In the Media: highlights from Microbiology and Immunology December 2021

Our experts from the Dept of Microbiology & Immunology at the Peter Doherty Institute have been at the forefront of COVID-19 breakthrough research and media commentary. Catch up on the latest highlights here.

  • Ben Howden was mentioned in a Herald Sun story about his paper, published in the MJA, on encouraging patients who have been infected and recovered from COVID-19 to still get vaccinated. The story was also picked up on morning radio on 2GB and Courtney Lane was interviewed on SBS.
  • Ben Howden and Norelle Sherry wrote a Q&A for Pursuit about the latest COVID-19 variant, Omicron.
  • Dale Godfrey and Nic Gherardin were co-authors of a paper, published in PNAS, about the recognition of the antigen-presenting molecule MR1 by T cell receptors.
  • Jennifer Juno and Adam Wheatley wrote an explainer for The Conversation on the link between low vaccination rates and new COVID-19 variants like Omicron. The article was republished by The Week UK, Today Online and Health24.
  • Jennifer Juno was interviewed by the ABC for a story, republished on MSN, on why viruses mutate and why variants emerge. She was also quoted in a story for the Indian Sun on vaccines for children.
  • Damian Purcell was quoted in the Australian Financial Review about the national response to Omicron.
  • The MIPS mRNA COVID vaccine candidate being ready for clinical trials featuring Terry Nolan and Damian Purcell was in BiospectrumAsia.
  • Deborah Williamson and Kanta Subbarao were interviewed by The Age about the Omicron variant.
  • Marios Koustakos was named in AAP and Mirage News as one of the 2021 Victoria Fellowship recipients. Marios was also referenced in The Wall Street Journal about the possible disappearance of one of the four main strains of flu that infect humans.
  • Our researchers were co-authors of a paper, published in The Lancet, about the lateral flow POC test that can measure levels of RBD-ACE2 neutralising antibody (NAb) from whole blood, with a result that can be determined by eye or quantitatively on a small instrument.
  • Peter Doherty was interviewed by political and international editor Peter Hartcher for stories that appeared across all Fairfax media about omicron. He was also referenced in a story about Nobel Prize winners from the ANU newsroom.
  • Simone Park was referenced in a story in The Local about the Premier’s Health Awards.

You can find out more about our research projects and groups in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology here.

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