- About
- Strategic Plan
- Structure
- Governance
- Scientific divisions
- ACRF Chemical Biology
- ACRF Stem Cells and Cancer
- Bioinformatics
- Cancer and Haematology
- Cell Signalling and Cell Death
- Development and Cancer
- Immunology
- Infection and Immunity
- Inflammation
- Molecular Genetics of Cancer
- Molecular Immunology
- Molecular Medicine
- Population Health and Immunity
- Structural Biology
- Systems Biology and Personalised Medicine
- Laboratory operations
- Funding
- Annual reports
- Human research ethics
- Scientific integrity
- Institute life
- Career opportunities
- Business Development
- Partnering opportunities
- Opportunities in platform technologies
- A complete cure for HBV
- A stable efficacious Toxoplasma vaccine
- Activating SMCHD1 to treat FSHD
- Fut8 Sugar coating immuno oncology
- Intercepting inflammation with RIPK2 inhibitors
- Novel checkpoints NK cells emerge as key players in IO
- Precision epigenetics silencing SMCHD1 to treat Prader Willi Syndrome
- Rethinking CD52 a therapy for autoimmune disease
- Targeting plasmacytoid dendritic cells for systemic lupus erythematosus
- Treating Epstein-Barr virus associated malignancies
- Royalties distribution
- Start-up companies
- Partnering opportunities
- Collaborators
- Publications repository
- Awards
- Discoveries
- Centenary 2015
- History
- Contact us
- Research
- Diseases
- Research fields
- Bioinformatics
- Cancer biology
- Cell death
- Cell signalling
- Clinical translation
- Computational biology
- Drug discovery
- Epigenetics
- Flow cytometry
- Genomics
- Haematology
- Imaging
- Immunology
- Infection
- Inflammation
- Medicinal chemistry
- Personalised medicine
- Proteomics
- Stem cells
- Structural biology
- Systems biology
- Vaccine development
- People
- Anne-Laure Puaux
- Associate Professor Aaron Jex
- Associate Professor Alyssa Barry
- Associate Professor Andrew Webb
- Associate Professor Anne Voss
- Associate Professor Chris Tonkin
- Associate Professor Daniel Gray
- Associate Professor Edwin Hawkins
- Associate Professor Grant Dewson
- Associate Professor Isabelle Lucet
- Associate Professor James Murphy
- Associate Professor Jeanne Tie
- Associate Professor Jeff Babon
- Associate Professor Joan Heath
- Associate Professor Justin Boddey
- Associate Professor Marco Herold Marco Herold
- Associate Professor Marnie Blewitt
- Associate Professor Matthew Ritchie
- Associate Professor Mike Lawrence
- Associate Professor Nicholas Huntington
- Associate Professor Oliver Sieber
- Associate Professor Rachel Wong
- Associate Professor Sandra Nicholson
- Associate Professor Seth Masters
- Associate Professor Sumitra Ananda
- Associate Professor Tim Thomas
- Associate Professor Wai-Hong Tham
- Associate Professor Wei Shi
- Catherine Parker
- Dr Anna Coussens
- Dr Ashley Ng
- Dr Ben Tran
- Dr Bob Anderson
- Dr Brad Sleebs
- Dr David Komander
- Dr Diana Hansen
- Dr Drew Berry
- Dr Emma Josefsson
- Dr Ethan Goddard-Borger
- Dr Gary Pitt
- Dr Gwo Yaw Ho
- Dr Hui-Li Wong
- Dr Hélène Jousset Sabroux
- Dr Ian Majewski
- Dr Ian Street
- Dr Jacqui Gulbis
- Dr James Vince
- Dr Jason Tye-Din
- Dr Joanna Groom
- Dr John Wentworth
- Dr Julie Mercer
- Dr Kate Sutherland
- Dr Kelly Rogers
- Dr Ken Pang
- Dr Leanne Robinson
- Dr Leigh Coultas
- Dr Lucy Gately
- Dr Margaret Lee
- Dr Marie-Liesse Asselin-Labat
- Dr Mary Ann Anderson
- Dr Maryam Rashidi
- Dr Matthew Call
- Dr Melissa Call
- Dr Melissa Davis
- Dr Michael Low
- Dr Misty Jenkins
- Dr Peter Czabotar
- Dr Philippe Bouillet
- Dr Priscilla Auyeung
- Dr Rhys Allan
- Dr Ruth Kluck
- Dr Samar Ojaimi
- Dr Samir Taoudi
- Dr Sant-Rayn Pasricha
- Dr Shalin Naik
- Dr Sheau Wen Lok
- Dr Simon Chatfield
- Dr Stephen Wilcox
- Dr Tracy Putoczki
- Guillaume Lessene
- Helene Martin
- Keely Bumsted O'Brien
- Mr Joel Chibert
- Mr Simon Monard
- Mr Stan Balbata
- Mr Steve Droste
- Ms Carolyn MacDonald
- Ms Samantha Ludolf
- Ms Wendy Hertan
- Professor Alan Cowman
- Professor Andreas Strasser
- Professor Andrew Lew
- Professor Andrew Roberts
- Professor Clare Scott
- Professor David Huang
- Professor David Vaux
- Professor Doug Hilton
- Professor Gabrielle Belz
- Professor Geoff Lindeman
- Professor Gordon Smyth
- Professor Ian Wicks
- Professor Ivo Mueller
- Professor Jane Visvader
- Professor Jerry Adams
- Professor John Silke
- Professor Ken Shortman
- Professor Leonard C Harrison
- Professor Li Wu
- Professor Lynn Corcoran
- Professor Marc Pellegrini
- Professor Melanie Bahlo
- Professor Nicos Nicola
- Professor Peter Colman
- Professor Peter Gibbs
- Professor Phil Hodgkin
- Professor Stephen Nutt
- Professor Suzanne Cory
- Professor Terry Speed
- Professor Tony Burgess
- Professor Tony Papenfuss
- Professor Warren Alexander
- Education
- PhD
- Honours
- Masters
- Undergraduate
- Student research projects
- 3D and 4D imaging of thymic T cell differentiation
- Activating https://www.wehi.edu.au/node/add/individual-student-research-page#Parkin to treat Parkinson’s disease
