strategies are central to Burnet's approach to healthy ageing. We focus on vaccination programs, health education, and community engagement to encourage regular health check-ups and early detection of non-communicable diseases.

Our Burnext accelerator program is currently working on bringing a novel integrated liver health test to market. This is a point-of-care test, which means it is simple to perform and can quickly inform what treatment is appropriate for a patient.

Burnet is researching ways to reduce harmful inflammation, which is a major cause of chronic disease in older people. Our research targets key health issues including:

• heart health