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Andrew W. Taylor-Robinson, PhD

Andrew W. Taylor-Robinson, PhD

Professor of Microbiology & Immunology

College of Health Sciences

BIOGRAPHY

Dr Andrew Taylor-Robinson is an infectious disease immunologist specializing in mosquito-borne pathogens. His postdoctoral training was undertaken at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow, which included periods at the Medical Research Laboratories in The Gambia and the Max-Planck-Institut für Immunbiologie in Freiburg, Germany. He was then awarded a Wellcome Trust fellowship to become a research group leader at the University of Leeds, and was subsequently appointed to the tenured academic staff. Prior to joining Vin University, most recently he held professorial appointments at Central Queensland University and Charles Darwin University in Australia. He is an International Scholar of the Center for Global Health at University of Pennsylvania.

Google Scholar ID: here

ORCID: here

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A short article: Understanding the Global Health Problem of Antimicrobial Resistance and How to Solve It

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Dr Taylor-Robinson has over 30 years’ research experience of tropical diseases that pose a major global public health threat. His interests include pathogen-host interactions, particularly protective-versus-pathological immune responses, in order to inform vaccine development and therapeutic regimens. This involves work on blood, liver and mosquito lifecycle stages of the malaria parasite. Over the last decade, this perspective has broadened to encompass other life-threatening and debilitating mosquito-transmitted tropical infectious diseases. These include dengue, Zika and a range of arboviruses unique to Australia, and for which native animals act as reservoir hosts.

Dr Taylor-Robinson’s research is progressively shifting from basic to applied investigation, with a clinical focus encompassing epidemiology, treatment, prevention and control of diseases of poverty, as well as infection outbreak preparedness and response. Current collaborations involve colleagues in endemic countries in South and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. These often consider socially innovative ways to address healthcare needs in underprivileged populations, especially in regional and remote locations. His current position affords an opportunity to undertake interdisciplinary research on vector-borne and other infectious diseases of direct relevance to urban and rural communities in Vietnam. A further project on bringing enhanced cryobiology technologies to bovine embryology involves an industrial partnership in Vietnam.

TEACHING INTERESTS

Interrelated themes across medical science disciplines including immunology, microbiology, infectious disease, hematology and pathology.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

Dr Taylor-Robinson regularly performs outreach and local community engagement activities. He is an increasingly sought-after commentator in the mainstream media, nationally and internationally, on subjects of mosquito-transmitted infections, infectious disease control and public health management.

SELECTED AWARDS AND HONORS

Dr Taylor-Robinson’s wide-ranging contributions to health sciences academia are recognised by election to Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, Royal College of Pathologists of the UK and of Australasia, Royal Society of Biology, Royal Entomological Society, Royal Society for Public Health, Institute of Biomedical Science, Australasian College of Tropical Medicine and Australian Society for Microbiology.

Central Queensland University, Vice-Chancellor’s Awards:

