2026 Derrick Mackerras Memorial Lecture
QIMR Berghofer, 300 Herston Rd, Herston
Presented by Emeritus Professor Paul Young
2020 Hindsight: Lessons from the frontline of a pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic presented an unprecedented challenge to science, public health and society, demanding extraordinary efforts from individuals, research teams, institutions, industry, governments and the general public. Drawing on personal experiences from the frontline of Australia’s vaccine research and development response, this presentation reflects on the lessons learned from navigating a crisis in which the science, the expectations and the circumstances were constantly evolving.
How do we translate the lessons of this extraordinary period into stronger partnerships, more resilient research systems and better preparedness for the next pandemic?
Professor Paul Young
Paul Young is Emeritus Professor of Virology at The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. He gained his PhD from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and joined the University of Queensland in 1991.
For more than 45 years his group has contributed significantly in the areas of diagnostics, vaccine and antiviral development as well as towards a greater understanding of the basis of severe viral disease.
With colleagues at UQ, he co-led an Australian consortium that developed a COVID-19 vaccine in early 2020, based on an innovative platform technology created at UQ, the Molecular Clamp.
Professor Young is President-elect of the International Union of Microbiological Societies, is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and the Queensland Academy of the Arts and Sciences and has been the President of the Australian Society for Microbiology (2012-2014), the Australasian Virology Society (2001-2011) and the Asia-Pacific Society for Medical Virology (2012-2015).