START is a collaboratve trans-Tasman research study conducted by The Kids Research Institute Australia, Menzies School of Heath Research, University of Auckland, University of Otago and Edith Cowan University.
Chief Investigators:
Prof Jonathan Carapetis AM (Paediatric consultant) is Institute Director; Head of the Group A Streptococcal and Rheumatic Heart Disease team at The Kids Research Institute Australia in Perth, Western Australia; and Co-Director of REACH. Prof Carapetis is the co-lead Principal Investigator of the START study.
Prof Anna Ralph (Specialist in Infectious Diseases and General Medicine) is the Director of Global and Tropical Health at Menzies School of Health Research and Clinical Director of RHD Australia in Darwin, Northern Territory. Prof Ralph is the co-lead Principal Investigator of the START study and clinical lead at the Darwin site.
A/Prof Nikki Moreland (Infection and Immunity) from the University of Auckland in New Zealand is the co-lead of the START study in Auckland. A/Prof Moreland and her team will profile autoantibody repertoires in the blood of participants using high content protein arrays and multiplex bead array technology.
Dr Rachel Webb (Paediatric Infectious Diseases Physician) is a Senior Lecturer in Paediatrics at the University of Auckland with clinical appointments at Starship and Middlemore hospitals in Auckland, New Zealand. Dr Webb is clinical lead of the START study at the Auckland sites.
Glenn Pearson is Deputy Director and Head of Aboriginal Research at The Kids Research Institute Australia. Mr Pearson is Chair of the START study’s Aboriginal Governance Committee, which provides expert advice and guidance on conducting research involving Indigenous Australian communities.
Dr Anthony Bosco is the Simon Lee Fellow and Head of Systems Immunology at The Kids Research Institute Australia. Dr Bosco will oversee the profiling of transcriptomics and inflammatory pathways. Dr Bosco will oversee the integrated data analysis for the START study.
Prof Pat Holt (Mucosal Immunologist) is the Head of Human Immunology at The Kids Research Institute Australia in Perth, Western Australia. Prof Holt will oversee the integrated data analysis for the START study.
Prof David Broadhurst is Director of the Centre for Integrative Metabolomics & Computational Biology at Edith Cowan University and Deputy Director of the Australian National Phenome Centre. Prof Broadhurst will oversee the integrated data analysis for the START study.
Mark Mayo is the Associate Deputy Director of Indigenous Leadership and Engagement NT and Senior Researcher at Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin, Northern Territory. Mr Mayo supervises laboratory activities and oversees the Indigenous Capacity Building traineeship program for the START study at the Darwin site.
Collaborators:
- Professor Tobias Kollmann (The Kids Research Institute Australia)
- Dr Timothy Barnett (The Kids Research Institute Australia)