2019 Commendation for ‘Supervision of a PhD Thesis of Outstanding Quality’

2018 Acknowledgment for Contribution to the University

2018 ‘Educator of the Year’ Award

2017 Commendation for Outstanding Postgraduate Research Supervision

2016 Commendation for Exemplary Practice in Learning & Teaching

2015 Engaged Research & Innovation Award

SELECTED RECENT PUBLICATIONS

  1. Taylor-Robinson AW, Nguyen TH. Infectious disease surveillance in Vietnam: pathogen early detection in Hanoi wastewater. Exploratory Research and Hypothesis in Medicine 7, in press, 2022. 4 pages. doi: 10.14218/ERHM.2022.00089.
  2. Taylor-Robinson AW. Pakistan floods: incidence of vector- and water-borne infectious diseases soars. Microbes and Infectious Diseases 3(4), 776-779, 2022. doi: 10.21608/mid.2022.166660.1392.
  3. Nguyen KQ, Nguyen LMA, Taylor-Robinson AW. Global “flu-ization” of COVID-19: A perspective from Vietnam. Frontiers in Public Health 10, 987467, 2022. 6 pages. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.987467.
  4. Clark NF, Taylor-Robinson AW, Heimann K. Could chlorophyllins improve the safety profile of beta-d-N4-hydroxycytidine versus N-hydroxycytidine, the active ingredient of the SARS-CoV-2 antiviral molnupiravir? Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety, 13, 1-4, 2022. doi: 10.1177/20420986221107753
  5. Caffery LA, Muurlink OT, Taylor-Robinson AW. Survival of rural telehealth services post-pandemic in Australia: a call to retain the gains in the ‘new normal’. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 30(4), 544-549, 2022. doi: 10.1111/ajr.12877.
  6. Sedarat Z, Taylor-Robinson AW. Biofilm formation by pathogenic bacteria: applying a Staphylococcus aureus model to appraise potential targets for therapeutic intervention. Pathogens 11(4), 388, 2022. 20 pages. doi: 10.3390/pathogens11040388.
  7. Taylor-Robinson SD, Morgan MY, Spearman CW, Suliman AAA, Corrah T, Oleribe OO, Taylor-Robinson AW. Why SARS-CoV-2 vaccines still matter in Africa. Quarterly Journal of Medicine – Monthly Journal of the Association of Physicians 115(3), 191-192, 2022. doi: 10.1093/qjmed/hcac014.
  8. Durga P, Caffery LA, Taylor-Robinson AW, Muurlink OT. Under the regulatory radar: unregulated rural healthcare in Bangladesh and Australia. Health and Social Care in the Community 30(5), e-3184-e3192, 2022. doi: 10.1111/hsc.13763.
  9. Mohsin S, Taylor-Robinson AW. Persistence of first-line antibiotic-resistant typhoid fever among Pakistani children: a growing concern for regional antimicrobial stewardship. Microbes, Infection and Chemotherapy 2: e1301, 2022. 3 pages. doi: 10.54034/mic.e1301.
  10. Mohsin S, Aziz Q, Muurlink OT, Taylor-Robinson AW. Burden of antibiotic resistance among children with typhoid in Gadap Town, Karachi, Pakistan. Microbes and Infectious Diseases 3(1): 81-91, 2022. doi: 10.21608/MID.2021.87000.1174.
  11. Mac Guad R, Sim MS, Carandang RR, Solidum JN, Taylor-Robinson AW, Wu Y-S, Aung Y-N, Low W-Y, Jeffree MS, Sekaran SD, Murugaiah C, Azizan N. Different domains of dengue research in the Philippines: a systematic review and meta-analysis of questionnaire-based studies. PLoS One 16(12): e0261412, 2021. 23 pages. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261412.
  12. Caffery LA, Muurlink OT, Taylor-Robinson AW. Social disrupters: constructing a new way to deliver primary health services in a rural setting. Australasian Journal of Regional Studies 27(2), 237-257, 2021. doi: 10.3316/informit.254129427426908.
  13. Mac Guad R, Mangantig E, Low W-Y, Taylor-Robinson AW, Azzani M, Sekaran SD, Sim MS, Azizan N. Development and validation of a structured survey questionnaire on knowledge, attitude, preventive practice, and treatment-seeking behaviour regarding dengue among the resident population of Sabah, Malaysia: an exploratory factor analysis. BMC Infectious Diseases 21, 893, 2021. 11 pages. doi: 10.1186/s12879-021-06606-6
  14. Makanjuola RO, Bello AA, Sadiq FU, Ishaleku D, Oduwole KH, Taylor-Robinson AW. Comparative analysis of the unregulated sale of antimicrobial prescription medication by drug retailers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Abuja, Nigeria. Microbes and Infectious Diseases 2(3), 423-432, 2021. doi: 10.21608/mid.2021.71677.1142.
  15. Clark NF, Taylor-Robinson AW. An ecologically framed comparison of the potential for zoonotic transmission of non-human and human-infecting species of malaria parasite. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine 94(2), 361-373, 2021.
