What we do
ENGAGE works in close partnership with health services and communities across nine priority countries*, conducting research to address key evidence gaps identified in the WHO 2030 NTD Road Map.
*Australia, Cambodia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, and Vanuatu.
Our work is guided by three core themes
- Innovation – generating evidence to support programmatic action
- Integration – strengthening integration across diseases and health systems
- Ownership – supporting country and community ownership
Accelerating programmatic action
Engage conducts research to support we accelerate programmatic action through innovation in the tracking, prevention and control of NTDs.
- Detection and surveillance: molecular technologies, multi-marker monitoring, wastewater surveillance, and simplified clinical assessments for scabies
- Pharmaceutical interventions: research on ivermectin for soil-transmitted helminths and moxidectin for multiple NTDs
- Non-pharmaceutical interventions: research on vector control initiatives, wolbachia for dengue and chikungunya
Strengthening integration across diseases and health systems
Engage conducts research to strengthen integration across diseases and health systems.
- Surveillance: multiplex molecular and serological methods, integrated multi-disease surveillance, and integrated geospatial mapping
- Interventions: research on mass drug administration for multiple ntds, integrated vector management
- Health systems: research linking NTD control with primary care, housing, and one health
Supporting country and community ownership
Engage supports country and community ownership through collaborative and locally informed research.
- Community perspectives: research in remote australian communities and endemic settings in the asia-pacific region
- Health worker perspectives: understanding enablers and barriers to ntd program delivery, and perspectives on vector control
- Health economics: research on cost-effectiveness of interventions and sustainable financing for ntd programs
Investigators
Chief investigators
| Professor John Kaldor Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney | |
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| Professor Andrew Steer Murdoch Children’s Research Institute | ||
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| Professor Susana Vaz Nery Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney | ||
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| Professor Asha Bowen The Kids Research Institute | ||
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| Professor Leanne Robinson Burnet Institute | ||
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| Dr Dawn Casey National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation | ||
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| Professor Colleen Lau The University of Queensland | ||
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| Associate Professor David MacLaren James Cook University | ||
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| Professor Virginia Wiseman Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney | |
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| Professor Darren Gray QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute |
Associate investigators
| Associate Professor Katie Anders Monash University | ||
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| Professor Vicente Belizario University of the Philippines Manila | ||
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| Dr Moses Laman Papua New Guinea Institute for Medical Research | ||
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| Professor Josh Francis Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University | ||
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| Associate Professor Lucia Romani Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney | ||
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| Dr Vito Colella University of Melbourne | ||
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| Associate Professor Kefyalew Alene Curtin University | ||
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| Dr Rachel Burgess The Kids Research Institute | ||
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| Dr Mike Kama Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Fiji | ||
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| Mr Oliver Sokana Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Solomon Islands |
Early-Mid Career Researcher Council
The ENGAGE Early-Mid Career Researcher Council (EMCRC) provides a platform for early and mid-career researchers to contribute to and shape ENGAGE. The Council supports, represents, and connects researchers across the network, strengthening collaboration, capacity building and cross-institutional engagement across countries and disciplines.
| Mohamad Assoum Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney | ||
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| Stephanie Enkel The Kids Research Institute | ||
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| Haileab Wolde Curtin University | ||
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| Patsy Zendejas University of Melbourne |
Collaborating Institutions
ENGAGE collaborates with a network of research organisations, universities, Ministries of Health, and implementation partners across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.
