How Melbourne became a global leader in biomedical research, and where to from here?

Drinks with Professor Sharon Lewin & Professor Ken Smith

Hosted by Professor Vin Massaro

Melbourne is now arguably Australia’s preeminent centre for biomedical research, with several research institutes located in the Parkville Precinct, including the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity. The research centres are located near major tertiary hospitals to facilitate translational research. We are very fortunate to have the Directors of two of the institutes, Professor Sharon Lewin from the Doherty Institute and Professor Ken Smith from WEHI join us to discuss some of the major current research and the breakthroughs their Institutes have achieved, as well the impact of those activities. They will explain how we came to this point, what the future holds and how we can ensure the future of our preeminence in biomedical research.

Professor Sharon Lewin is the inaugural Director of the Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and the Director of the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics. She is an infectious diseases physician, basic scientist and the Immediate Past President of the International AIDS Society (IAS). She has authored over 360 publications and given over 100 major international invited talks on HIV cure. Her research focuses on understanding why HIV persists and finding a cure for HIV infection. Sharon has received numerous awards, including an Order of Australia. She has played a major leadership role in the COVID-19 response in Australia. 

Professor Ken Smith is the 7th Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. He is also the Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Professor and Head of the Department of Medical Biology at the University of Melbourne. He trained in nephrology and clinical immunology in Melbourne and completed his PhD at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute before moving to Cambridge. Until April 2024 Smith was the Head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge and established and directed the Cambridge Institute for Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease. His clinical work focused on renal transplantation, autoimmunity and general medicine. Prof Smith’s research team uncovers fundamental immunological mechanisms underlying immune-mediated disease and immunodeficiency and translates these results into applications of benefit to patients. 

Please join us for our Opening Event of 2026 and hear how Melbourne is leading Australia, if not the world, in biomedical research.