  16. Clark NF, Taylor-Robinson AW. COVID-19 therapy: could a copper derivative of chlorophyll a be used to treat lymphopenia associated with severe symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection? Frontiers in Medicine 8, 620175, 2021. 5 pages. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.620175.
  17. Browne JJ, Matthews EH, Taylor-Robinson AW, Kyd JM. Otopathogen interactions in the nasopharynx of children, and the predictive value of nasopharyngeal aspirate culture for the aetiology of upper respiratory infections. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health 57(7), 1016-1022, 2021. doi: 10.1111/jpc.15370.
  18. Mac Guad R, Taylor-Robinson AW, Seng W-Y, Hua G-S, Zaharan NL, Basu RC, Lin CL-S, Hafiz WA, Adnan WM. Clinical and genetic risk factors for new-onset diabetes mellitus after transplantation (NODAT) in a tertiary care centre in Malaysia. BMC Nephrology 21, 388, 2020. 8 pages. doi: 10.1186/s12882-020-02052-9.
  19. Clark NF, Taylor-Robinson AW. COVID-19 therapy: could a chlorophyll derivative promote cellular accumulation of Zn2+ ions to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 RNA synthesis? Frontiers in Plant Science 11, 1270, 2020. 4 pages. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2020.01270.
  20. Makanjuola RO, Ishaleku D, Taylor-Robinson AW. COVID-19 and malaria in sub-Saharan Africa: holistic diagnostic approaches may promote effective clinical case management. Microbes and Infectious Diseases 1(3), 100-106, 2020. doi: 10.21608/MID.2020.36762.1039.
  21. Al-Rafat AM, Hasan AMM, Taylor-Robinson AW, Majumder A, Muktadir A, Muktadir H, Karim M, Khan I, Ahasan M, Billah MM. A combinational approach to restore cytokine balance and to inhibit virus growth may promote patient recovery in severe COVID-19 cases. Cytokine 136, 155228, 2020. 8 pages. doi: 10.1016/j.cyto.2020.155228.
  22. Jayathilake JMNJ, Taylor-Robinson AW. Leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka: the need for effective targeting of island-specific issues through strategic implementation of global management plans for disease detection and control. Sri Lankan Journal of Infectious Diseases 10, 114-124, 2020.
  23. Omitola OO, Taylor-Robinson AW. Emerging and re-emerging bacterial zoonoses in Nigeria: current preventive measures and future approaches to intervention. Heliyon 6, e04095, 2020. 14 pages. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04095.
  24. Muurlink OT, Taylor-Robinson AW. Sex and gender differences in health. Annals of Internal Medicine 174(1), 142-143, 2021. doi: 10.7326/L20-1373.
  25. Muurlink OT, Taylor-Robinson AW. COVID-19: cultural predictors of gender differences in global prevalence patterns. Frontiers in Public Health 8, 174, 2020. 2 pages. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00174.
  26. Muurlink OT, Taylor-Robinson AW. The ‘lifecycle’ of human beings: a call to explore vector-borne diseases from an ecosystem perspective. BMC Infectious Diseases of Poverty 9, 37, 2020. 5 pages. doi.org/10.1186/s40249-020-00653-y.
  27. Kothwella VK, Taylor-Robinson AW. Determining environmental and socioeconomic risk factors for dengue infection among the resident population of Kandy District, Sri Lanka. Annals of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 3(1), 7-14, 2020.
  28. Makanjuola RO, Taylor-Robinson AW. Improving accuracy of malaria diagnosis in underserved rural and remote endemic areas of sub-Saharan Africa: a call to develop multiplexing rapid diagnostic tests. Scientifica, Article ID 3901409, 2020. 7 pages. doi: 10.1155/2020/3901409.
  29. Gyawali N, Taylor-Robinson AW, Bradbury RS, Potter A, Aaskov JG. Infection of western gray kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus) with Australian arboviruses associated with human infection. Vector-Borne & Zoonotic Diseases 20(1), 33-39, 2020. doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2019.2467.
  30. Caffery LA, Muurlink OT, Taylor-Robinson AW. Social innovation in health response: a rare case of social enterprise meeting rural health needs. In: Q Alam, R Grose, eds. Regional Businesses in a Changing Global Economy: The Australian Experience, pp. 59-68. Oxford, UK, Routledge, 2022. ISBN 978-1032188713 (book chapter).
  31. Gyawali N, Taylor-Robinson AW, Bradbury RS, Pederick W, Faddy HM, Aaskov JG. Neglected Australian arboviruses associated with undifferentiated febrile illnesses. Frontiers in Microbiology 10, 2818, 2019, 11 pages..doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02818.
