Our partners and Collaborators

Collaborating across primary industry, government and public health sectors nationally and internationally to protect Australia and support global research efforts.

AusGEM is committed to building strong partnerships for the common goal of protecting people and the environment, and our achievements to date are driven by collaborative research with governments, hospitals, organisations, universities, and agricultural industries.

Through national and international collaborations, AusGEM connects scientists across primary industry, government, and public health sectors, whose multidisciplinary expertise is deepening our understanding of interactions between hosts and pathogens and pathogen evolution and transmission across plants, animals, and humans.

These partnerships support global research efforts to develop better strategies for managing public health challenges and contribute to a growing science base for best practice in protecting the world’s people and natural resources.

If you’re interested in partnering with AusGEM or supporting our research, reach out to us.

Our partners

The University of Technology Sydney’s Australian Institute for Microbiology & Infection (formerly the ithree institute) and the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute (EMAI), part of the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, formed a strategic academic-government partnership known as AusGEM. This collaboration aimed to leverage advanced technologies to:

  • Strengthen the capacity to identify and respond to biosecurity threats
  • Manage food safety
  • Increase agricultural productivity
  • Reduce antibiotic use
  • Develop innovative strategies to mitigate the risks of infectious diseases

By combining the skills, resources and expertise of EMAI and AIMI, AusGEM was better positioned to advance the understanding of pathogen evolution and disease transmission.

As of 2024, AusGEM is currently working on new projects and expanding its collaboration with additional partners, with further updates to come​.

Our collaborations

Pathogenic Genotypes

Through affiliation with the Environmental Health Institute and National Environment Agency in Singapore, we sequenced isolates of the Chitose and Buffeli genotypes of T. orientalis using long-read sequencing technology to provide an accurate comparative gene-level analysis and help further understand their pathogenicity. You can read more in publication #22E.

ColV plasmids in the evolution of pathogenic E. coli ST58

In a collaboration with researchers across Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States, we analysed the genomes of 752 ST58 samples from various sources worldwide with findings suggesting that acquiring ColV plasmids contributes to the development of this disease-causing E. coli strain. You can read more in publication #22l.

Epidemiological survey

Our research into genome-based sequencing and characterisation of complex antibiotic resistance genes is being supported through collaboration with hospitals in NSW and internationally. You can read more in publications #20J, #19I, #20D and #20H.

Antibiotic resistance

We assisted researchers at the University of Warwick and the University of Exeter to determine which genetic elements that enable resistance to antibiotics are present in the River Thames and British beaches.