The elimination of hepatitis C as a global public health threat
This $7 million National Health and Medical Research Council (NHRMC) Program Grant is addressing critical knowledge gaps in Australian and global efforts to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health threat by 2030.
Objective
A combination of research methods are being used observational cohorts, randomised controlled trials, implementation studies, basic science and modelling.
Our work is focusing on, but not confined to, people who inject drugs (PWID), HIV-positive (+ve) gay and bisexual men (GBM), and prisoners.
PWID and incarcerated populations are the key drivers of HCV transmission in Australia and many other countries.
In many low- and middle-income countries the epidemic is driven by unsafe medical procedures in the official and non-official health system.
More recently, in low- and middle-income countries, HIV+ve GBM have been at increased risk of HCV coinfection.
Outcome
The work of this Program Grant has informed national and global strategies on hepatitis C elimination.
Partners
Funding partners
NHMRC Program Grant
Collaborators
Professor Alex Thompson, St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne
Project contacts
Professor Margaret Hellard AM
Deputy Director, Programs; Adjunct Professor, Monash University, DEPM.
Project team
Dr Campbell Aitken
Research Fellow
Kate Allardice RN RM (she/her)
Senior Research Nurse – Disease Elimination
Dr Phyo Aung
PhD Candidate
Professor Paul Dietze
Program Director, Disease Elimination; Professor and Program Leader, National Drug Research Institute (NDRI)
Professor Joseph (Joe) Doyle
Deputy Program Director, Disease Elimination; Co-Head, Infectious Diseases Clinical Research; President, Hepatitis Australia; NHMRC Clinical Research Fellow
Dr Bridget Draper
Senior Research Officer
Brendan Harney
Research Assistant
Dr Katie Heath
Senior Research Officer
Professor Margaret Hellard AM
Deputy Director, Programs; Adjunct Professor, Monash University, DEPM.
Associate Professor Peter Higgs
Principal Research Fellow; Honorary Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, La Trobe University
Associate Professor Jessica Howell
Co-head, Hepatitis B and Liver Cancer; Senior Research Fellow
Dr Ned Latham
Honorary Staff
Long Nguyen
Data Manager
Dr Anna Palmer
Environmental Epidemiologist
Associate Professor Alisa Pedrana
Senior Research Fellow; Deputy Discipline Head, Public Health; Eliminate Hepatitis C Australia Coordinator
Dr Rachel Sacks-Davis
Senior Research Fellow
Dr Sophia Schroeder
Senior Research Officer
Associate Professor Nick Scott
Head, Modelling and Biostatistics
Dr Chris Seaman
Research Officer
Professor Mark A Stoové
Head of Public Health
Dr Michael Traeger
Deputy Head, HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention; Research Officer
Dr Daniela van Santen
Honorary Fellow
Dr Amanda Wade
Post-Doc
Dr Jack Wallace
Senior Research Officer
Dr Anna Wilkinson
Senior Research Fellow
