Associate Professor
Associate Professor Susana Vaz Nery
MSc, PhD
Medicine & Health
The Kirby Institute
Susana has a multidisciplinary background, combining degrees and experience in biochemistry, neurosciences, health policy and international development, and field epidemiology in tropical diseases.
Following undergraduate studies in Portugal, Susana undertook her PhD in neuroscience (at NYU Medical Centre, New York, awarded in 2003). She began her career on tropical diseases as a malaria molecular parasitologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), with a EMBL fellowship. While based in London, she did malaria research in top African research centres: Kenya Medical Research Institute - Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KEMRI-WT, Kilifi, Kenya); Medical Research Council - The Gambia Unit; and the Joint Malaria Programme (based at KCMC - Moshi, Tanzania).
In 2007 she joined Malaria Consortium in Mozambique, as a monitoring and evaluation and public health specialist, providing technical support to the National Malaria Control Program.
Susana then moved to Angola as the scientific coordinator of a recently created health research centre (CISA Project), where she led a team of approximately 70 scientific and field staff.
In 2012 she re-joined academia and moved to Timor-Leste to work on the control of soil transmitted helminths and other tropical diseases, and to Canberra in 2015, as a senior research fellow at ANU, with her research funded by the NHMRC and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Susana has joined the Kirby Institute at UNSW in 2018, where she leads the Neglected Tropical Diseases research group, that uses intervention studies to generate evidence that can inform health policy changes for more effective and sustainable disease control strategies.
- Publications
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
Competitive GRANTS
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Nery S.V., Clements A., Halton K., Anderson R., Gray D. |
School versus community-based albendazole deworming for control of soil transmitted helminths in school-age children in the Philippines – a cluster randomised controlled trial. |
NHMRC Partnership Project Grant APP1139561. $1,336,408.20. 2018-2020. |
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Aung E., Gray D., Nery S.V., Clements A., |
Soil-transmitted helminthiases and related behaviours among schoolchildren in Myanmar. |
Government Partnerships for Development, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), (a collaboration between The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Yangon). $6,000 AUD 1 March 2016 to 30 September 2016 |
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Nery S.V., Viney K., Pham M. |
Economic evaluation of patient costs associated with tuberculosis diagnosis and care in Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste |
Excellence in Population Health Award, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, 2015. $15 000 AUD |
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Nery S.V., Clements A., Gray D. |
Should integrated deworming and WASH programs for STH control be delivered in schools or the community? |
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges Explorations 2015–2016. (OPP1119041) $100,000 USD |
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Chief investigators: Gray D., Clements A., Stewart D., McCarthy J., Soares Magalhaes R., Halton K. Associate investigators: Nery S., Laksono B., Hadisaputro S., Sadler R., Bieri F. |
The effectiveness, acceptability and cost effectiveness of the 'BALatrine': a culturally acceptable latrine intervention in resource limited environments |
NHMRC Partnership Project Grant. Partner: UBS Optimus Foundation. 2014–2016 (APP1077138) $764,916 AUD |
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Clements A., Andrews R., McCarthy J., Black J., Traub R, Gray D., Nery S. |
A cluster RCT of the impact of a community-based hygiene and sanitation program on infection with intestinal parasites following mass albendazole chemotherapy in Timor-Leste |
NHMRC Partnership Project Grant. Partner: WaterAid Australia. (APP1013713) 2011–2013 (delayed 2012-2015) $987,270 AUD |
Non-Competitive GRANTS
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Lokuge K., Nery S.V., Banks E. |
Improving basic emergency obstetric and neonatal care through training and infrastructure support to community health workers in rural and remote regions of Papua New Guinea
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UNICEF, Papua New Guinea, 2017. $30 800 AUD |
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Nery S.V., Viney K. |
Economic evaluation of patient costs associated with tuberculosis diagnosis and care in Solomon Islands |
WHO Western Pacific Region, 2016. $15 000 AUD |
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Nery S.V., Viney K. |
Economic evaluation of patient costs associated with tuberculosis diagnosis and care in Timor-Leste |
WHO Timor-Leste country office, 2016. $3 000 AUD |
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Nery S.V. (CISA) |
Management of 1M euros/year for setting up a research centre and initiating research activities (health and demographic surveillance system, verbal autopsy, baseline survey of malaria, intestinal parasites, schistosomiasis, anemia and malnutrition, and baseline survey of hypertension). |
