About

Applied mathematician, Adeshina Adekunle, joined AITHM in 2017 to develop infectious disease models that can estimate the extent and spread of disease outbreaks, from influenza to Ebola virus.

Adeshina, a post-doctoral research fellow and infectious diseases modeller, is funded by a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Tropical Partners research grant. He is currently working with colleagues to create a Global Pandemic Map website to monitor external disease threats.

Closer to home, he is developing a model to calculate the spread of Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, currently a key tool in efforts to prevent the dengue-carrying species from reproducing.

Adeshina is also involved in research to help differentiate treated tuberculosis patients who subsequently suffer a relapse, from those who have been re-infected, and whether prior infection creates greater immunity.

Born and raised in Nigeria, Adeshina obtained a Bachelor of Technology in Industrial Mathematics (1st Class Honours), followed by a Masters degree, from the Federal University of Technology, in Akure, before moving to Australia in 2013 to embark on a PhD in Mathematical Biology at the University of New South Wales.

His PhD study explored the dynamics of malarial infection using mathematical modelling; identifying and calculating factors that influenced infection resistance in two patient cohorts – one in Mali, where the malaria strain, Plasmodium falciparum, is common, and the other in Thailand and Papua New Guineas, where the Plasmodium vivax strain is common.

Adeshina found the incidence of Plasmodium falciparum-related infection and onset of clinical symptoms decreased with age, and that patients infected with the parasite before the malaria season (during and immediately after the wet season) were less likely to develop clinical malaria. He also calculated that some 90-95 percent of malaria cases in regions afflicted by Plasmodium vivax were caused by reactivation of hypnozoites – a dormant form of the parasite in the human body.

Research Disciplines
Socio-Economic Objectives
Publications

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles
Book Chapters
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ResearchOnline@JCU stores 30+ research outputs authored by Dr Adeshina Adekunle from 2013 onwards.

Current Funding

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Defence Materials Technology Centre - Medical Countermeasures Program

Forecasting of Vector Borne Diseases (VBD) Capability Development for Improve Deployed Force Planning

Indicative Funding
$206,340 over 2 years
Summary
This research project will utilise existing data on vector trapping, weather and disease prevalence to provide capability for outbreak detection and forecasting that are relevant to both military and civilian settings. Thus, we aim that this project will deliver a VB disease surveillance and forecasting system that is capable of: ? Incorporating lessons from COVID-19 pandemic responses in coordinating smooth data fusion techniques in gathering VB health data applicable to military and civilian settings. ? Extend existing model on ento-epidemiological and climate models, fusing the two models to understand the dynamics of both vector and diseases in region of interest. ? Adopt Pypfilt/EpiFX for forecasting and parameter estimation for VB diseases (currently only used for COVID-19). This is to help inform the commander in understanding the risk of VBD to members at AO.
Investigators
Emma McBryde, Adeshina Adekunle, Jim Arthur and Fiona McCallum (Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine, Defence Materials Technology Centre and Australian Defence Force Malaria and Infectious Disease)
Keywords
Forecasting; arbovirus; modelling; Vector-borne Diseases

Department of Health and Ageing - Education and Research Grant

Modelling future testing needs for SARS-CoV-2

Indicative Funding
$42,770 (administered by University of Melbourne)
Summary
The Project will enable greater understanding of the current and projected future testing demand for severe acute respiratory acute syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in Australia. The scope of this project is limited to assessing the demand for laboratory based, or near patient point-of-care, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, the gold standard test to diagnose COVID-19.
Investigators
Jodie McVernon, James McCaw, Emma McBryde, Michael Meehan and Adeshina Adekunle (University of Melbourne and Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine)
Keywords
COVID-19; Modelling; SARS-CoV-2; Coronavirus
Supervision

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current
  • Modelling impact of Integrated Vector Management (IVM) and role of climate on malaria transmission. (PhD , External Advisor)
Completed
Collaboration

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.

  • 5+ collaborations
  • 4 collaborations
  • 3 collaborations
  • 2 collaborations
  • 1 collaboration
  • Indicates the Tropics (Torrid Zone)

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  3. Dr Michael Meehan
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  4. A/Prof Roslyn Hickson
    Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine
  5. Prof Emma McBryde
    Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine