Prof Leann Tilley awarded Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor title

Congratulations to Laureate Professor Leann Tilley who has been awarded the Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor title, which recognises and awards outstanding leadership and research in the University and wider communities, and pre-eminence in research, teaching and creative activity.

The prestigious Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor title was established in honour of Sir Redmond Barry's contribution as founder and first Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.

Leann Tilley is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the School of Biomedical Sciences, and Associate Director for the Structural & Cell Biology Theme in the University of Melbourne’s Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute. Her research is in the areas of cell biology and drug development related to the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum.

Professor Tilley has led international research collaborations which have embraced a range of technologies across several disciplines, ranging from molecular parasitology to drug chemistry and the physics of imaging. Her ground breaking research has produced alternative approaches to combat malaria’s emerging resistance to anti-malarial drugs, and included harnessing drug discoveries in the cancer field, for malaria treatments. Recent research has been published in PNAS 2015, PLOS Biology 2015, PNAS 2016, and Nature 2016.

She has served as Deputy Director and Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coherent X-ray Science (CXS) (2006-2014), a Centre which brought physicists, chemists and biologists together to develop fundamentally new approaches to probe biological structures and processes. It received international acclaim for its cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional work and contributions to the development of novel imaging techniques.

Professor Tilley holds a Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship to undertake a “convergence science” approach to research on malaria pathogenesis and drug resistance, and to undertake an ambassadorial role to promote women in research.

Her work has been recognised by the Bancroft-Mackerras Medal awarded by the Australian Society for Parasitology (2010) and the Beckman Coulter Discovery Award from the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2011).

Most recently, a team led by Professor Leann Tilley has reached the finals of the Australia Museum 2016 Eureka Prize and is in the running for the Infectious Diseases Research prize for its work on resistance to artemisinin, the most commonly used frontline malaria treatment.