- Activation, regulation, and biological roles of E3 ubiquitin ligases
- Bioinformatics methods for detecting and making sense of somatic genomic rearrangements
- Characterising regulatory T cells in coeliac disease
- Computational melanoma genomics
- Deep profiling of blood cancers during targeted therapy
- Defining the role of necroptosis in platelet production and function
- Determining the migration signals leading to protective immune responses
- Developing mucolytics to treat chronic respiratory diseases
- Developing new tools to visualise necroptotic cell death
- Development of live-cell, automated microscopy techniques for studying malaria
- Development of tools to inform malaria vaccine design
- Discovering new genetic causes of primary antibody deficiencies
- Discovery of novel drug combinations for the treatment of bowel cancer
- Dissecting the induction and integration of T cell migration cues
- Drug targets and compounds that block growth of malaria parasites
- Effects of nutrition on immunity and infection in Asia and Africa
- Eosinophil and neutrophil heterogeneity
- Eosinophil maturation
- Epigenetic regulation of systemic iron homeostasis
- Functional differences between young and old platelets
- Generation of cytokine antagonists
- Genetic dissection of mechanisms of Plasmodium invasion
- Genomic characterisation of epigenetic regulators involved in X inactivation
- High resolution 3-dimensional imaging to characterise metastatic cancers
- High-resolution imaging of host cell invasion by the malaria parasite
- Home renovations: understanding how Toxoplasma redecorates its host cell
- How the epigenetic regulator SMCHD1 works and how to target it to treat disease
- Human monoclonal antibodies against malaria infection
- Identification of malaria parasite entry receptors
- Identification of new therapeutic opportunities for pancreatic cancer
- Identifying disease-causing haplotypes with hidden Markov models
- Interleukin-11 in gastrointestinal bacterial infections
- Investigating mechanisms of cell death and survival using zebrafish
- Investigating new paths to selective modulation of potassium channels
- Let me in! How Toxoplasma invades human cells
- Long-read sequencing for transcriptome and epigenome analysis
- Macro-evolution in cancer
- Mapping DNA repair networks in cancer
- Mapping how multiple malaria episodes are related
- Modelling gene regulatory systems
- Modulation of immune responses by immunosuppressive chemokines
- Molecular basis for inherited Parkinson’s disease mechanism of PINK1
- Mucus at the molecular level
- Novel cell death and inflammatory modulators in lupus
- Plasmodium vivax host-parasite interactions: impact on immunity
- Predicting drug response in cancer
- Programming T cells to defend against infections
- Reconstructing the immune response: from molecules to cells to systems
- Regulation of cytokine signalling
- Screening for regulators of jumping genes
- Target identification of potent antimalarial agents
- Targeting the immune system in cancer
- The role of interleukin-11 in acute myeloid leukaemia
- Transmembrane control of type I cytokine receptor activation
- Uncovering the roles of long non-coding RNAs in human bowel cancer
- Understanding retinal eye diseases with retinal transcriptomic data analysis
- Understanding the role of stromal cells in pancreatic cancer growth
- Unravelling the tumour suppressor network in models of lung cancer
- Utilising pre-clinical models to discover novel therapies for tuberculosis
- Zombieland: evolution of a dead enzyme that kills cells by necroptosis
- School resources
- Frequently asked questions
- Student profiles
- Abebe Fola
- Casey Ah-Cann
- Catia Pierotti
- Charlotte Slade
- Daniel Cameron
- Emma Nolan
- Jason Brouwer
- Joy Liu
- Lucille Rankin
- Rebecca Delconte
- Roberto Bonelli
- Rune Larsen
- Sarah Garner
- Simona Seizova
- Michael Low
- Sofonias Tessema
- Santini Subramaniam
- Miles Horton
- Alexandra Gurzau
- Tamara Marcus
- Nicholas Chandler
- Student achievements
- Student association
- News
- Donate
- Online donation
- Ways to support
- Support outcomes
- Supporter stories
- Rotarians against breast cancer
- A partnership to improve treatments for cancer patients
- 20 years of cancer research support from the Helpman family
- A generous gift from a cancer survivor
- A gift to support excellence in Australian medical research
- An enduring friendship
- Anonymous donor helps bridge the 'valley of death'
- Renewed support for HIV eradication project
- Searching for solutions to muscular dystrophy
- Supporting research into better treatments for colon cancer
- Taking a single cell focus with the DROP-seq
- WEHI.TV
Giardiasis

Giardiasis is a parasitic disease causing chronic diarrhoea. It disproportionately affects young children - it can exacerbate malnutrition and lead to significant delays in physical and cognitive development.
