Professor Josh Davis

Senior principal research fellow

Qualifications:

PhD, Charles Darwin University, 2011; Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, University of Sydney, 1994; Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, University of Liverpool (UK), 1998; Graduate Diploma of Population Health, University of Newcastle, 2008; Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in Infectious Diseases, 2005

Approved level of HDR supervision at Charles Darwin University:

Principal Supervisor for PhD

Location:

Newcastle

Biography:

Josh is a clinician researcher, and divides his time between clinical work as an Infectious Diseases physician in Newcastle, and research work as a principal research fellow based at Menzies.

He completed his clinical infectious diseases training in 2004, and then worked on a PhD from 2007-2010 on the epidemiology, pathophysiology and adjunctive treatment of sepsis in the Top End of the Northern Territory (NT).

His main research interests are clinical trials in the management of severe infections, epidemiology of severe bacterial infections, and the clinical and molecular epidemiology of viral hepatitis.

Josh is the clinical lead for viral hepatitis for the Hunter New England local health district in NSW, and the clinical lead for the COVID-19 expert reference group for the Hunter New England local health district.

In 2018, Josh was awarded a research excellence award from the NHMRC for the top ranked career development fellowship, and he is a chief investigator on several ongoing large multinational RCTs including SNAP (adaptive platform trial assessing multiple treatments for Staph aureus bacteraemia), ASCOT (adaptive platform trial of therapeutic agents for COVID-19), BLING3 (RCT of continuous infusion versus bolus dosing of antibiotics in ICU) and SUDDICU (Cluster cross-over RCT of selective digestive tract decontamination in ICU). He also established and is the co-lead of the Menzies Viral Hepatitis Research Program.

Professor Josh Davis
Email
Research Themes
  • ASCOT (adaptive platform trial of therapeutic agents for COVID-19)
  • SUDDICU (Cluster cross-over RCT of selective digestive tract decontamination in ICU)
  • BLING3 (RCT of continuous infusion versus bolus dosing of antibiotics in ICU)
  • AC-DC (Acinetobacter colonisation in Darwin and NT Communities)
  • HBV-PAST
  • SNAP (adaptive platform trial assessing multiple treatments for Staph aureus bacteraemia)
  • CHARM (molecular epidemiology of Hepatitis B virus (HBV)​ in the Top End)
  • ELEPHANT (epidemiology of liver cancer); developing an Ipad-based educational resource about HBV in Yolngu and English with partners from Galiwinku

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=F4soxgEAAAAJ&hl=en

Over 120 peer-reviewed published papers, with an h-index of 30 and over 4,600 citations.

