The 2026 VIIN Careers Evening will take place on Thursday 16 July 2026, from 5.30pm – 8.30pm, at the Alfred Innovation & Education Hub in Melbourne.

Thank you to Alfred Health & Burnet Institute for hosting this year’s event!

An opportunity for students, research assistants, and postdoctoral early- and mid-career researchers to hear about alternative career paths, with a fantastic panel of speakers ready to share their insights and experiences with you all. All Victorian Infection and Immunity researchers and students are invited to attend. Drinks and finger food will be provided.

Download the event flyer here

We are delighted to announce our 2026 guest speakers!

Speakers and Program:

• Dr Angela Nguyen – Senior Scientist, CSL Seqirus
• Dr Alice West – Biotechnology Patent Examiner, IP Australia
• Dr Hamish McWilliam – Principal Scientist, Proxima Bio
• Prof Kaylene Simpson – Head, Victorian Centre for Functional Genomics
• Calum McConville – Investment Manager, Tin Alley Ventures

Program includes presentations and Q&A Panel with audience, followed by networking with refreshments.

Registrations now open!

Register here (via TryBooking): https://www.trybooking.com/DMSOX

Registration will close at 11:59PM AEST on Monday 6 July 2026. Don’t miss out!

Ticket prices:

• VIIN Contributing Members – Student, $10
• VIIN Contributing Members – ECR* or Research Assistant, $25
• VIIN Contributing Members – Other career stages, $40
• External (Non VIIN Member), $40
• “Lab” Group (includes four attendees), $80

*For the purposes of this event, an Early Career Researcher (ECR) is defined as an individual who is within 5 years of their PhD award date, while a Mid-Career Researcher (MCR) is defined as an individual who is between 5 and 10 years of their PhD award date. All career stage definitions are considered with allowance for career disruptions and relative to opportunity.

See TryBooking page for full ticket descriptions.

Sponsors

Thank you to our 2026 Gold Sponsors, QIAGEN and Millennium Science, for supporting this event!

Sponsor and Exhibitor opportunities are still available for this event. If you would like the opportunity to promote your company to VIIN members, please contact the VIIN Project Officer at [email protected] to receive our 2026 Sponsorship Prospectus.

Sub-Committee

Dr Isabelle Foo, Doherty Institute & University of Melbourne

Dr Paul Gill, Department of Immunology, Monash University

Dr Kitty McCaffrey, Hudson Institute of Medical Research

Dr Damian Oyong, Burnet Institute

Dr Kayla Wilson, Doherty Institute & University of Melbourne

Madeleine Wemyss, VIIN Project Officer