Work undertaken at the Doherty Institute is centred around the following themes and cross-cutting disciplines:
Themes
The Doherty Institute has world-leading scientists working to understand how the human immune system recognises infectious agents and enables an effective response to not only eliminate infection, but also develop immunological memory, which is vital for the discovery and development of new vaccines and therapeutics.
The Doherty Institute specialises in research, surveillance, diagnosis, treatment and cure of a range of viral infectious diseases, with a particular focus on
The Doherty Institute is focused on addressing the increasing threat of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) pathogens, particularly through surveillance and research.
Bacterial and Parasitic Infections
The Doherty Institute hosts strengths in bacteriology, tuberculosis and malaria research, clinical practice and public health.
Cross-Cutting Disciplines
Discovery science is a core pillar of the Doherty Institute and underpins all other activities across research, education and public health.
The Doherty Institute is strongly engaged in public health within Victoria, Australia and internationally through its work in infectious diseases and immunity. It houses both of Victoria’s specialist infectious diseases reference laboratories – Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory and Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory.
The Doherty Institute conducts research to translate basic research into clinical practice and to understand how health services and systems can best meet the health needs of our communities.
The Doherty Institute has formed many international partnerships and collaborations to address numerous health issues affecting communities on a global level, and is home to internationally recognised research leaders specialising in dengue, malaria, typhoid, HIV, tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistance, maternal and child health, and early-life nutrition.
The Doherty Institute provides a wealth of education and professional development opportunities through its state-of-the-art facilities and world-leading experts in infectious diseases and immunity. The University of Melbourne’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology delivers specialised courses in bacteriology, virology and immunology along with more generalist infection and immunity subjects.
Indigenous Australians are widely affected by a disproportionate health burden from infectious diseases. The Doherty Institute is focused on collaborating with other Australian organisations to address this major issue.
The Doherty Institute aims to develop, integrate and utilise computational sciencesacross microbial genomics, multi-omics, epidemiology, diagnostics, clinical studies and services, to maximise discoveries from complex data sets and inform treatments. Genomics is pivotal to supporting and enhancing ongoing public health activities at both national and international levels, including disease surveillance, outbreak response and antibiotic resistance tracking.