Qld scientists Prof John Fraser, Dr Arutha Kulasinghe and Prof Kirsty Short developing protection plan for next pandemic

In the pioneering study, the Queensland researchers will examine tissue samples from the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic to protect the state from death in the next pandemic.

A world-first research project led by some of the state’s top scientists is developing a plan to best protect Queenslanders from death in the next pandemic with tailored vaccines therapies and strategies.

In the pioneering study, researchers will examine tissue samples from the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.

The “back to the future” endeavour is spearheaded by Professor John Fraser, Dr Arutha Kulasinghe and Associate Professor Kirsty Short who will examine more than a century-old lung tissue from various age groups affected by the 1918 pandemic. The study seeks to reveal why younger demographics experienced more severe disease outcomes in what was the most lethal pandemic of modern times.

The project is funded by the Wesley Research Institute.

The researchers will use the cutting-edge spatial omics technologies based inside the Wesley

Influenza pandemic 1919 pandemic reaches Australia. Picture: State Library of Queensland

Research Institute’s new Queensland Spatial Biology Centre. These technologies enable spatial phenotyping of countless cells at an unprecedented scale and speed.

“Winston Churchill once said ‘never waste a good crisis’. When we examine the data, there’s almost a 70% chance of a pandemic over the next 25 years that will kill 10 million or more,” Professor Fraser, who is also the Director of Intensive Care at St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital, Clinical Director of the Queensland Spatial Biology Centre (QSBC) and Director of the Critical Care Research Group at The Prince Charles Hospital, said.

“Today, therefore, it’s essential that we use the best today to reduce our risk of death when that next pandemic does eventually arrive. Now is the time to prepare, to learn so we are as well prepared and informed as possible. And the best way to learn is to first look back so we can then predict what’s in front of us.”

Testing lines for Covid at the Prince Charles Hospital, Chermside in 2022. Picture: David Clark

Dr Arutha Kulasinghe, the QSBC Scientific Director and UQ Frazer Institute researcher, said the endeavour promised to shift the paradigm in pandemic preparedness, advocating for a future where vaccines and treatments are tailored to meet the unique needs of younger individuals.

“The opportunity now offered to us to be the very first group to assess tissues from Spanish flu etc using cutting-edge spatial omics is such an exciting opportunity to look back into the last century using spatial transcriptomics and proteomics. We want to decode the puzzles of the past so we can forge a path toward more effective pandemic protection for the world’s younger generations.

“Our journey back to 1918 through our QSBC Phenocycler is a mission that could fundamentally improve our approach to developing health interventions for our youth in the future.”

The Spanish flu tissue samples have been retrieved from The Berlin Museum of Medical History at the Charité Campus Charité Mitte, the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien in Austria and the Ainsworth Interactive Pathology Collection in Sydney.

“This research will provide a better understanding of the structure, function and interactions of cells affected by the Spanish Flu virus that caused a disproportionately high mortality rates among otherwise healthy children and young adults,” said UQ Faculty of Science researcher Associate Professor Short.