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2009 to 2012, €1,000,000/year |
FELLOWSHIPS
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1/2006 to 1/2007 (approx. $34,500) |
Post-doc Fellowship
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Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portugal
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1/2004 to 1/2006 (approx. $90,000) |
Long-term Post-doc Fellowship |
European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
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9/1997 to 5/2002 (approx. $100,000) |
PhD Fellowship |
Gulbenkian Foundation and the Portuguese Government (Foundation for Science and Technology), Portugal
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1997 (approx. $7,500) |
Pre-doctoral Fellowship |
Portuguese National Board for Scientific and Technological Research (JNICT)
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1997 (approx. $7,500) |
Pre-doctoral Fellowship, Portugal-France Cooperation Program |
JNICT/INSERM (French National Institute for Health and Medical Research)
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1996 (approx. $10,000) |
Undergraduate Scholarship |
European Community Erasmus program |
In the last 6 years i was overseeing a program of research being implemented in Timor-Leste, that includes:
1) STH epidemiology and control
- Integrated WASH and deworming for STH control: a NHMRC funded (APP10137133) 3 year trial looking at the impact of WASH and albendazole on STH infections (WASH for WORMS);
- Community-wide vs school-targeted WASH and deworming for STH control - (S)WASH-D for Worms (Bill and Melinda Gates GCE - OPP1119041);
- Investigating zoonotic transmission of Ascaris species between pigs and humans;
- Assessment of environmental enteropathy and potential association with infection with soil transmitted helminths
-Efficacy of albendazole prior to mass drug administration
2) Spatial analysis of dengue and
3) Catastrophic costs associated with tuberculosis (RSPH-ANU & WHO)
In Indonesia I am an associate investigator in a trial assessing the impact of a sanitation intervention on infection with intestinal worms (APP APP1077138).
In Myanmar I am involved in a pilot study looking at STH infection levels in school children (DFAT).
In Angola (CISA Project), I am one of the chief investigators of a study looking at the impact of the distribution of albendazol, bednets and praziquantel on anemia in school aged children.
In Papua New Guinea I am co-investigator in a study evaluating the impact of an obstetric and neonatal care training program on the provision of these services.
Recently I have been awarded a $1.3M NHMRC Project Grant (CIA) to compare the impact of school vs community distribution of albendazole in school-age children in the Philippines.
Consultancies
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2017
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Epidemiologist for TIP TOP project |
ISGlobal, Spain |
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2017 |
Vector Works Project/LLIN Durability Monitoring study in Mozambique (24 months follow-up)
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Tropical Health, UK |
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2016
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Development of a research protocol and tools for a baseline assessment of malaria and importation risk factors across borders of southern Africa.
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Elimination 8 Secretariat, South Africa |
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2007 |
Evaluation of the Togolese National Malaria Control program (3 weeks) |
Roll Back Malaria (RBM) – Togo |
My Research Supervision
PhD students
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2020 - |
Brandon Le, Ivermectin for STH control
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Primary supervisor, Kirby Institute, UNSW
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2019 - |
Phoebe Mutila Kisavi, Feasibility and acceptability of community deworming for STH control
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Primary supervisor, Kirby Institute, UNSW |
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2019 - |
Paul Delos Trinos, Cost-effectiveness analysis of community deworming for STH control
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Joint supervisor, Kirby Institute, UNSW |
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2018 –
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Techalew Woldkiros, Acute febrile illness in a context of declining malaria transmission
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Joint supervisor, Kirby Institute, UNSW |
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2012- |
Manuel Lemos, Community versus school-based chemotherapy for the control of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths in children in rural Angola |
Co-supervisor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Portugal |
Honours
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2019-2020 |
Jessica Aw, Novel methodological approaches for determining prevalence and intensity of STH and identifying risk factors for infection |
Principal Joint Supervisor, Honours in Population Health, Australian National University |