Staff profile

Dr Carl Kirkwood

Associate Professor

Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering

School of Life Sciences
Department of Microbiology

 

Qualifications

BSc(Hons) (La Trobe) MSc (La Trobe) PhD (Uni Melb) FASM

Area of study

Microbiology

Brief profile

  • Senior Research Fellow and Group Leader, Enteric Virus Group, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
  • Director Regional Rotavirus Reference Laboratory, WHO Western Pacific Region Office
  • Co-Director, WHO Collaborating Laboratory for Child Health
  • Director, Australian Rotavirus Surveillance Program

The research program of Associate Professor Kirkwood  involves a multidisciplinary approach to investigate diseases of the gastrointestinal tract of children, with the aim to substantially advance our understanding of these diseases to improve child health.

Teaching units

I lecture to first year science undergraduates and to fourth year (honours) students.

Subjects taught:

MIC1IEP – Infections and Epidemics

Recent publications

  • Akikusa, J. D., S. M. Hopper, J. J. Kelly, C. D. Kirkwood, and J. P. Buttery. 2013. "Changes in the Epidemiology of Gastroenteritis in a Paediatric Short Stay Unit Following the Introduction of Rotavirus Immunisation." Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health 49 (2): 120-124.
  • Aloun, D. S., B. Nyambat, R. Phetsouvanh, V. Douangboupha, P. Keonakhone, B. Xoumphonhphakdy, M. Vongsouvath, C. Kirkwood, N. Bogdanovic-Sakran, and P. E. Kilgore. 2009. "Rotavirus Diarrhoea among Children Aged Less than 5 Years at Mahosot Hospital, Vientiane, Lao PDR." Vaccine 27 (SUPPL. 5): F85-F88.
  • Boon, D., J. E. Mahar, E. J. Abente, C. D. Kirkwood, R. H. Purcell, A. Z. Kapikian, K. Y. Green, and K. Bok. 2011. "Comparative Evolution of GII.3 and GII.4 Norovirus Over a 31-Year Period." Journal of Virology 85 (17): 8656-8666.
  • Buttery, J. P., S. B. Lambert, K. Grimwood, M. D. Nissen, E. J. Field, K. K. MacArtney, J. D. Akikusa, J. J. Kelly, and C. D. Kirkwood. 2011. "Reduction in Rotavirus-Associated Acute Gastroenteritis Following Introduction of Rotavirus Vaccine into Australia's National Childhood Vaccine Schedule." Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 30 (SUPPL. 1): S25-S29.
  • Carlos, C. C., M. T. Inobaya, J. S. Bresee, M. L. Lagrada, A. M. Olorosa, C. D. Kirkwood, and M. -A Widdowson. 2009. "The Burden of Hospitalizations and Clinic Visits for Rotavirus Disease in Children Aged <5 Years in the Philippines." Journal of Infectious Diseases 200 (SUPPL. 1): S174-S181.
  • Chan, J., H. Nirwati, R. Triasih, N. Bogdanovic-Sakran, Y. Soenarto, M. Hakimi, T. Duke, et al. 2011. "Maternal Antibodies to Rotavirus: Could they Interfere with Live Rotavirus Vaccines in Developing Countries?" Vaccine 29 (6): 1242-1247.
  • Ch'ng, L. S., W. S. Lee, and C. D. Kirkwood. 2011. "Rare Rotavirus Strains in Children with Severe Diarrhea, Malaysia." Emerging Infectious Diseases 17 (5): 948-950.
  • Ch'ng, L. -S, W. S. Lee, and C. D. Kirkwood. 2011. "Rare Rotavirus Strains in Children with Severe Diarrhea, Malaysia." Emerging Infectious Diseases 17 (5): 950.
  • De Cruz, P., L. Prideaux, J. Wagner, S. C. Ng, C. McSweeney, C. Kirkwood, M. Morrison, and M. A. Kamm. 2012. "Characterization of the Gastrointestinal Microbiota in Health and Inflammatory Bowel Disease." Inflammatory Bowel Diseases 18 (2): 372-390.
