The Australian Pathogen Genomics Program (AusPathoGen) is funded by the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) as part of the Genomics Health Futures Mission (GHFM) Flagships – Pathogen Genomics grant opportunity to:
Responding to areas of need AusPathoGen’s research to date has demonstrated the transformational value of pathogen genomics in detecting real time outbreaks, and established the foundational infrastructure, tools and partnerships for national genomic surveillance.
AusPathoGen will continue to build on these initial findings to implement nationally integrated public health pathogen genomics surveillance, investigate the application of genomics to respond to emerging infectious disease threats, and enhance the reach and impact of pathogen genomics in Australia.
Directly aligned with the objectives of Australia’s National Microbial Genomics Framework 2025-2027 and the WHO Global Genomic Surveillance Strategy for Pathogens with Pandemic and Epidemic Potential 2022–2032, AusPathoGen 2026-2029 aims to:
Underpinned by strong governance, established national ethics approvals, and engagement with all state and territory public health laboratories and agencies, AusPathoGen aims to transform public health surveillance and investigation and drive equitable access to pathogen genomics capacity across all jurisdictions in Australia.
The transition into using pathogen genomics for public health was driven by Communicable Diseases Genomics Network (CDGN), a group of multidisciplinary laboratory and academic experts, across public health, bioinformatics, genomic epidemiology, and medical microbiology.
Years of expertise and learnings from translational research, and well-established relationships with key national and international stakeholders, including government, industry and genomics leaders, have been essential to the establishment of AusPathoGen, as well as the development of a roadmap for national integration of pathogen genomics into public health.
As demand continues to increase for genomics-informed investigations and surveillance of public health concerns, this roadmap will be built upon and adapted to establish capacity for sustainable, best-practice models for the successful deployment of pathogen genomics into public health.
