Professor Janet Davies
Faculty of Health,
School of Biomedical Sciences
Biography
Professor Janet Davies BSc PhD GAICD is head of the Allergy Research Group and Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Health at QUT. She was also appointed Director of the QoVAX SET Program in Metro North Health (2021-2023). As Assistant Director of Research (2016-2021), she contributed to research strategy, policy, knowledge transfer and implementation at Metro North Health. With over 25 years research experience within the hospital and health sector, the scope of her multidisciplinary research encompasses molecular allergen characterisation, immunity to allergens and viruses, and environmental health. She has authored over 100 research papers, 15 government reports, patents granted in Australia and USA and three patent applications. Janet assembled pollen allergy researchers nationally to lead the Australian Aerobiology Working Group (2013) through to the NHMRC AusPollen Partnership (2016-2020 https://auspollen.edu.au/), to establish Australia’s national standardized pollen monitoring and forecast network, including design and implementation of quality control and audit system. Her research is supported by National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Research Council Discovery grants, an ARC Linkage, well as government and industry collaboration agreements. Prof Davies engages in collaborative research with the global leaders in allergy diagnosis (ThermoFisher Scientific, Sweden), Abionic Switzerland and treatment (Stallergenes Greer, France), the national pathology service provider Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology and Abacus dx. She is now the Discovery and Biorepository Pillar Lead and co-chair of the Respiratory Research Stream for the National Allergy Centre of Excellence.Personal details
Positions
- Professor
Faculty of Health,
School of Biomedical Sciences
Keywords
allergy, aerobiology, IgE, grass pollen, allergic rhinitis, immunodiagnostics
Research field
Immunology, Medical biotechnology, Other environmental sciences
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy - Biological Sciences (Murdoch University)
Professional memberships and associations
World Health Organisation, International Union of Immunological Societies; Allergen Nomenclature Committee (2016-2021). Associate Editor, Clinical and Experimental Allergy, British Society for Clinical Immunology and Allergy. EAACI, Task Force on Component Resolved Diagnostics. EAACI, Special Interest Group on Aerobiology and Air Pollution. European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI). Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA). Australasian Society for Immunology (ASI). Women in Technology (WIT).
Experience
As an internationally renowned thought leader in allergy research Prof Davies was appointed to the position of Vice Chair of the WHO IUIS Allergen Nomenclature Committee (2016-2021), which set criteria for designation of substances as allergens. As part of an international Task Force on Component Resolved Diagnosis in 2015, she contributed multiple chapters for the world’s first guidelines on use of allergen components for clinical diagnosis; Molecular Allergology User’s Guide (2016, revised 2022). In 2013, Prof Davies initiated Australia’s first Australian Aerobiology Working Group with 19 members from 5 countries. This led to the NHMRC AusPollen Partnership (2016-2020) and the wider AusPollen Aeroallergen Collaboration Network that standardised pollen monitoring nationally and is recognised as a NHMRC Impact Case Study (2023). Prof Davies leads inter-sector partnerships with government stakeholders in health sector at national level. She has fostered key national partnerships with industry and government exemplified by the NHMRC AusPollen Partnership and the commissioned report for Victorian Department of Health and Human Services that underpinned the $15.6M public health response program including the Victorian Thunderstorm Asthma Pollen Surveillance project managed by the Bureau of Meteorology, for which she contributed and she served on the oversight committee (2017-2019). In 2020, she was an expert witness for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Inquiry on Allergy and Analphylaxis that underpinned establishment of the National Allergy Council and the National Allergy Centre of Excellence.
