A research group in UQ’s Centre for Superbug Solutions acknowledged RCC’s support in a paper published in the Microbiology Society journal last month about multi-drug resistant tuberculosis.
The paper, by the Institute for Molecular Bioscience-based Coin Group, led by Associate Professor Lachlan Coin, looks at the molecular evolution of a multi-drug resistant strain of TB that broke out on Daru Island in Papua New Guinea.
The paper specifically thanked RCC’s Derek Benson for his assistance with data analysis.
Derek helped the Coin Group with its use of the Genomics Virtual Lab. The GVL is a Nectar-funded digital platform enabling genomicists to analyse data using a range of tools within a single, easy-to-use interface that usually does not require software programming skills.
In the Coin Group’s case, they used a lot of bespoke tools that required Derek to customise the research team’s GVL server and help with some special software programming.
Coin Group PhD student Arnold Bainomugisa, the paper’s lead author, said the GVL was a great platform for learning the basic application of different tools, which were later run on command lines.
“Results from our analysis will go a long way to improve the quality of care among drug-resistant TB patients in not only PNG, but to the wider international communities that are affected by this disease,” he said.
The paper’s findings underline the importance of whole genome sequencing in informing an effective public health response to disease.
The paper also acknowledged QCIF, and the Nectar Research Cloud as “a collaborative Australian research platform supported by the [Federal Government’s] National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy."
