Infection and Immunity

In this bonus episode of Off Script , we examine the evolving state of global pandemic preparedness. In 2025, World Health Organization Member States adopted the first-ever Pandemic Agreement. However, a critical component — the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system — remains unresolved, with negotiations ongoing. With next week’s World Health Assembly in Geneva set t...

Off Script Episode 5: The Future We Could Have Off Script is brought to you by the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics. Episode Summary In the final episode of this five-part series, we imagine the pandemic future we could have if we start preparing now. With therapeutic drugs ready before the next pandemic hits, we could keep more people out of hospital, help economies stay resilient,...

Off Script Episode 4: Global Health Equity Off Script is brought to you by the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics. Episode Summary The COVID-19 pandemic hit many developing countries especially hard, overwhelming already stretched health systems while devastating tourism-dependent economies. Looking ahead, widely available therapeutics could be game-changers – keeping people out...

Off Script Episode 3: The mRNA Revolution Off Script is brought to you by the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics. Episode Summary mRNA technology isn't just about vaccines – it's a platform that could revolutionise pandemic therapeutics. Discover how Melbourne has become a global leader in mRNA research, from the government strategy positioning Victoria as a biotech powerhouse t...

Off Script Episode 2: Australia's Moonshot Off Script is brought to you by the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics. Episode Summary Australia has a history of punching above its weight in medical research – from the cervical cancer vaccine to the bionic ear. Now we’re on the brink of our next breakthrough: pandemic therapeutics. Go behind the scenes with the politicians bac...

Off Script Episode 1 – The Missing Piece Off Script is brought to you by the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics. Episode Summary: While Australia's COVID-19 response was among the world's best, there was one critical gap in our pandemic toolkit: therapeutics. In this eye-opening first episode, we explore the missing piece that could have saved millions of lives and discover...

Off Script is a podcast hosted by science communicator Dr. Matt Agnew and produced by the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics, part of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute). The five-part series explores one of the most important questions in global health: How do we prepare for the next pandemic? And – how could therapeutic dru...

World Hepatitis Day, observed annually on 28 July, is just around the corner and aims to raise awareness of the virus that’s responsible for more than one million deaths a year. But what is hepatitis and what’s the difference between strains A-E? What are researchers doing to find a cure for the most common strain, hepatitis B? Discover answers to these questions and more from Professor Peter Revi...

Post infection disease is a term that has become more familiar to many more of us following the COVID-19 pandemic. How do we diagnose and treat post infection disease, like Long COVID? And how to we add this aspect to our future pandemic preparedness? Learn more about common symptoms, at-risk groups and more from Long COVID expert Professor Lena Sanci, Head of the Department of General Practice an...

With COVID-19 being described as an endemic infection, we are now very much living with the virus. As we approach the Winter months in Australia, where are we at with case numbers? When is the correct time to get a your booster vaccination for COVID-19? And how effective are antiviral treatments? To give us an update on COVID-19, we're joined by Professor Ben Cowie, an infectious diseases physicia...

Monday, 20 May marked International Clinical Trials Day, which recognises the anniversary of the first controlled clinical trial conducted back in 1747. So why are clinical trials important when it comes to advancing therapeutics and vaccines? Are clinical trials safe? What's involved if you participate in a trial? We learn more from infectious diseases physician and clinician scientist, Professor...

Influenza B viruses are often overlooked but can cause significant illness and mortality, especially in children. Little is known about how the immune system interacts with these viruses, however a recent breakthrough by researchers at the Doherty Institute may revolutionise how we are protected against influenza B and for longer periods. Tejas Menon, co-author of the recent discovery and PhD Cand...

Does your immune system remember viruses you've previously been infected with? Do your genetics play a role in your immune system? Can you boost immunity with certain foods or vitamins? Ahead of the International Day of Immunology (April 29) we chat with Nobel Laureate Professor Peter Doherty to answer these questions and more, unravelling the complexities and exploring the wonders of our body's l...