  1. Davis, J.S., McMillan, M., Swaminathan, A., Kelly, J.A., Piera, K.E, Baird, R.W., Currie, B.J., Anstey, N.M. (2014). A 16-year prospective study of community-onset bacteremic Acinetobacter pneumonia: low mortality with appropriate initial empirical antibiotic protocols. Chest, 146(4), 1038-1045.
  2. Parker, C., Tong, S.Y.C., Dempsey, K., Condon, J., Sharma, S.K., Chen, J.W.C., Sievert, W., Davis, J.S. (2014). Hepatocellular carcinoma in Australia's Northern Territory: high incidence and poor outcome. Medical Journal of Australia, 201(8), 470-474.
  3. Tong, S.Y.C., Davis, J.S., Eichenberger, E., Holland, T.L., Fowler, V.G. (2015). Staphylococcus aureus infections: epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and management. Clinical microbiology reviews, 28(3), 603-661.
  4. Dulhunty, J.M., Roberts, J.A., Davis, J.S., Webb, S.A., Bellomo, R., Gomersall, C., et al. (2015). A Multicenter Randomized Trial of Continuous versus Intermittent β-Lactam Infusion in Severe Sepsis. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 192(11), 1298-1305.
  5. Davis, J.S., Mackrow, C., Binks, P., Fletcher, W., Dettwiller, P., Marshall, C., Day, J., Pratt, W., Tong, S.Y.C. (2015). A double-blind randomized controlled trial of ibuprofen compared to placebo for uncomplicated cellulitis of the upper or lower limb. Clinical microbiology and infection, 23(4), 242-246.
  6. Davies, J., Li, S.Q., Tong, S.Y., Baird, R.W., Beaman, M., Higgins, G., Cowie, B.C., Condon, J.R., Davis, J.S. (2017). Establishing contemporary trends in hepatitis B sero-epidemiology in an Indigenous population. PloS one, 12(9).
  7. Davis, J.S., Turnidge, J., Tong, S.Y.C. (2018). A large retrospective cohort study of cefazolin compared with flucloxacillin for methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia. International journal of antimicrobial agents, 52(2), 297-300.
  8. Yuen, L.K.W., Littlejohn, M., Duchêne, S., Edwards, R., Bukulatjpi, S., Binks, P., Jackson, K., Davies, J., Davis, J.S., Tong, S.Y.C. (2019). Tracing ancient human migrations into Sahul using Hepatitis B Virus genomes. Molecular biology and evolution, 36(5), 942-954.
  9. Meumann, E.M, Anstey, N.M., Currie, B.J., Piera, K.A., Kenyon, J.J., Hall, R.M., Davis, J.S., Sarovich, D.S. (2019). Genomic epidemiology of severe community-onset Acinetobacter baumannii infection. Microbial genomics, 5(3), 1038-45.
  10. Davies, J., Smith, E.L., Littlejohn, M., Edwards, R., Sozzi, V., Jackson, K., McGuire, K., Binks, P., Cowie, B.C., Locarnini, S. (2019). Towards Genotype-Specific Care for Chronic Hepatitis B: The First 6 Years Follow Up From the CHARM Cohort Study. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 6(11), ofz469.
  11. Sullivan, R.P., Davies, J., Binks, P., Dhurrkay, R.G., Gurruwiwi, G.G., Bukulatjpi, S.M., McKinnon, M., Hosking, K., Littlejohn, M., Jackson, K. (2019). Point of care and oral fluid hepatitis B testing in remote Indigenous communities of northern Australia. Journal of viral hepatitis.
  12. Davis, J.S., Young, M., Marshall, C., Tate-Baker, J., Madison, M., Sharma, S., Silva, C., Jones, T., Davies, J. (2020). Minimal compared with standard monitoring during sofosbuvir-based hepatitis C treatment: a randomized controlled trial. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 7(2), ofaa022.
  13. Tong, S.Y.C., Lye, D.C., Yahav, D., Sud, A., Robinson, J.O., Nelson, J., Archuleta, S., Roberts, M.A., Cass, A., Paterson, D.L. (2013). Effect of Vancomycin or Daptomycin With vs Without an Antistaphylococcal β-Lactam on Mortality, Bacteremia, Relapse, or Treatment Failure in Patients With MRSA Bacteremia: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Jama, 323(6), 527-537.
  1. MEDIA RELEASE | Menzies researchers in the top 2 per cent

    MEDIA RELEASE | Menzies researchers in the top 2 per cent

    Date

    Menzies School of Health Research is celebrating the work of its researchers who have been ranked amongst the world’s top scientists.

  2. Researchers at CDU some of the most influential in their fields

    Researchers at CDU some of the most influential in their fields

    Date

    According to a Stanford University study, there were 22 academics from CDU and Menzies School of Health research who ranked in the top two per cent of researchers referenced in their respected disciplines for 2020.

  3. The Australian | Hit Covid fast: antiviral drugs to keep infected out of hospital

    The Australian | Hit Covid fast: antiviral drugs to keep infected out of hospital

    Date

    The nation’s top doctors predict new antiviral treatments to fight Covid-19 will make the disease significantly more manageable and ensure the hospital system can easily cope with any future spike in post-lockdown cases.

  4. Top honour for leading infectious diseases physician

    Top honour for leading infectious diseases physician

    Date

    Professor Josh Davis has been awarded the 2021 Frank Fenner Award for Advanced Research in Infectious Diseases.

  5. Leading infectious diseases physician honoured with Frank Fenner Award

    Leading infectious diseases physician honoured with Frank Fenner Award

    Date

    Professor Josh Davis has been awarded the 2021 Frank Fenner Award for Advanced Research in Infectious Diseases.

  6. Tapeworm, vertigo and pancreatitis drugs are being trialled as COVID-19 treatments

    Tapeworm, vertigo and pancreatitis drugs are being trialled as COVID-19 treatments

    Date

    Infectious diseases physician Professor Josh Davis from the Menzies School of Health Research is looking at whether a drug used to treat pancreatitis can be repurposed to treat COVID-19.

