Professor Janet Davies
Faculty of Health,
School of Biomedical Sciences
Biography
Prof Davies completed her PhD in Biotechnology at Murdoch University and undertook postdoctoral training at Monash University and The Alfred Hospital. She is the Assistant Director of Research for Australia's largest hospital network, Metro North Hospital and Health Service where she develops research strategy, policy and chairs the clinical research education program. The underlying theme of her research is antigen-antibody interactions. Her current work focuses on applied allergy research to improve diagnosis, treatment and understanding of the immunological mechanism underlying allergic respiratory diseases. This extends to leading the multidisciplinary AusPollen aerobiology partnership that is establishing the standardized national pollen monitoring network. She is an inventor on a patent granted in Australia and three patent applications under examination that underpin development towards more specific immunodiagnosis and treatment for subtropical grass pollen allergy. The NHMRC, The National Foundation For Medical Research Innovation and The Allergy and Immunology Foundation of Australasia support her research. Prof Davies is engaged in collaborative research with the global leaders in allergy diagnosis (ThermoScientific, Sweden), Abionic Switzerland and treatment (Stallergenes, France), the national pathology service provider Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology and Abacus ALS.
Personal details
Positions
- Professor
Faculty of Health,
School of Biomedical Sciences
Keywords
allergy, aerobiology, IgE, grass pollen, allergic rhinitis, immunodiagnostics
Discipline
Immunology, Medical Biotechnology, Other Environmental Sciences
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy - Biological Sciences (Murdoch University)
Professional memberships and associations
Associate Editor, Clinical and Experimental Allergy, British Society for Clinical Immunology and Allergy.
EAACI, Task Force on Component Resolved Diagnostics.
World Allergy Organization, Aeroallergen Committee.
EAACI, Special Interest Group on Aerobiology and Air Pollution.
ASCIA Immunotherapy Working Party.
European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI).
Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA).
Australasian Society for Immunology (ASI).
Women in Technology (WIT).
Experience
In 2013, Prof Davies initiated Australia’s first Australian Aerobiology Working Group with 19 members from 5 countries who were leading experts in multiple fields from clinical, physical, and earth sciences through to the arts. This now included the NHMRC AusPollen Partnership (2016-2020) and the wider AusPollen Aeroallergen Collaboration Network.
Prof Davies leads inter-sector partnerships with government stakeholders in health sector at national level. She has fostered key national partnerships with industry and government exemplified by the NHMRC AusPollen Partnership and the commissioned report for Victorian Department of Health and Human Services that underpins the $15.6M public health response program including the Victorian Thunderstorm Asthma Pollen Surveillance project managed by the Bureau of Meteorology, for which QUT contributes and she serves on the oversight committee. These initiatives are achieving breakthroughs with immediate real-world impact upon clinical and public health management of hayfever and asthma for patients in our community.
Selected publications
- Matricardi P, Kleine-Tebbe J, Hoffmann H, Valenta R, Hilger C, Hofmaier S, Aalberse R, Agache I, Asero R, other a, Davies J, (2016) EAACI Molecular Allergology User's Guide, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, 27, pp. 1-250.
- Erbas B, Dharmage S, Tang M, Akram M, Allen K, Vicendese D, Davies J, Hyndman R, Newbigin E, Taylor P, Bardin P, Abramson M, (2015) Do human rhinovirus infections and food allergy modify grass pollen-induced asthma hospital admissions in children? [Letter to the Editor], Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 136 (4), pp. 1118-1120e2.
- Beggs P, Katelaris C, Medek D, Johnston F, Burton P, Campbell B, Jaggard A, Vicendese D, Bowman D, Godwin I, Huete A, Erbas B, Green B, Newnham R, Newbigin E, Haberle S, Davies J, (2015) Differences in grass pollen allergen exposure across Australia, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 39 (1), pp. 51-55.
- Wong K, Timbrell V, Xi Y, Upham J, Collins A, Davies J, (2015) IgE+ B cells are scarce, but allergen-specific B cells with a memory phenotype circulate in patients with allergic rhinitis, Allergy: European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 70 (4), pp. 420-428.