  32. Taylor-Robinson S, Olupot-Olupot P, Morgan M, Edwards C, Corrah T, O’Donoghue J, Taylor-Robinson A. Africa is successfully developing its own science initiatives. Growing efforts toward sustainable training and access to funding. Nature Africa, 24 July 2022. Commissioned comment article, ISSN 2730-9878 (online). https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-022-00104-w (English); https://www.nature.com/articles/d44148-022-00105-9 (French).
  33. Perera WDHN, Gunathilaka PADHN, Taylor-Robinson AW. Malaria in Sri Lanka: investigating causes of the recent elimination and making plans to prevent re-introduction. Journal of Vector Borne Diseases 56, 179-188, 2019. doi: 10.4103/0972-9062.289390.
  34. Gyawali N, Taylor-Robinson AW, Bradbury RS, Huggins DW, Hugo LE, Lowry K, Aaskov JG. Identification of the source of blood meals from mosquitoes collected from north-eastern Australia. Parasites & Vectors 12, 198, 2019. 8 pages. doi: 10.1186/s13071-019-3455-2.
  35. Browne JJ, Matthews EH, Taylor-Robinson AW, Kyd JM. Regulatory T lymphocytes are associated with increased nasopharyngeal colonization in children. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology 120, 51-57, 2019. doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2019.02.011.
  36. Al-Rafat AM, Majumder A, Rahman KMT, Hasan AMM, Islam KMD, Taylor-Robinson AW, Billah MM. Decoding the enigma of antiviral crisis: does one target molecule regulate all? Cytokine 115, 13-23, 2019. doi: 10.1016/j.cyto.2018.12.008.
  37. Do VH, Catt S. Kinder JE, Walton S, Taylor-Robinson AW. Vitrification of in vitro-derived cattle embryos: targeting enhancement of quality by refining technology and standardizing procedures. Reproduction, Fertility and Development 31, 837-846, 2019. doi: 10.1071/RD18352.
  38. Muurlink OT, Stephenson P, Islam MZ, Taylor-Robinson AW. Long-term predictors of dengue outbreaks in Bangladesh: a data mining approach. Infectious Disease Modelling 3, 322-330, 2018. doi: 10.1016/j.idm.2018.11.004.
  39. Do VH, Catt S, Amaya G, Batsiokis M, Walton S, Taylor-Robinson AW. Comparison of pregnancy in cattle when non-vitrified and vitrified in vitro-derived embryos are transferred into recipients. Theriogenology 120, 105-110, 2018. doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2018.07.027.
  40. Khan AW, Taylor-Robinson AW. Is Pakistan becoming a safe haven for chikungunya virus? Current status and proposed measures to curtail this emerging public health threat. Infection, Disease & Health 23, 237-242, 2018. doi: 10.1016/j.idh.2018.07.002.
  41. Makiela S, Weber A, Maguire BJ, Taylor-Robinson AW. Infection control protocols: is it time to clean up our act? Australasian Journal of Paramedicine 15(3), 5, 2018. 3 pages. doi: 10.33151/ajp.15.3.624.
  42. Ali S, Khan AW, Taylor-Robinson AW, Adnan M, Malik S, Gul S. The unprecedented magnitude of the 2017 dengue outbreak in Sri Lanka provides lessons for future mosquito-borne infection control and prevention. Infection, Disease & Health 23, 114-120, 2018. doi: 10.1016/j.idh.2018.02.004.
  43. Khan AW, Taylor-Robinson AW. Persistent disease outbreaks and malnutrition in Tharparkar, Pakistan: natural disaster or man-made public health crisis? Journal of Public Health in Developing Countries 4, 477-481, 2018.
  44. Muurlink OT, Durga P, Awan N, Taylor-Robinson AW. Success and its consequences: Bangladesh’s health report card at 50. In: H Khondker, O Muurlink, Bin Ali A, eds. The Emergence of Bangladesh: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan (in English) & University of Dhaka Press (in Bengali), 2021 (book chapter).
  45. Taylor-Robinson A.W. Contamination of emergency medical vehicles and risk of infection to paramedic first responders and patients by antibiotic-resistant bacteria: risk evaluation and recommendations from ambulance case studies. In: U Bacha, U Rozman, SS Turk, eds. Healthcare Access – Regional Overviews. InTech Open, 2020. doi: 10.5772/intechopen.87219 (book chapter).
  46. Taylor-Robinson AW. Perfect storm brewing for mosquito-borne viruses. Medical Journal of Australia InSight+ View, issue 32, 30 August 2021. https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2021/32/perfect-storm-brewing-for-mosquito-borne-viruses/ (online resource).

Dr Taylor-Robinson has published more than 300 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.

EDUCATION

PhD in parasite immunology, University of Glasgow 1991

BSc Hons in microbiology, University College London  1987