Associate Professor Joshua Francis
Principal Research Fellow
Qualifications:
MBBS, University of Queensland, 2006
FRACP, Royal Australasian College of Physicians, 2013
Bachelor of Applied Science (Medical Science), Queensland University of Technology, 2002
Location:
Darwin – Royal Darwin Hospital
Biography:
Associate Professor Joshua Francis is a Paediatrician and Paediatric Infectious Diseases Physician, with academic appointments at Menzies School of Health Research, Flinders University and James Cook University.
A/Prof Francis leads programs in Timor-Leste focused on teaching, capacity building, health systems improvement and operational research. His research on tuberculosis, rheumatic heart disease and antimicrobial resistance in the Northern Territory and Timor-Leste has significantly impacted policy, guidelines and health system strategy on the national level.
A/Prof Francis is the chief investigator on the Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security funded STRONG TL project, delivered by Menzies in partnership with the Ministry of Health in Timor-Leste, to improve communicable disease surveillance and control; the Fleming Fund Country Grant for Timor-Leste, building capacity for antimicrobial resistance surveillance in Timor-Leste; and rheumatic heart diseases projects (Pedrino and RECARDINA) which have engaged remote communities in the Northern Territory and Timor-Leste to tackle rheumatic heart disease through active case finding and community awareness initiatives.
- Fleming Fund Country Grant to Timor-Leste
- STRONG TL - strengthen communicable disease surveillance and control in Timor-Leste
- Pedriño Study
- RECARDINA study
- Resistance in Urine and Skin isolates in Timor-Leste (RUSTLE)
- Tuberculosis culture and drug susceptibility testing in Timor-Leste
- Rheumatic heart disease in Timor-Leste
- Working toward a scabies control strategy for northern Australia
-
Howitt, R., de Jesus, G. A., Araujo, F., Francis, J., Marr, I., McVean, M., MacMorran, E., Rollinson, V., Chung, A., & Yip, T. W. (2020). Screening and triage at health-care facilities in Timor-Leste during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, S2213-2600(20), 30183-1. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30183-1
-
Marr, I., Francis, J. R., Stephens, D. P., Marshall, K., Read, D. J., Baird, R. W., & Coatsworth, N. (2020). Development of a Mobile Laboratory for Sudden Onset Disasters. Disaster medicine and public health preparedness, 1–11. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2019.128
-
Francis, J. R., Sarmento, N., Draper, A., Marr, I., Ting, S., Fancourt, N., Alves, L., Champlin, K., Bongers, A., & Yan, J. (2020). Antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic use in Timor-Leste: building surveillance capacity with a One Health approach. Communicable diseases intelligence, 44. https://doi.org/10.33321/cdi.2020.44.1
-
Dotel, R., Tong, S., Bowen, A., Nelson, J. N., O'Sullivan, M., Campbell, A. J., McMullan, B. J., Britton, P. N., Francis, J. R., Eisen, D. P., Robinson, O., Manning, L., & Davis, J. S. (2019). CASSETTE-clindamycin adjunctive therapy for severe Staphylococcus aureus treatment evaluation: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials, 20(1), 353. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-019-3452-y
-
de Dassel, J. L., Malik, H., Ralph, A. P., Hardie, K., Remenyi, B., & Francis, J. R. (2019). Four-Weekly Benzathine Penicillin G Provides Inadequate Protection against Acute Rheumatic Fever in Some Children. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 100(5), 1118–1120. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.18-0907
-
Townell, N., Locke, T., Gibbons, M., Murphy, D., Francis, J., & Nourse, C. (2018). Mycetoma in Timor-Leste and first report of nocardiosis. Infectious disease reports, 10(3), 7804. https://doi.org/10.4081/idr.2018.7804
-
Korte, L. M., Bowen, A. C., Draper, A., Davis, K., Steel, A., Teodora, I., Mascarenhas, I., Dingle, B., & Francis, J. R. (2018). Scabies and impetigo in Timor-Leste: A school screening study in two districts. PLOS neglected tropical diseases, 12(5), e0006400. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006400
-
Francis, J. R., Villanueva, P., Bryant, P., & Blyth, C. C. (2018). Mucormycosis in Children: Review and Recommendations for Management. Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, 7(2), 159–164. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpids/pix107
-
Francis, J. R., Manchikanti, P., Blyth, C. C., Denholm, J., Lowbridge, C., Coulter, C., Donnan, E., Stapledon, R., Krause, V. L., & Waring, J. (2018). Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Australia, 1998-2012. The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, 22(3), 294–299. https://doi.org/10.5588/ijtld.17.0412
-
Francis, J. R., Nourse, C., Vaska, V. L., Calvert, S., Northill, J. A., McCall, B., & Mattke, A. C. (2014). Australian Bat Lyssavirus in a child: the first reported case. Pediatrics, 133(4), e1063–e1067. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-1782
