On Friday 14 November 2025, the VIIN Young Investigator Symposium is back for another stellar showcase of emerging talent!

In 2025, we are again delighted to be holding the YIS at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS). We thank MIPS for their kind support in hosting us.

The purpose of the Young Investigator Symposium is to provide students, RAs and postdocs a forum for networking, career development and scientific exchange. We hope it will provide you with an opportunity to keep in touch with colleagues, present your research, and develop your CVs.

The day features keynote speakers, oral presentations and rapid fire (science bite) talks, two poster sessions, morning and afternoon teas, lunch, tea and coffee, and networking and nibbles to conclude the day. All presenters will be offered a poster or talk and have the opportunity to win a prize, including the prestigious Hartland Oration Prize, for their work.

All welcome – undergraduate and post-graduate students, research assistants, post-doctoral scientists from academia and industry. Mid-career researchers and research group leaders are encouraged to attend and support their students or colleagues. We hope to see you all there!

Download a copy of the YIS 2025 event flyer here

Pictured above, YIS 2025 Prize Winners together with VIIN Co-Convenors Prof Richard Ferrero and Prof Gilda Tachedjian.

Back (L-R): Prof Richard Ferrero (Co-Convenor), Laura Rickard-Bell, Stephanie Penning, Alison White, Hisham Shakir, Tejas Menon, Le Wang, Mitchell Trickey, Thomas McLean, Prof Gilda Tachedjian (Co-Convenor).
Front (L-R): Rachael Yong, Georgia Dow, Karan Singh, Teresa Nguyen, Pailene Lim, Holly Fryer. Not pictured: Deborah Gebregzabher.

Congratulations to our 2025 Prize Winners:

Prizes for Best Oral Presentations

ECR: The winner of this prize receives an invitation to present the Hartland Oration at the Lorne Infection and Immunity conference in 2026. 

Winner – ECR: Dr Thomas McLean, Infection and Global Health Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research: “Structural basis of DNA sliding clamp-mediated long-range gene silencing on a multi-drug resistance plasmid”

Runner-Up – ECR: Dr Mitchell Trickey, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS), Monash University: “The voltage dependent ion channel is an essential mitochondrial protein in malaria parasites”

Student or RA: The winner of this prize receives support to attend and present at the Lorne Infection and Immunity conference in 2026. 

Winner – Student or RA: Deborah Gebregzabher, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne: “Defining how macrophages drive OLAH-mediated life-threatening influenza disease”

Runner-Up – Student or RA: Holly Fryer, Department of Immunology, Monash University: “Memory B cells and plasmablasts expand following experimental infection with Streptococcus pyogenes in humans”

Best Science Bites (Sponsored by BMG Labtech)

Winner: Pailene Lim, Infection and Global Health, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research: “PfPTRAMP-CSS as a multi-stage malaria vaccine target”

Runner-Up: Tejas Menon, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne: “Defining molecular gene profiles that underpin superior antiviral CD8+ T cell immunity in nonagenarians and centenarians”

Runner-Up: Theresa Nguyen, Department of Immunology, Monash University: “Decoding chronic urinary tract infections: A predictive multi-omic trio of bladder transcriptomics, urinary metabolomics, and the gut microbiome”

Best Poster (Sponsored by BMG Labtech)

Winner: Karan Singh, Infection and Global Health, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research: “Role of Ubiquitination in Toxoplasma Differentiation”

Runner-Up: Stephanie Penning, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science (LIMS), La Trobe University: “Structural Insights into KvrA: A MarR Homologue that Senses and Responds to Copper Stress”

Runner-Up: Alison White, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne: “Crohn’s associated invariant T cells recognise small benzofuran-sulfonate molecules with self-lipids on CD1d”

People’s Choice Awards

Best Oral Presentation (Sponsored by Biocomm Squared): Le Wang, Infection and Global Health, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research: “Pro-apoptotic Agents Reduce Chronic HIV Infection in vivo”

Best Science Bite: Hisham Shakir, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne: “Harnessing MR1 Antigen Presentation with a Ligand-Restricted Nanobody for Immune Manipulation”

Best Poster: Rachael Yong, Life Sciences, Burnet Institute & School of Medicine, Deakin University: “Predicting the impact of antimalarial resistance in West African parasites”

Best Question (Sponsored by BMG Labtech)

Georgia Dow, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science (LIMS), La Trobe University
Laura Rickard-Bell, Burnet Institute

2025 Organising Committee:

Dr Aaron Brice (Co-Chair), Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness CSIRO

Dr Stella Liong (Co-Chair), Centre for Respiratory Science and Health, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University

Dr Thomas Angelovich, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University

Dr Sarah Ashley, Infection, Immunity and Global Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI)

Dr Marine Besnard, Centre for Inflammatory Diseases, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University

Dr Dimitra Chatzileontiadou, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science (LIMS), La Trobe University

Dr Sandra Chishimba, Burnet Institute

Dr Michelle Chonwerawong, Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases, Hudson Institute of Medical Research

Dr Sam Davis, Immune Resilience Future Science Platform, CSIRO

Dr Emily Eriksson, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Dr Isabelle Foo, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne

Dr Paul Gill, Department of Immunology, Alfred Hospital, Monash University

Dr Robson Kriiger Loterio, Burnet Institute

Dr Kevin Lee, Department of Medicine, Royal Melbourne Hospital and University of Melbourne

Dr Christophe Macri, Bio21 Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne

Dr Kitty McCaffrey, Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases, Hudson Institute of Medical Research

Dr Damian Oyong, Life Sciences Discipline (Disease Elimination), Burnet Institute

Dr Louis Perriman, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute (FECRI)

Dr Ashleigh Rogers, Department of Microbiology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University

Dr Sampa Sarkar, School of Science, RMIT University

Dr Natalia Sampaio, Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases, Hudson Institute of Medical Research

Dr Simona Seizova, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Dr Helen Stölting, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University

Dr Isabella Stuart, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne

Dr Caroline Soliman, Biopharmaceutical Product Development (R&D), CSL Innovation, University of Melbourne

Dr Praveena Thirunavukkarasu, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University

Dr Ryan Toh, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI)

Dr Naveen Vankadari, Bio21 Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne

Dr Kayla Wilson, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne

Dr Jinxin Zhao, Department of Microbiology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University

Madeleine Wemyss, VIIN Project Officer