  7. CDU academics named among world’s most influential

    CDU academics named among world’s most influential

    Date

    Menzies School of Health Research Professor Bart Currie, Professor Anne Chang AM, Professor Ric Price, Associate Professor Steven Tong, Professor Nicholas Anstey, Professor Joshua Davis, Professor Alan Cass, Professor Peter Morris and Professor Amanda Leach

  8. NEWS Navigating COVID-19 ‘tiger country’

    NEWS Navigating COVID-19 ‘tiger country’

    Date

    Catch up with Professor Josh Davis. An Infectious Diseases physician at Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital and researcher at Menzies School of Health Research

  9. CoronaCheck #32: Clive Palmer's 'ridiculous' hepatitis B comparison

    CoronaCheck #32: Clive Palmer's 'ridiculous' hepatitis B comparison

    Date

    Professor Josh Davis, a senior principal research fellow at Menzies and former president of ASID, told Fact Check that comparing deaths from hepatitis B and COVID-19 was "ridiculous".

  10. Major research papers retracted over data controversy

    Major research papers retracted over data controversy

    Date

    Health Report on ABC Radio National - Scientists have raised concerns about the data underlying a number of major coronavirus research papers, causing two of the world's biggest medical journals.

  11. An open letter from 119 scientists and researchers to The Lancet

    An open letter from 119 scientists and researchers to The Lancet

    Date

    Signed by clinicians, medical researchers, statisticians, and ethicists from across the world, follows the publication of a paper on using hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19.

  12. Innovative data use an important step in eliminating hep B

    Innovative data use an important step in eliminating hep B

    Date

    A team of researchers in the Northern Territory (NT) have designed and tested a new algorithm to determine hepatitis B status.

  13. Q&A with infectious diseases expert Professor Josh Davis

    Q&A with infectious diseases expert Professor Josh Davis

    Date

    Professor Josh Davis is a clinician researcher, and divides his time between clinical work as an infectious diseases physician in Newcastle, and research work as a senior principal research fellow based at Menzies. He is also the President of the...

  14. Coronavirus assistance to Pacific and Timor-Leste

    Coronavirus assistance to Pacific and Timor-Leste

    Date

    Coronavirus [COVID-19] is now affecting 75 countries, with the total number of cases over 90,000 and the global death toll at more than 3000.

  15. Coronavirus assistance to Pacific and Timor-Leste

    Coronavirus assistance to Pacific and Timor-Leste

    Date

    Coronavirus [COVID-19] is now affecting 75 countries, with the total number of cases over 90,000 and the global death toll at more than 3000.

  16. CAMERA2: Standard MRSA treatment does not outperform combination therapy

    CAMERA2: Standard MRSA treatment does not outperform combination therapy

    Date

    Standard treatment for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is not more efficacious than combination therapy, according to new research published in JAMA.

  17. Trial shows using two drugs not better than one when treating MRSA blood infections

    Trial shows using two drugs not better than one when treating MRSA blood infections

    Date

    Researchers attempting to improve the treatment for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood infections have discovered the combination of two antibiotics was no better than one, and led to more adverse effects.

  18. Trial shows using two drugs not better than one when treating MRSA blood infections

    Trial shows using two drugs not better than one when treating MRSA blood infections

    Date

    Researchers of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood infections say combination of two antibiotics was no better than one.

  19. Study supports minimal monitoring in Sofosbuvir-based therapy for HCV

    Study supports minimal monitoring in Sofosbuvir-based therapy for HCV

    Date

    Some patients receiving sofosbuvir-based therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) may not need standard monitoring with clinic visits and blood testing.

  20. PhD Expression of Interest | Camera 2 Study

    PhD Expression of Interest | Camera 2 Study

    Date

    We are looking for EOI for an ID / microbiology fellow to conduct follow-on studies from CAMERA2 as part of a PhD.

  21. ASID Annual Scientific Meeting deemed a success for NT

    ASID Annual Scientific Meeting deemed a success for NT

    Date

    The Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID) Annual Scientific Meeting 2019, held from 16–18 May, saw 450 attendees descend on the Darwin Convention Centre.

  22. Combination Therapy for MRSA Bloodstream Infections: Still a Question Mark

    Combination Therapy for MRSA Bloodstream Infections: Still a Question Mark

    Date

    In an editorial by Thomas Holland, at Duke University School of Medicine, and Prof Joshua Davis, at Menzies highlighted the significance of the new study’s findings in the larger context.

  23. The winner takes it all for S. aureus

    The winner takes it all for S. aureus

    Date

    The CAMERA2 study, executed in multiple countries addressing the question whether addition of a beta-lactam antibiotic (7 days) improves outcome in patients with MRSA bacteremia.