We’re just a couple of weeks away from May, which marks the official start of the influenza season in Australia. So what can we expect from the upcoming flu season and when is the best time to get your annual flu vaccine?  Learn more about flu vaccination, virus variants and current influenza surveillance from Virologist and Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Refere...

This week Doherty Clinical Trials Ltd, Australia’s first purpose-built facility specifically commissioned to deliver volunteer infection studies, was officially opened by the Victorian Minister for Medical Research, The Honourable Ben Carroll MP. Doherty Clinical Trials has been established by the Doherty Institute to accelerate the development of novel medicines and vaccines through bespoke early...

From protecting local communities to safeguarding global health, vaccines have been transforming public health for over 200 years. According to the World Health Organization, between 3.5 and 5 million lives are saved every year thanks to vaccines, which help protect us from diseases such diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza and measles. Professor Arup Chakraborty, a luminary from the Massachu...

Despite being vaccine-preventable, outbreaks of measles are currently occurring in every region of the world, with many countries reporting their first case in years. In Australia, the disease was considered eliminated in 2014, but a series of imported case alerts begs the question – do we need to be concerned? To shed some light on the situation where we're seeing cases of measles on the rise glo...

Legionnaires’ disease made headlines in Australia at the beginning of the year due to an outbreak of the lung infection in Sydney’s city centre. Fundamental to effective Legionnaires’ disease outbreak control is the ability to rapidly identify the environmental sources of the causative bacteria,  Legionella pneumophila.  Could artificial intelligence be the answer? Dr. Andrew Buultjens is the lead...

Numbers of Buruli ulcer cases have been increasing to between 200-340 cases per year since 2017, with 363 cases diagnosed in Victoria during 2023 alone.  Mornington Peninsula resident, Ella Crofts, who contracted a Buruli ulcer at age 13 back in 2017 joins the episode with a unique story to tell. Shownotes Listen to our previous episode on Buruli ulcer with Professor Tim Stinear. Buruli ulcer part...

The debilitating ‘flesh-eating’ infection that is Buruli ulcer has captivated Victorians in particular over the last 10 years or so, due to its increasing incidence in the state. Mosquitoes have been considered likely to be involved in transmission of the bacteria, Mycobacterium ulcerans , conclusive evidence about how humans get infected has been elusive, until now. University of Melbourne Profes...

While much of our attention has been on COVID-19 over the last few years, another pandemic has reeked havoc on more than 200 species of wild birds. The spread of H5N1 or bird flu as its more commonly known, to migrating birds has seen substantial outbreaks occur in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and South America. As this podcast goes to air, there’s been at least one suspected case in Antarc...

We're joined by multi-award winning journalists, Aisha Dow and Melissa Cunningham, to chat about their new book Life As We Knew It. The book tells the gripping inside account of Australia’s extraordinary pandemic story. It has been described by our very own Peter Doherty as a “Terrific account of Australia’s outstanding political and public health response to COVID-19.” He says: “We all lived thro...

In a major coup for the Doherty Institute and the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, our two COVID-19 vaccines went head to head in a Phase 1 clinical trial in 2022. The interim results have just been published in the Lancet’s eBioMedicine journal and found that both have strong potential to be an improved approach for boosting immunity to SARS-CoV-2 variants. In this episode we unpack t...

Our immune system is made up of many types of cells. Many people will have heard of T cells that fight infection, but did you know there are many different subsets of T cells? In this episode we're talking all things tissue-resident memory T cells with the author of a new study that has found new ways to remove immune cells that cause skin autoimmune diseases, like psoriasis and vitiligo, without...

Antimicrobial resistance has consistently been named by the World Health Organization as one of the top 10 global health threats, with current estimates of over 700,000 deaths per year due to antimicrobial resistance, expecting to reach 10 million by 2050. Antimicrobials refer to a category of medicines used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals and plants including antibiotics, antiv...