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The Research Centre for Infectious Diseases (RCID) is a synergy of established and emerging researchers who are advancing research into the pathogenesis, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases.
As one of Australia’s pre-eminent research centre of excellence in research into pathogenesis and therapeutic targets of infectious organisms, our scientists are playing leading roles in international collaborative efforts to fight these infections.
RCID is a major initiative of the School of Biological Sciences and is central to the Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences’ infectious diseases research activities.
Study with us
We offer high-calibre students the opportunity to be involved in cutting-edge projects that will develop advanced scientific skills in key areas at the forefront of infectious bacterial, viral and parasite research.
The RCID has a number of opportunities for students interested in scientific training and developing their laboratory skills through honours, masters or PhD research.
The projects available combine multidisciplinary state-of-the-art approaches, incorporating microbiology, gene-editing, genetics, biochemistry, immunology and biophysics, to investigate the complex interaction between host and pathogen.
All of our projects will help you develop a strong range of scientific skills that will enable you to undertake further studies or help you embark on a career in research science.
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Centre history
Molecular Life Sciences building (foreground), home of the RCID
Over the past 60 years, despite the availability of anti-infective drugs, infectious bacterial, viral and parasite diseases have continued to cause massive global morbidity and mortality. Currently, infectious diseases account for more than 10 million deaths each year.
The problem is growing every day due to the lack of effective vaccines, rapidly increasing rates of drug resistance, the emergence of new pathogens and the re-emergence of "old" pathogens in new guises.
The RCID is committed to finding cures for infectious diseases in the 21st century using a two-pronged approach involving the development of cheaper and more effective vaccines, as well as engineering novel anti-infective drugs.
These challenges require a thorough understanding of the biology of disease and the complex interaction between the infectious pathogen and its host in order to develop the next generations of vaccines and drugs.
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Mission and vision
"As one of Australia’s pre-eminent research centre of excellence in research into pathogenesis and therapeutic targets of infectious organisms, our scientists are playing leading roles in international collaborative efforts to fight these infections."
Need
Human-induced environmental changes are also affecting geographic disease distribution, and modern travel is assisting rapid global spread of highly resistant and virulent infectious pathogens. The increasing proportion of the population with underlying conditions that increase susceptibility to infection is also affecting disease burden, with huge cost implications for both developed and developing economies.
Effective management of infectious bacterial, viral and parasite pathogen in the 21st century will require a two-pronged approach involving the development of cheaper and more effective vaccines, as well as novel anti-infectives refractory to known resistance mechanisms.
However, formulation of optimal therapeutic and preventative strategies demands a thorough understanding of the biology of disease, particularly the complex interactions between a given pathogen and its human host.
Mission
To enable world-leading research outcomes for the infectious disease research sector by:
- building and co-localising a critical mass of researchers with multi-disciplinary expertise, but with a common focus on combating infectious disease pathogens;
- generating new insights on how pathogen infect the human host and cause disease, leading to identification of novel targets for therapeutic development;
- to make a major contribution to global management of infectious diseases by translating basic research discoveries into new and improved vaccines and novel anti-infectives;
- to foster the professional development of HDR students and ECRs;
- stimulating academic researchers to collaborate and harness multi-disciplinary capabilities to address innovation across the research landscape;
- sponsoring pioneering research on ambitious long-term projects; and
- raising the profile of infectious diseases in the public arena, as well as with State and Federal Governments, with a view to influencing decisions regarding resource allocation.