Position

Deputy Director, Australian Centre for International and Tropical Health

Research interests

PROFESSOR BRIAN KAY AM BSc(Hons) PhD FAA FACTM (1978 Fellow) is renowned for his arbovirus and mosquito research, and has published 245 papers and has been responsible for the development of the careers of many young researchers in Australia and overseas. His notable achievements include: Design and operational development of the Abate 50SG insecticide granule (1973), the mainstay of Australian mosquito control for 26 years, co-development of environmental management tool called runnelling (1989) for saltmarsh mosquito control, and overseen operational understanding and usage of new environmentally friendly s-methoprene and Bacillus based products. Kay developed a major understanding of the ecology and epidemiology of arboviruses in Australia, including sustained contributions in terms of definition of the vector competence of a range of mosquito species of medical importance. Kay pioneered the usage of the copepod predator, Mesocyclops, in integrated control programs against dengue vectors in north Queensland and overseas, especially Vietnam where world-first eradication was achieved. Currently, he is Deputy Director (Director 2002-2005) of the Australian Centre for International and Tropical Health and Nutrition (a joint University of Queensland- Queensland Institute of Medical Research enterprise), his laboratory is ranked as a WHO Collaborating Centre, and he has built up and acts as President of the Mosquito and Arbovirus Research Committee, Inc. which effectively is a consortium of 20 Local Governments and industry members dedicated to better mosquito control in Australia. He is highly sought after for international and national conferences, expert panels and for consultancies in Australia and offshore. In 1999, he was one of 6 Australians (60 globally) to be awarded the DI Ivanovsky Centenary Medallion for his achievements, in 2005, a Member of the Order of Australia for his scientific contributions and in 2006, he was elected as a Fellow of the prestigious Australian Academy of Science.

When I look at my career and 44 years at QIMR, I remember the wonderful opportunity afforded me by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, to visit key laboratories in England, USA and Asia to effectively "dip my toes into the ocean". Much to my relief, I found that I was not swallowed up and this gave me the initial confidence to build a career. In those days, international travel was a novelty but now as a Platinum frequent flyer, it simply is “going to work with a longer journey”.

Qualifications

1963 University of Queensland, B.Sc. (part-time)
1972 University of Queensland, B.Sc. (Hons)
1978 University of Queensland, Ph.D.

Ten Most Significant Publications

1. *KAY, B.H. and Saul, A.J. and McCullagh, A. 1987. A mathematical model for the rural amplification of Murray Valley encephalitis virus in southern Australia. Am. J. Epidemiol. 125: 690-705.

2. *Riviére, F., KAY, B.H., Klein, J.M. and Sechan, Y. 1987. Mesocyclops aspericornis (Copepoda) and Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis for the biological control of Aedes and Culex vectors (Diptera:Culicidae) breeding in crab holes, tree holes and artificial containers. J. Med. Entomol. 24: 425-430.

3. *Hulsman, K., Dale, P.E.R., and KAY, B.H. 1989. The runnelling method of habitat modification: an environment-focussed tool for salt marsh mosquito management. J. Am. Mosq. Control Assoc. 5: 226-234.

4. *KAY, B.H., Fanning, I.D. and Mottram, P. 1989. Rearing temperature influences flavivirus vector competence of mosquitoes. Med. Vet. Entomol. 3: 415-422.

5. *Tun-Lin, W., KAY, B.H. and Barnes, A. 1995. Understanding productivity, a key to Aedes aegypti surveillance. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 53: 595-601.

6. *Nam, V.S., Yen, N.T., KAY, B.H., Marten, G.G. and Reid, J.W. 1998. Eradication of Aedes aegypti from a village in Vietnam using copepods and community participation. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 59: 657-660.

7. *KAY, B.H., Ryan, P.A. Russell, B.M. Holt, J.S., Lyons, S.A. and Foley, P.N. 2000. The importance of subterranean mosquito habitats to arbovirus vector control strategies in north Queensland, Australia. J. Med. Entomol. 37: 846-853.

8. *KAY, B.H., Nam, V.S., Tien, T.V., Yen, N.T., Phong, T.V., Diep, V.T.B., Ninh, T.U., Bektas, A. and Aaskov, J.G. 2002. Control of Aedes vectors of dengue in three provinces of Vietnam, using Mesocyclops (Copepoda) and community based methods, validated by entomologic, clinical and serologic surveillance. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 66: 40-48.

9. *Kay, B.H. and Nam, V.S. 2005. New strategy against Aedes aegypti in Vietnam. Lancet 365: 613-617 (with editorial comment).

Currently Held Grants

Novel use of fungal entomopathogens for sustainable control of mosquito-borne viruses Thomas M, Ryan PA, Kay BH (CIC), O'Neill SL, Ritchie SA, NHMRC

The biology of arbovirus virulence/fitness in arthropod and vertebrate hosts in vivo. ( Mahalingam S, Ryan PA, Kay BH) Australian Research Council

Department of Health and Ageing (Public Health Education and Research Program) 2006 -2010 Led ACITHN team for fourth renewal