The Kirby Institute has been at the forefront of HIV and hepatitis research in Australia since the beginning of the epidemics.
Our bench scientists are responsible for seminal findings that have contributed to the understanding of how these viruses function and interact with the host, and this has informed clinical practice nationally and worldwide.
We have active partnerships with many basic science and clinical research groups across the globe, including a range of collaborations with clinical centres and laboratories in Thailand and growing collaborations with Papua New Guinea. We have an especially strong connection to the department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at St Vincent’s Hospital, fostering the bench to bedside approach for which the Kirby Institute is renowned.
Our world-class laboratory facilities are fully equipped to conduct research with contagious pathogens and we have the only lab on the UNSW campus with a biosafety containment level 3 (PC3) rating. The techniques used in our laboratories span from basic cell biology and cell culture to high-resolution microscopy, the entire range of molecular biology techniques including massive parallel sequencing and advanced flow cytometry. Our experienced laboratory team conducts research using laboratory models of HIV and hepatitis C infection and samples directly derived from patients enrolled in clinical or pathogenesis studies.
If you are interested in this area of research and want to learn about potential supervisors, the following Kirby programs are a good place to start:
