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The WHO CCRRI is part of the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) and one of only seven WHO Collaborating Centres worldwide that are responsible for characterising circulating and emerging influenza viruses.

Professor Reading replaces Professor Kanta Subbarao, Honorary Fellow at the Doherty Institute, who led the Centre for eight years before taking up a prestigious professorial position in Canada earlier this year.

Following his post-doctoral training at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology in Oxford, UK, Professor Reading returned to Australia in 2002 and joined the WHO CCRRI in 2008. He is well known for his training and capacity-building efforts to support respiratory pathogen surveillance and outbreak investigations in the Asia-Pacific and globally.

In addition to his role at the WHO CCRRI, Professor Reading also holds an appointment with the University of Melbourne at the Doherty Institute, where he leads a team of researchers studying innate immune responses to influenza and other respiratory virus infections.

Professor Reading said it was a great honour and privilege to be appointed to the role of Director of the WHO CCRRI.

“I am very excited to be taking on this role; our Centre is unique in that it is the only Collaborating Centre for influenza in the Southern Hemisphere,” Professor Reading said.

“We have a fantastic team of dedicated staff who perform detailed analyses on viruses circulating within Australia, as well as in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region. This information contributes to twice yearly WHO consultation meetings to determine the composition of influenza virus vaccines for the upcoming influenza season in either the northern or southern hemisphere.”

The University of Melbourne’s Professor Sharon Lewin, Director of the Doherty Institute, congratulated Professor Reading and described him as an enthusiastic leader, highly respected for his inclusive and collegial leadership at the Doherty Institute.

“We look forward to his leadership of the WHO CCRRI over the coming years to ensure the Centre remains a global leader in influenza surveillance,” Professor Lewin said.

The Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Fergus Kerr also welcomed the appointment.

“The Centre has never been more important to contributing to global efforts to track and respond to influenza outbreaks,” Dr Kerr said.

“Professor Reading’s extensive expertise in both research and capacity-building in the Asia-Pacific will be invaluable in guiding the Centre's future work.”

Professor Lewin and Dr Kerr also thanked the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Professor Ian Barr, Deputy Director at the WHO CCRRI, for acting in the role for the past three months and providing outstanding leadership, especially given the recent significant outbreaks of avian influenza.