Marcus Butler
9 April 2015: A visit from virology expert associate professor Mark Tompkins from the Department of Infectious Diseases University of Georgia in the United States may have sparked a more regular event for the University of Canberra.
The day-long conference Virology@UC attracted experts from the University, The Australian National University and CSIRO, to share some of the research they are each undertaking.
-
Some of the speakers and attendees at the Virology at UC conference, including Professor Mark Tompkins (eighth from the left) and Dr Reena Ghildyal (third from the right).
The conference was organised by the Director of the Centre for Research in Therapeutic Solutions Reena Ghildyal, with the aim of showcasing the depth and breadth of virology research in the ACT region.
Dr Ghildyal said the virology conference grew from an original plan to host a seminar by Professor Tompkins.
"I met Professor Tompkins at the University of Georgia last year and we had several interesting scientific discussions. When I learned he was planning on visiting Australia, I saw a great opportunity to have him share his work with the University of Canberra.
As she was planning for the seminar, Dr Ghildyal said she realised it was a great opportunity to share what other researchers are doing around Canberra at the same time.
"The University of Canberra has around 10 researchers working on virology, forming two groups, one, lead by Dr Michael Frese, works with the rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus in collaboration with CSIRO and vaccine generation.
"I work with the second virology group and my work is around identifying the molecular mechanisms that underlie viral disease so that we can develop therapeutics to limit it, currently I am working
Professor Tompkins spoke about his field of study, the influenza virus and targeting the virus and host for prevention and treatment of infection.
Other speakers throughout the day included Dr Frese and PhD candidate Nadya Urakova from the University of Canberra , along with the ANU's associate professor David Tscharke and CSIRO's Dr Tanja Strive.
Dr Ghildyal said there are not many researchers in virology in Canberra, but there are many opportunities in the sector.
"There's a vacuum in virology in Canberra and the University of Canberra has a great opportunity to step-up to a leadership role in this area.
"I hope that the Virology@UC conference will become a more regular event allowing local researchers to gauge their work against their colleagues in the ACT region. I hope that it may also foster and strengthen some useful collaboration between our local institutions," she said.
