Public Health & Tropical Medicine Research

The Anton Breinl Research Centre for Health Systems Strengthening brings together a multidisciplinary team of medical, nursing, public health and allied health researchers to build on JCU’s strong record of rural, remote, Indigenous and tropical health research. We do this through progressing a highly collaborative program of translational research with a strong social justice focus, addressing issues of high importance and relevance to tropical communities.

Our research focus is on meeting the priority health needs of northern Australia and our near tropical neighbours through research that makes a difference and training a workforce with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to respond to these priority health needs. We aim to progress health equity in partnership with Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders, rural and remote populations, tropical populations in neighbouring countries and other under-served groups.

The Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre (TAAHC) is a collaboration between the Cairns and Hinterland, Mackay, North West, Torres and Cape, and Townsville Hospital and Health Services; the Northern Queensland Primary Health Network; and James Cook University, including the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine. By embedding research into health service delivery, TAAHC aims to improve quality and efficiency of health care, enhance recruitment and retention of professionals in the region and encourage greater investment in the north.

The Centre is one of three WHOCCs dedicated to neglected tropical diseases. It is one of four WHOCCs globally dedicated to lymphatic filariasis and one of three in the Western Pacific Region (WPR). It is the only WHOCCs dedicated to soil-transmitted helminthiasis in WPR. The Collaborating Centre continues to support and expand  the development of surveillance, research capacity building, control programs, training and control program monitoring and evaluation in the Western Pacific Region. It also supports the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine at James Cook University.