Australian Army Malaria Institute
Overview
The Australian Army Malaria Institute (AMI) is an Australian Defence Force organisation whose role is to provide its personnel with the best possible protection against vector borne diseases. Primarily focused on malaria, AMI has recently broadened its interests to include the arboviruses, particularly dengue and Japanese encephalitis.
The Institute was established in Sydney in the late 1960’s and relocated to a purpose-built research laboratory complex in Brisbane in 1997. AMI has 25 full-time and 24 part-time staff made up of research scientists, clinicians and technicians. Its activities and capabilities include the following:
- pre-clinical development and evaluation of new antimalarial drugs and drug regimens to counter the increasing threat of drug-resistant malaria
- clinical evaluation of new anti-malarial drug regimens and arboviral vaccines
- novel malaria diagnostic methods
- monitoring of drug resistance and development of DNA-based techniques to characterise malaria parasites and identify molecular markers of drug resistance
- epidemiological, behavioural and ecological investigations to determine the role of vectors in transmitting malaria and arboviral diseases and to provide risk assessment for deployed forces
- evaluation of new insecticides and personal protection measures, with special reference to repellents and protective clothing
- development of laboratory and field tests to assess the efficacy of new antiviral vaccines during clinical studies and to monitor virus transmission in the field
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Corporate Alliances/Partnerships
Research capabilities at AMI are enhanced considerably by the wide network of partnerships with military and civilian institutions. AMI is a World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Malaria and has many other close linkages with institutions overseas.
Military institutions include:
- Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington DC
- US Naval Medical Research Unit No.2, Jakarta
- Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok
- several Vietnam People’s Army institutions in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
Civilian institutions include:
- University of Queensland
- Queensland Institute of Medical Research
- Queensland University of Technology
- Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin
- University of Technology, Sydney
- Acambis Inc, Cambridge
- Bayer Pharmaceutical Company, Leverkusen
- Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Jiangsu
- Mahidol University, Bangkok
Contact Details
| Contact person | Dennis Shanks |
|---|---|
| Job Title | Director |
| Address | Weary Dunlop Drive Gallipoli Barracks |
| City/Suburb | Enoggera |
| State | Queensland |
| dennis.shanks@defence.gov.au | |
| Phone | +61 7 3332 4931 |
