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Conference Agenda

Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).

Daily Overview

Session

Import to your local calendar

CP17: Epidemiology & Diagnostics 15 min talk

Time:

Thursday, 02/July/2026:

11:00am - 11:15am

Session Chair: Deepani Fernando, QIMR Berghofer
Session Chair: Luke Hall, St Vincent's Hospital Sydney

Location: Lecture Theatre 3

Boulevard Room 1

Presentations

Development of CRISPR-based diagnostic tools for the detection of Strongyloidiasis

Skye MacGregor¹, Matthew Watts², Malcolm Jones^1,3, Rogan Lee², Vito Colella⁴, Richard Bradbury⁵, Thomas Egwang⁶, Darren Gray⁷, Hong You^1,3

¹Infection and Inflammation, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; ²Parasitology Laboratory, Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Institute for Clinical Pathology and Medical Research–New South Wales Health Pathology, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia; ³School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland, Australia; ⁴Department of Veterinary Biosciences, The University of Melbourne; ⁵School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia; ⁶Department of Immunology and Parasitology, Med Biotech Laboratories, Kampala, Uganda; ⁷Population Health, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Strongyloidiasis is a much-neglected disease caused by the soil-transmitted helminth Strongyloides stercoralis, afflicting millions globally- predominantly low-income tropical regions as well as the remote Aboriginal communities of northern Australia. Current diagnostic tests for Strongyloidiasis are neither sufficiently sensitive nor field-friendly for use in low-endemic and resource-poor settings, and reliable point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tools are urgently needed for disease mapping and monitoring of control efforts.

CRISPR technologies have enabled the development of a powerful new class of rapid, ultra-sensitive, cost-effective POC diagnostics for viruses/cancers. For the first time, we developed CRISPR-based assays for the detection of Strongyloidiasis, validated using human and animal stool samples collected from S. stercoralis endemic regions. The assays were demonstrated to be highly specific, with no cross-reactivity observed with an array of bacteria/fungi/parasite species. They also showed a sensitivity comparable to qPCR (the emerging gold standard), but are more field-friendly, with significantly reduced need for specialised equipment and expertise, requiring only a simple portable heat-block and UV detection. We also developed duplex CRISPR-based assays for simultaneous detection of other major helminth infections including Schistosoma mansoni and hookworm (Necator americanus), to better investigate helminth co-infections. This CRISPR-based platform offers a promising, field-ready next-generation approach to Strongyloidiasis diagnostics.