- Nony E, Timbrell V, Hrabina M, Boutron M, Solley G, Moingeon P, Davies J, (2015) Specific IgE recognition of pollen allergens from subtropic grasses in patients from the subtropics, Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 114 (3), pp. 214-220.
- Campbell B, Gilding E, Timbrell V, Guru P, Loo D, Zennaro D, Mari A, Solley G, Hill M, Godwin I, Davies J, (2015) Total transcriptome, proteome, and allergome of Johnson grass pollen, which is important for allergic rhinitis in subtropical regions, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 135 (1), pp. 133-142.
- Davies J, Beggs P, Medek D, Newnham R, Erbas B, Thibaudon M, Katelaris C, Haberle S, Newbigin E, Huete A, (2015) Trans-disciplinary research in synthesis of grass pollen aerobiology and its importance for respiratory health in Australasia, Science of the Total Environment, 534, pp. 85-96.
- Timbrell V, Reibelt L, Simmonds C, Solley G, Smith W, McLean-Tooke A, van Nunen S, Smith P, Upham J, Langguth D, Davies J, (2014) An immunodiagnostic assay for quantitation of specific IgE to the major pollen allergen component, Pas n 1, of the subtropical Bahia grass, International Archives of Allergy and Immunology, 165 (4), pp. 219-228.
- Davies J, (2014) Grass pollen allergens globally: the contribution of subtropical grasses to burden of allergic respiratory diseases, Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 44 (6), pp. 790-801.
- Davies J, Platts-Mills T, Aalberse R, (2013) The enigma of IgE+ B-cell memory in human subjects, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 131 (4), pp. 972-976.
QUT ePrints
To find publications by Janet, visit QUT ePrints, the University's research repository.
Awards
- Type
- Appointment to State/National/International Reference Group or Government Committees
- Reference year
- 2017
- Details
- Project Steering Committee for interagency Victorian Department of Health and Human Services and Bureau of Meteorology Thunderstorm Asthma Pollen Forecasting Service
- Type
- Appointment to State/National/International Reference Group or Government Committees
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- EAACI Task Force on Component Resolved Diagnostics, invited appointee of expert Task Force to attend fully funded workshop in Berlin April 2015. Through this Task Force I led the chapter on grass pollen allergen and contributed to another on weed pollen allergens to the first international guidelines and clinical algorithms for component resolved allergy diagnosis "EAACI Molecular Allergology User¿s Guide" published as supplement in Pediatric Allergy Immunology and as a book launched by EAACI in 2016.
- Type
- Editor/Contributor of a Prestigious Work of Reference
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- EAACI Handbook of Molecular Allergology; invited co-author of two chapters- Grass Pollen Allergens and Weed Pollen Allergens
- Type
- Editor/Contributor of a Prestigious Work of Reference
- Reference year
- 2014
- Details
- Global Atlas of Allergy, Contributing author
Selected research projects
- Title
- AusPollen: Implementation of a Standardized National Pollen Alert System for Better Management of Allergic Respiratory Health
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 1116107
- Start year
- 2016
- Keywords
- Title
- Cause and Effect: New Mechanisms of Particles Formation in Thunderstorms
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- DP190100376
- Start year
- 2019
- Keywords
- Title
- Satellite tracking of emerging health threats from grass pollen exposure
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- DP170101630
- Start year
- 2017
- Keywords
- Title
- Development of an Allergen-Specific Blood Test for Bahia Grass Pollen Allergy
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 1017441
- Start year
- 2011
- Keywords
- Allergy testing; Antibody; Allergen; Diagnosis; Asthma prevalence; Allergy; Allergic rhinitis; Asthma
- Title
- A New and Effective Approach to Reversing Allergic Airways Inflammation
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 1043311
- Start year
- 2013
- Keywords
- Asthma therapy; Gene therapy; Allergic Airways disease; Allergy prevention; Anaphylaxis
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Current supervisions
- Impact of grass pollen exposures on public health: an investigation of pollen seasons, health indicators and sustainability
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Darren Wraith