Dr Alison Carey

Biography

I completed my PhD at QUT in 2010 in the area of vaccine development against female genital chlamydial infections. During my PhD I was awarded a NHMRC Post Graduate Research Scholarship. I then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Griffith University, where I focussed on urogenital tract infections caused by  E. coli and Group B  Streptococcus. In 2013 I was awarded a prestigious NHMRC Peter Doherty Early Career Fellowship in the area of innate immune responses to uropathogens. In 2015 I returned to QUT as a Research Fellow through the Early Career Academic Recruitment and Development Program.

I have since established a research group in the area of female reproductive tract immune responses to Group B Streptococcus (GBS) and the effects on the vaginal microbiome. This research utilises in vitro cell culture models of GBS infection to determine host immune responses to the various types of GBS and how hormones, such as those that are present and change throughout pregnancy, affect these responses. I also have access to samples collected from pregnant women as part of the QLD Family Cohort, giving my research a strong clinical aspect.

I also work closely with Professor Ken Beagley, looking at the effects of chlamydial infection on male fertility (NHMRC Project Grant funded) and the development of a chlamydial vaccine (National Institute of Health- NIH funded). We use animal models of infection to examine exactly how Chlamydia causes long-term effects on male fertility and how these effects are passed on to the next generation. We are also developing a 3D in vitro cell culture model of the testes to help us further dissect these mechanisms of damage.