Phage WA is committed to reducing the burden of chronic and antibiotic-resistant infections that affect children, families, and communities.
Skin, ear, and respiratory infections are particularly prevalent in Aboriginal communities and can have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal children and their families. These conditions place considerable pressure on rural and remote healthcare services, highlighting the need for innovative and accessible treatment options.
Phage WA is committed to co-designing research activities with Aboriginal communities, and guided by community priorities, cultural leadership and respectful partnerships.
Projects
Using local Aboriginal language to name phages isolated on Noongar country
Phage WA acknowledge the significance of water and land to Aboriginal people and wanted to respect and reflect this special connection through the research program. As waters were collected across Noongar Wadjuk, the team was eager to represent this in naming newly identified phages using Wadjak Noongar nomenclature. Associate Professor Anthony Kicic and Ms Sharon Gregory of the Walyalap Waangkan Noongar language team, developed a trusting and culturally aware relationship, and with the help of other members of the language team named over 20 phages.
Walking Lightly on Country
Bringing together the importance of land and water in Indigenous culture and the potential of bacteriophages to treat chronic bacterial infections
Warkininy Bidi Collective Consultancy collaborated with Phage WA to begin developing a culturally safe framework for engaging with Aboriginal communities in the WA Goldfields region. The team were guided in cultural awareness workshops run by WBCC Founder/CEO Sharon Wood-Kenney, and Noongar elder Uncle Noel Nannup.
Understanding the precious kupi (water) of the WA Goldfields and its potential for treating bacterial infections in Aboriginal communities
This project aims to explore whether phages found in culturally significant water sources in the WA Goldfields could provide a future alternative treatment for chronic bacterial infections affecting Aboriginal children and communities.
Working in partnership with Aboriginal Elders, community members, and local researchers, the team will combine traditional knowledge with scientific research to identify and characterise phages from local water sources and assess their activity against disease-causing bacteria.
Regions
Phage WA is currently working with communities and partners across Western Australia, including:
- Goldfields region
- Eastern Goldfields
As more conversations with community are had and partnerships continue to grow, the program aims to expand opportunities across additional regions.
Collaborators
Phage WA is building a network of community, cultural and research partnerships to support Phage on Country. We are working together to support healthier futures for Aboriginal children, families and communities.
- Walyalap Waangkan Noongar language team,
- Warkininy Bidi Collective Consultancy (WBCC)
- Ms Leslie Ann-Conway
- Nygunngaku Aboriginal Corporation
- Dr Christine Jeffrey Stokes.
- Curtin University-Goldfields, Department of Rural Health
- The Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre (GALCAC)