Overall Mission
| The Global Syphilis Research Alliance is committed to advancing our understanding of syphilis and its transmission through innovative and collaborative research. Our mission is to bring together global experts, researchers, and healthcare leaders to undertake cutting-edge research to uncover new insights that will inform public health policies, new diagnostic and management approaches, and reduce the global burden of syphilis. |  |
GRSA current projects
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SOS Global is a multi-continental cross-sectional study of women and heterosexual men, with primary, secondary and early latent syphilis, collecting additional samples from recruits on the day of syphilis treatment. We have recruitment sites in Asia, Africa, Australia & the UK. We aim to further understand the transmission dynamics of syphilis, by determining the frequency of shedding and bacterial load of Treponema pallidum at different anatomical sites. |
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SOS2X is the original Australian arm of SOS Global. It is a multi-state prospective study of women and heterosexual men, with primary, secondary and early latent syphilis, collecting additional samples from recruits on the day of treatment and over multiple time points in the 7 days after treatment. To meet the recruitment targets required to test our hypothesis, this study has expanded to SOS Global. |
GRSA project management team
Dr Janet Towns BA, MPH, MForensMed, PhD, FRACGP, FAChSHM, FFCFM(RCPA)
Post-doctoral Research Fellow
Dr Janet Towns is a Sexual Health Physician at Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health, and a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the School of Translational Medicine, Monash University. Her favourite topic of research is syphilis, but she is occasionally diverted by Mpox. Her research has led to some innovative findings in early infectious syphilis. Janet is the lead investigator on the Shedding Of Spirochaetes (SOS) Global Research Project, which is currently rolling out around the globe. Janet also enjoys the morning challenge of the cryptic crossword with an iced coffee.
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Prof. Marcus Chen FRCP, FAChSHM, PhD
Senior Investigator, SOS Global Study
Marcus Chen is a Professor at the School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, and a specialist in sexual health medicine at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Alfred Health. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and a Fellow of the Australasian Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine. Marcus’ research has focused on improving testing and management for sexually transmitted infections, especially syphilis and gonorrhoea. He has published 380 papers in peer reviewed journals.
Marcus is a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Leadership Fellow and the lead investigator on an NHMRC funded program aimed at improving our understanding of the infectiousness of syphilis and developing novel testing methods to improve syphilis detection. He is senior investigator on the SOS Global Study which is supported by the NHMRC.
Marcus was a member of the Australian Government Ministerial Advisory Committee on Blood-Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmitted Infections and is an advisory to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention STI guidelines.
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Ms Brigid Scally
Senior project coordinator
Brigid Scally is an experienced project manager and research professional with a background in biomedical science and public health. Brigid is the Senior Project Coordinator for SOS Global, where she facilitates international collaboration and project execution.
Her previous roles include Program Manager at the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) Alliance, and GenV Senior Area Manager at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Brigid also worked as a Senior Clinical Research Scientist at the University of Melbourne, coordinating national and international epilepsy genetics
research collaborations. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and presented her work at national and international conferences. With a passion for improving health outcomes through research and collaboration, Brigid brings a thoughtful, organized, and people-focused approach to every project she leads.