  • Donato, C. M., D. Cannan, N. Bogdanovic-Sakran, T. L. Snelling, and C. D. Kirkwood. 2012. "Characterisation of a G9P[8] Rotavirus Strain Identified during a Gastroenteritis Outbreak in Alice Springs, Australia Post Rotarix™ Vaccine Introduction." Vaccine 30 (SUPPL. 1): A152-A158.
  • Donato, C. M., L. S. Ch'Ng, K. F. Boniface, N. W. Crawford, J. P. Buttery, M. Lyon, R. F. Bishop, and C. D. Kirkwood. 2012. "Identification of Strains of Rotateq Rotavirus Vaccine in Infants with Gastroenteritis Following Routine Vaccination." Journal of Infectious Diseases 206 (3): 377-383.
  • Donker, N. C., K. Boniface, and C. D. Kirkwood. 2011. "Phylogenetic Analysis of Rotavirus A NSP2 Gene Sequences and Evidence of Intragenic Recombination." Infection, Genetics and Evolution 11 (7): 1602-1607.
  • Donker, N. C., M. Foley, D. C. Tamvakis, R. Bishop, and C. D. Kirkwood. 2011. "Identification of an Antibody-Binding Epitope on the Rotavirus A Non-Structural Protein NSP2 using Phage Display Analysis." Journal of General Virology 92 (10): 2374-2382.
  • Donker, N. C. and C. D. Kirkwood. 2012. "Selection and Evolutionary Analysis in the Nonstructural Protein NSP2 of Rotavirus A." Infection, Genetics and Evolution 12 (7): 1355-1361.
  • Driskell, J. D., Y. Zhu, C. D. Kirkwood, Y. Zhao, R. A. Dluhy, and R. A. Tripp. 2010. "Rapid and Sensitive Detection of Rotavirus Molecular Signatures using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy." PLoS ONE 5 (4).
  • Holtz, L. R., S. R. Finkbeiner, C. D. Kirkwood, and D. Wang. 2008. "Identification of a Novel Picornavirus Related to Cosaviruses in a Child with Acute Diarrhea." Virology Journal 5.
  • Holtz, L. R., S. R. Finkbeiner, G. Zhao, C. D. Kirkwood, R. Girones, J. M. Pipas, and D. Wang. 2009. "Klassevirus 1, a Previously Undescribed Member of the Family Picornaviridae, is Globally Widespread." Virology Journal 6.
  • Kirkwood, C. D. 2010. "Genetic and Antigenic Diversity of Human Rotaviruses: Potential Impact on Vaccination Programs." Journal of Infectious Diseases 202 (SUPPL. 1): S43-S48.
  • Mahar, J. E. and C. D. Kirkwood. 2011. "Characterization of Norovirus Strains in Australian Children from 2006 to 2008: Prevalence of Recombinant Strains." Journal of Medical Virology 83 (12): 2213-2219.
  • Matthijnssens, J., M. Ciarlet, S. M. McDonald, H. Attoui, K. Bányai, J. R. Brister, J. Buesa, et al. 2011. "Uniformity of Rotavirus Strain Nomenclature Proposed by the Rotavirus Classification Working Group (RCWG)." Archives of Virology 156 (8): 1397-1413.
  • Nyambat, B., S. Gantuya, R. Batuwanthudawe, P. R. Wijesinghe, N. Abeysinghe, G. Galagoda, C. Kirkwood, N. Bogdanovic-Sakran, J. O. Kang, and P. E. Kilgore. 2009. "Epidemiology of Rotavirus Diarrhea in Mongolia and Sri Lanka, March 2005-February 2007." Journal of Infectious Diseases 200 (SUPPL. 1): S160-S166.
  • Snelling, T. L., R. M. Andrews, C. D. Kirkwood, S. Culvenor, and J. R. Carapetis. 2011. "Case-Control Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the G1P[8] Human Rotavirus Vaccine during an Outbreak of Rotavirus G2P[4] Infection in Central Australia." Clinical Infectious Diseases 52 (2): 191-199.
  • Stuart, R. L., K. Tan, J. E. Mahar, C. D. Kirkwood, C. A. Ramsden, N. Andrianopoulos, D. Jolley, et al. 2010. "An Outbreak of Necrotizing Enterocolitis Associated with Norovirus Genotype GII.3." Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal 29 (7): 644-647.
