HEALTH AND ECONOMIC BURDEN OF INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASES
RESEARCHER PROFILE (Filmed April 2024)
Dr Ingrid Cox
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Menzies Institute for Medical Research
University of Tasmania
Dr Ingrid Cox is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania. She is a physician and health economist by training and has extensive experience working in healthcare, including in clinical practice, public health, health policy and health planning, and has worked with regional governmental agencies in the Caribbean and international development partners working in health.
Dr Cox’s main research interests focus on respiratory diseases and primarily on the economic burden and economic evaluation of interventions and treatments for their management. She earned her PhD from the University of Tasmania where her doctoral research examined the health and economic burden of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in Australia, one component of the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence for Pulmonary Fibrosis, a national project implemented alongside the Australian IPF Registry and the Lung Foundation Australia. This research provided the first epidemiological profile and first costing estimates of the economic burden of the disease in Australia, providing essential evidence for health service reimbursement policies.
Dr Cos completed her PhD in 2022 and since then has been the recipient of two Fellowships, the first the Menzies Postdoctoral Fellowship and the second a Fellowship with Lung Foundation Australia.
Currently Dr Cox’s research work spans several areas including her continued work on IPF and other interstitial lung diseases on several national projects, health services research including some work with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, prostate cancer research and her current lung cancer research funded by the major project grant of the Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation.
Dr Cox holds executive committee positions on the Australian Health Economics Society, the Professional Society or Health Economics and Outcomes Research both nationally and internationally, is currently the President of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand Tasmanian Branch and Chair of the Lung Cancer Special Interest Group.
Source: Supplied, Centre Of Research Excellence In Pulmonary Fibrosis
-
Junior Fellowship to develop vaccine for bacteria that cause ear infections
Dr Erin Brazel has a background in molecular and translational microbiology, with a focus on developing new ways of preventing and treating bacterial diseases. Recently Dr Brazel has been awarded a Junior Fellowship by the Passe & Williams Memorial Foundation.
The fellowship enables outstanding individuals to obtain postdoctoral training under the supervision of an experienced clinical or scientific researcher, with the view to establishing a research career in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery in Australia and/or New Zealand.
-
Corneal and Ocular Surface Immunology and Regeneration
Assoc Professor Holly Chinnery’s career in ocular immunology began with a focus on animal models; however, it has recently transitioned into clinical imaging studies involving human research participants. The ability to visualise the immune system and sensory nerves in the human cornea represents a significant advantage in corneal immunology and neuroimmunology research.
-
Biomarkers for early sepsis detection
Dr Gabrielle Briggs is a biomedical scientist dedicated to finding smarter, faster ways to diagnose and treat life threatening complications in critically ill patients. Dr Briggs established a research laboratory embedded within the John Hunter Hospital – one of the busiest major trauma centres in NSW. Dr Briggs works alongside surgeons, intensivists, and pathologists to turn complex clinical problems into practical research solutions. Her work spans two major programs: developing a rapid diagnostic test to detect bacterial infections in blood before sepsis takes hold, and exploring mitochondrial transplantation as a novel therapy to rescue injured tissues after trauma and ischaemia.
