22 Jul 2021
Doherty Institute receives generous donation from Morningside Foundation to fund next virology expert
The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) is seeking a talented, early to mid-career researcher for the Locarnini-Morningside Fellowship in Virology.
The prestigious Fellowship was made possible thanks to the Morningside Foundation’s generous donation to create a fund to support talented early to mid-career researchers in the area of virology.
The Morningside Foundation has a long history of supporting science and enabling education through philanthropic donations, beginning in 1996 with the establishment of the Morningside Centre for Mathematics.
Their philanthropic efforts now benefit a global audience and include providing 500 scholarships annually to allow underprivileged students to attend top universities and gifting $350 million to Harvard University to support its School of Public Health.
University of Melbourne Professor Sharon Lewin, Director of the Doherty Institute, thanked the Morningside Foundation for their significant support and said the Fellowship is an exciting opportunity for a talented researcher.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be working with the Morningside Foundation to create this opportunity for an up and coming virologist who will be able to develop and lead their own research program at the Doherty Institute,” Professor Lewin said.
“It is a generous support package, which includes salary support for three years, and a small budget for consumables.”
The focus of work can be laboratory-based virology or pathogenesis, epidemiology, clinical research, public health or clinical trials.
The Fellowship is named in honour of Professor Locarnini, who retired as Head of Research and Molecular Development at the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory at the Doherty Institute in 2019.
“Professor Locarnini’s decades of research and public health contributions in understanding viral infectious diseases and hepatitis have advanced the field of molecular virology and drug resistance, leading to improved diagnosis, treatment and control of viral hepatitis,” said Professor Lewin.
“It is fitting that the Fellowship supporting the next generation of virology researchers is named after someone who had such a profound impact on human health and the field of virology.”
One fellowship will be awarded in 2021. Interested applicants should view the position description and application process online.