Publications
- Kleine-Tebbe, J., Hoffmann, H., Valenta, R., Hilger, C., Hofmaier, S., Aalberse, R., Agache, I., Asero, R., other, a., Davies, J. & Matricardi, P. (2016). EAACI Molecular Allergology User's Guide. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, 27, 1–250. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/113368
- Erbas, B., Dharmage, S., Tang, M., Akram, M., Allen, K., Vicendese, D., Davies, J., Hyndman, R., Newbigin, E., Taylor, P., Bardin, P. & Abramson, M. (2015). Do human rhinovirus infections and food allergy modify grass pollen-induced asthma hospital admissions in children? [Letter to the Editor]. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 136(4), 1118–1120e2. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/87896
- Beggs, P., Katelaris, C., Medek, D., Johnston, F., Burton, P., Campbell, B., Jaggard, A., Vicendese, D., Bowman, D., Godwin, I., Huete, A., Erbas, B., Green, B., Newnham, R., Newbigin, E., Haberle, S. & Davies, J. (2015). Differences in grass pollen allergen exposure across Australia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 39(1), 51–55. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/87898
- Wong, K., Timbrell, V., Xi, Y., Upham, J., Collins, A. & Davies, J. (2015). IgE+ B cells are scarce, but allergen-specific B cells with a memory phenotype circulate in patients with allergic rhinitis. Allergy: European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 70(4), 420–428. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/87892
- Nony, E., Timbrell, V., Hrabina, M., Boutron, M., Solley, G., Moingeon, P. & Davies, J. (2015). Specific IgE recognition of pollen allergens from subtropic grasses in patients from the subtropics. Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 114(3), 214–220. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/87894
- Campbell, B., Gilding, E., Timbrell, V., Guru, P., Loo, D., Zennaro, D., Mari, A., Solley, G., Hill, M., Godwin, I. & Davies, J. (2015). Total transcriptome, proteome, and allergome of Johnson grass pollen, which is important for allergic rhinitis in subtropical regions. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 135(1), 133–142. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/87897
- Davies, J., Beggs, P., Medek, D., Newnham, R., Erbas, B., Thibaudon, M., Katelaris, C., Haberle, S., Newbigin, E. & Huete, A. (2015). Trans-disciplinary research in synthesis of grass pollen aerobiology and its importance for respiratory health in Australasia. Science of the Total Environment, 534, 85–96. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/87887
- Timbrell, V., Reibelt, L., Simmonds, C., Solley, G., Smith, W., McLean-Tooke, A., van Nunen, S., Smith, P., Upham, J., Langguth, D. & Davies, J. (2014). An immunodiagnostic assay for quantitation of specific IgE to the major pollen allergen component, Pas n 1, of the subtropical Bahia grass. International Archives of Allergy and Immunology, 165(4), 219–228. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/87899
- Davies, J., (2014). Grass pollen allergens globally: the contribution of subtropical grasses to burden of allergic respiratory diseases. Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 44(6), 790–801. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/87901
- Davies, J., Platts-Mills, T. & Aalberse, R. (2013). The enigma of IgE+ B-cell memory in human subjects. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 131(4), 972–976. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/87902
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Janet, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Awards
- Type
- Appointment to State/National/International Reference Group or Government Committees
- Reference year
- 2017
- Details
- Project Steering Committee for interagency Victorian Department of Health and Human Services and Bureau of Meteorology Thunderstorm Asthma Pollen Forecasting Service
- Type
- Appointment to State/National/International Reference Group or Government Committees
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- EAACI Task Force on Component Resolved Diagnostics, invited appointee of expert Task Force to attend fully funded workshop in Berlin April 2015. Through this Task Force I led the chapter on grass pollen allergen and contributed to another on weed pollen allergens to the first international guidelines and clinical algorithms for component resolved allergy diagnosis "EAACI Molecular Allergology User¿s Guide" published as supplement in Pediatric Allergy Immunology and as a book launched by EAACI in 2016.
- Type
- Editor/Contributor of a Prestigious Work of Reference
- Reference year
- 2015
- Details
- EAACI Handbook of Molecular Allergology; invited co-author of two chapters- Grass Pollen Allergens and Weed Pollen Allergens
- Type
- Editor/Contributor of a Prestigious Work of Reference
- Reference year
- 2014
- Details
- Global Atlas of Allergy, Contributing author
Selected research projects
- Title
- AusPollen: Implementation of a Standardized National Pollen Alert System for Better Management of Allergic Respiratory Health
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 1116107
- Start year
- 2016
- Keywords
- allergy prevention; allergic airways disease; allergic asthma; environmental influences; Environmental Health
- Title
- Cause and Effect: New Mechanisms of Particles Formation in Thunderstorms
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- DP190100376
- Start year
- 2019
- Keywords
- Title
- Satellite tracking of emerging health threats from grass pollen exposure
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- DP170101630
- Start year
- 2017
- Keywords
- Title
- Development of an Allergen-Specific Blood Test for Bahia Grass Pollen Allergy
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 1017441
- Start year
- 2011
- Keywords
- Allergy testing; Antibody; Allergen; Diagnosis; Asthma prevalence; Allergy; Allergic rhinitis; Asthma
- Title
- A New and Effective Approach to Reversing Allergic Airways Inflammation
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 1043311
- Start year
- 2013
- Keywords
- Asthma therapy; Gene therapy; Allergic Airways disease; Allergy prevention; Anaphylaxis
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Current supervisions
- Impact of grass pollen exposures on public health: an investigation of pollen seasons, health indicators and sustainability
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Darren Wraith
Supervision topics
The supervisions listed above are only a selection.