  • Swiatek, D. L., E. A. Palombo, A. Lee, M. J. Coventry, M. L. Britz, and C. D. Kirkwood. 2010. "Characterisation of G8 Human Rotaviruses in Australian Children with Gastroenteritis." Virus Research 148 (1-2): 1-7.
  • Wagner, J., K. Short, A. G. Catto-Smith, D. J. Cameron, R. F. Bishop, and C. D. Kirkwood. 2008. "Identification and Characterisation of Pseudomonas 16S Ribosomal DNA from Ileal Biopsies of Children with Crohn's Disease." PLoS ONE 3 (10).
  • Wagner, J., W. H. Sim, J. A. Ellis, E. K. Ong, A. G. Catto-Smith, D. J. S. Cameron, R. F. Bishop, and C. D. Kirkwood. 2010. "Interaction of Crohn's Disease Susceptibility Genes in an Australian Paediatric Cohort." PLoS ONE 5 (11).
  • Wagner, J., W. H. Sim, K. J. Lee, and C. D. Kirkwood. 2012. "Current Knowledge and Systematic Review of Viruses Associated with Crohn's Disease." Reviews in Medical Virology.
  • Wagner, J., N. A. Skinner, A. G. Catto-Smith, D. J. S. Cameron, W. P. Michalski, K. Visvanathan, and C. D. Kirkwood. 2013. "TLR4, IL10RA, and NOD2 Mutation in Paediatric Crohn's Disease Patients: An Association with Mycobacterium Avium Subspecies Paratuberculosis and TLR4 and IL10RA Expression." Medical Microbiology and Immunology: 1-10.
  • Wynne, J. W., T. J. Bull, T. Seemann, D. M. Bulach, J. Wagner, C. D. Kirkwood, and W. P. Michalski. 2011. "Exploring the Zoonotic Potential of Mycobacterium Avium Subspecies Paratuberculosis through Comparative Genomics." PLoS ONE 6 (7).
  • Zuridah, H., C. D. Kirkwood, N. Bogdanovic-Sakran, R. F. Bishop, and K. L. Yap. 2010. "Circulating Human Group A Rotavirus Genotypes in Malaysia." Journal of Medical Virology 82 (4): 707-711.

Research projects

  1. Rotavirus infection is the leading cause of gastroenteritis responsible for 500,000 deaths each year in children less than 5 years. The introduction of rotavirus vaccines into the national immunisation programs have had enormous impact on improving the health of children. However, the introduction has correlated with changes in distribution of wildtype strains, these changes may lead to the emergence of vaccine escape strains that have the potential to significantly reduce the vaccine effectiveness. This project aims to undertake genetic and antigenic characterisation of rotavirus strains in the vaccine era, and provide an understanding of how strains can escape vaccine protection.
  2. Although two commercial rotavirus vaccines are commercially available, the high cost and issues with accessibility are barriers to widespread introduction in many developing country settings. The goal of this project is to develop an effective rotavirus vaccine, administered to newborns that is affordable for the global community, able to be introduced in developing countries where the burden of morbidity and mortality is greatest.
  3. Crohn's disease is a major cause of illness throughout the world. There is no cure and current therapies carry substantial risks. An infectious agent has been suggested as the trigger for disease butresearch has been inconclusive. Our studies focus on the characterisation of the gut microbiome and virome to elucidate what changes in the metagenome, metatranscriptome and functionality are associated with disease onset in children.