There are more than 200 million cases of giardiasis worldwide each year, but treatment is limited to a small number of drugs and drug resistance is emerging.
Our researchers are using advanced genome technologies to explore parasite biology, with the goal of developing approaches to understand drug resistance and better control the disease.
Giardiasis research at the Institute
Our researchers are:
- Using advanced sequencing technologies to understand how parasites develop and interact with their host.
- Studying how parasites develop resistance to common drugs.
- Evaluating the impact of giardiasis on childhood health and development.
- Working with the Victorian water industry to develop tools for monitoring parasites in the water supply.
- Investigating parasite epidemiology in developed and resource-poor communities.
What is giardiasis?
Giardiasis is a diarrhoeal disease caused by the parasite Giardia duodenalis.
Giardia is a tiny, single-celled organism with multiple whip-like tails, called flagella. The parasite lives in the small intestine of mammals - including humans - where it interferes with the absorption of nutrients from food. As the parasite travels down the digestive tract, it develops into cysts that are shed in faeces. The cysts can survive in the environment for weeks or months.
The Giardia parasite is transmitted when people swallow cysts via hand-to-mouth contact. For example, outbreaks are common in childcare centres due to poor hand hygiene after changing nappies.
Transmission can also occur through contaminated water supplies: the parasite is spread when people drink the water, use it to wash their food or ingest it during recreational activities such as swimming. This is a common route of infection for travellers and people hiking or camping in the wilderness.
There are up to 600,000 cases of giardiasis in Australia each year, and more than 200 million cases worldwide. The disease has a disproportionately high impact on children in impoverished communities, including in remote Indigenous communities in Australia.
Symptoms of giardiasis
Symptoms of giardiasis usually develop one to three weeks following infection and can include:
- Diarrhoea and greasy stools that float
- Nausea/vomiting
- Gas
- Abdominal cramps
- Dehydration
- Post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome
- Chronic giardiasis can lead to significant long-term effects including malnutrition, weight loss, delayed physical and mental growth and predisposition to other diseases.
Some people with giardiasis show no symptoms but can still transmit the disease.
Risk factors for giardiasis
People at risk of giardiasis include:
- Children and staff at childcare centres
- Family members of people with giardiasis
- Travellers to areas where giardiasis is common
- Hikers or campers who drink untreated water from lakes and rivers
- People who swim in contaminated water, such as lakes, rivers and swimming pools
- Practising good hygiene and avoiding contaminated food and water when travelling reduces the risk of giardiasis
How is giardiasis treated?
Many cases of giardiasis are self-limiting and resolve on their own. Other cases are more persistent and require treatment to clear the infection.
The drugs currently available to treat giardiasis have significant side effects and are not always effective; drug resistance is emerging, leading to treatment failure. Chronic giardiasis remains a major health and economic burden, particularly in resource-poor communities. These limitations highlight the need for new drugs to treat giardiasis.
Applying genome technologies
Our researchers are using advanced genome technologies to study the Giardia parasite. The parasite has a compact genome and can be readily grown in the lab, making it possible to investigate genes that regulate fundamental aspects of parasite biology, including:
- Invasion of and development within the host
- Development, transmission and detection of drug resistance
- Identification of novel targets for new drug development
These genomic tools can also be used to explore how the parasites develop resistance to common drugs.
Ultimately, understanding the genes that control key aspects of parasite biology will underpin approaches to detect, treat and control giardiasis.
this structure to understand how the parasite survives in its human host.
Credit: Brendan Ansell, Balu Balan, Aaron Jex
Researchers:
Super Content:
A research fellowship has been established to improve the identification and control of water-borne illness.
The Pierce Armstrong Foundation has funded a 'cool' new piece of equipment for studies aiming to combat drug resistance in treating Giardia.
Dr Samantha Emery has won a two-year grant from The Jack Brockhoff Foundation to support her studies in the parasite, Giardia duodenalis.