  24. Two New Trials of Combination Therapy for MRSA Bacteremia

    Two New Trials of Combination Therapy for MRSA Bacteremia

    Date

    The CAMERA2 study, just presented by Steven Tong at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID)

  25. Hepatitis B DNA Helps Trace History and Movement of First Australians

    Hepatitis B DNA Helps Trace History and Movement of First Australians

    Date

    The team found that hepatitis B virus isolated from these Aboriginal Australians is a unique strain called HBV/C4, which is not found anywhere else in the world.

  26. Hepatitis B virus sheds light on ancient human population movements into Australia

    Hepatitis B virus sheds light on ancient human population movements into Australia

    Date

    Australian researchers have used current hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome sequences to deduce ancient human population movements into Australia, adding weight to the theory that the mainland Aboriginal population separated from other early humans at least 59 thousand years ago and possibly entered the country near the Tiwi Islands.

  27. Menzies researcher gains national recognition

    Menzies researcher gains national recognition

    Date

    Menzies Professor Josh Davis has been awarded a Research Excellence Award at the NHMRC annual awards dinner in Canberra.

  28. Uptake of revolutionary hepatitis drugs lowest in areas of greatest need | ABC AM

    Uptake of revolutionary hepatitis drugs lowest in areas of greatest need | ABC AM

    Date

    The Northern Territory has the highest rate of hepatitis C in the country. But research by the Doherty Institute shows it has the second lowest rate of uptake of drugs that cure the disease.

  29. Combination Therapy in Treating S. aureus Infections

    Combination Therapy in Treating S. aureus Infections

    Date

    Prof. Josh Davis, MBBS, PhD, Principle Research Fellow, Menzies School of Health Research, Australia, discusses the role of combination therapy when it comes to treating invasive Staphylococcus aureus infections.

  30. RISE OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE “DEEPLY ALARMING”

    RISE OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE “DEEPLY ALARMING”

    Date

    THE death of an American woman from an untreatable infection with a gram-negative bacterium resistant to all classes of antibiotics has left Australian infectious diseases experts “deeply alarmed”, according to an editorial published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

  31. MJA Podcast on the clinical experience of patients with hepatitis C virus infection.

    MJA Podcast on the clinical experience of patients with hepatitis C virus infection.

    Date

    Associate Professor Joshua Davis is a Principal Research Fellow with the Menzies School of Health Research. He is the coauthor of a Short Report on the clinical experience of patients with hepatitis C virus infection among Australian GP trainees.

  32. Drug-Resistant Golden Staph Breakthrough Tested By Volunteer Australian Doctors

    Drug-Resistant Golden Staph Breakthrough Tested By Volunteer Australian Doctors

    Date

    When strains of the potentially deadly golden staph bacteria stopped responding to antibiotics in the 1960s, doctors scrambled to find a solution.

  33. Defeating serious MRSA infections using an everyday drug that shouldn’t work

    Defeating serious MRSA infections using an everyday drug that shouldn’t work

    Date

    A new drug combination is the first step towards improving treatment of drug resistant golden staph (MRSA) - a breakthrough that could potentially save hundreds of lives, every day.

  34. Infectious diseases specialist awarded $75 000 to continue fight against super-bug.

    Infectious diseases specialist awarded $75 000 to continue fight against super-bug.

    Date

    The grant will provide vital funding to develop trials in the areas of Staphylococcus aureus (golden Staph) infections, bone and joint infections and skin infections.

  35. NHMRC career fellowship: Dr Josh Davis

    NHMRC career fellowship: Dr Josh Davis

    Date

    Menzies infectious diseases specialist, Dr Josh Davis was recently awarded a Career Development Fellowship as part of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) yearly multi-million dollar funding round. Josh’s fellowship...

  36. NHMRC project snapshot: Dr Josh Davis

    NHMRC project snapshot: Dr Josh Davis

    Date

    Menzies infectious diseases specialist, Dr Josh Davis was recently awarded a competitive project grant as part of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC) yearly multi-million dollar funding round.

  37. NHMRC project snapshot: Dr Steve Tong

    NHMRC project snapshot: Dr Steve Tong

    Date

    Menzies' Post-doctoral Research Fellow Dr Steve Tong was recently awarded a competitive grant and a fellowship as part of the National Health and Medical Research Council's yearly multi-million dollar funding round.