Responding to COVID-19


In October 2020 the Melbourne Press Club hosted a discussion with two internationally renowned Australian scientists from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Twitter: @TheDohertyInst), discussing the Institute's role at the centre of Australia’s research and public health response to COVID-19. How has Australia’s response compared with the rest of the world? What have we learned so far in the public health, immunology and clinical response to this devastating virus?

Professor Peter Doherty (Twitter: @ProfPCDoherty) shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1996 for his outstanding work on how the immune system recognises virus-infected cells. He has been dedicated to research into infection and immunity for five decades and has published five books aimed at communicating the evidence-based values of science to the broader community. 

Professor Sharon Lewin (Twitter: @ProfSharonLewin) is a leading infectious diseases physician and inaugural director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, a joint venture of the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital. Her research includes efforts to understand why HIV persists on treatment and to develop strategies towards achieving a cure for HIV.

The discussion was moderated by The Age/Sydney Morning Herald science reporter Liam Mannix (Twitter: @liammannix).

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