WEHI - Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

02/06/2026

The WEHI-China Health Research Network will bring together leading and emerging researchers across Australia and Asia to deepen collaboration, share expertise and accelerate progress on some of the region’s most pressing health challenges.

Over the next four years, the initiative will support joint symposia across Hong Kong, Hangzhou, Beijing and Melbourne, alongside a competitive PhD exchange program to help train the next generation of biomedical leaders.

By strengthening connections between scientists, institutions and ideas, the network aims to build enduring partnerships that translate discovery into better health outcomes.

Thank you to the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations 澳中基金会 for supporting this important initiative.

Read more: https://www.wehi.edu.au/news/australia-china-network-set-to-advance-collaborative-biomedical-research/

01/06/2026

We’re excited to share Dr Charis Teh has been named an inaugural Senior Galli Fellow 👏 👏

The Fellowship will support her research aiming to understand how heat and environmental stress re-wire our immune cells, disrupting how they function and influencing the body’s ability to fight infections, autoimmune disease and cancer.

By revealing these effects, her work aims to guide new ways to protect human health in a rapidly warming, more polluted world.

“This Fellowship is so special. It backs a bold, slightly unconventional idea that could have real impact.”
– Dr Teh.

The University of Melbourne

https://www.wehi.edu.au/news/fellowship-strengthens-research-into-climate-change-and-immune-health/

26/05/2026

Inclusion body myositis (IBM) is a rare muscle disease that slowly takes away strength and independence. Right now, there’s no treatment that can stop it.

A new collaboration with the Snow Centre, in partnership with the Snow Medical Research Foundation, and The Royal Melbourne Hospital Rheumatologist, Dr Jessica Day. The aim is to create a powerful research platform that can help researchers understand IBM better and speed up the search for effective therapies.

By using advanced technology to understand the disease more clearly and spot early signs of whether a treatment is working, we hope to bring new hope to people living with IBM.

Read more: https://www.wehi.edu.au/news/new-research-offers-hope-to-people-living-with-a-life-altering-muscle-condition/

20/05/2026

A prestigious and richly-deserved accolade for an immunology star: congratulations to Professor Laura Mackay FAHMS on being elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.

Prof Mackay, the first Sir Gustav Nossal Professor of Immunology at WEHI, has helped transform understanding of tissue-resident memory T cells, opening new treatment avenues for a range of diseases.

Every year the AAS elects Fellows from among the nation’s most distinguished scientists. Bravo Prof Mackay on joining them.

Prof Mackay recently joined WEHI from The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity where she has led a laboratory for the past decade. She continues to hold a joint appointment at the Doherty Institute.

https://www.wehi.edu.au/news/leading-immunologist-elected-fellow-of-the-australian-academy-of-science/

20/05/2026

🎉 Celebrating excellence at WEHI 🎉

From breakthrough discoveries to emerging talent, our 2026 Annual General Meeting was a chance to recognise some of the WEHI people making their mark in medical research.

Congratulations to recipients of these prestigious research prizes and scholarships:

🔹Burnet Prize
Recognising early-career scientists delivering pioneering research, this year’s Burnet Prize was awarded to Dr Sylvie Callegari for her outstanding work on the structure and mechanism of human PINK1, a protein directly linked to Parkinson’s disease.

🔹Professor Lynn Corcoran PhD Prize
Awarded to the student with the best PhD thesis this year’s prize went to Dr Shene Chiou for her research on necroptosis signalling in mouse models of disease.

🔹Metcalf Scholarships
We were delighted to award eight Metcalf Scholarships to these exceptional undergraduate students: Reuben Andradec, Jimena Espinoza Girao, Richie Huang, Caleb Xia, Gianna Zheng, Soyal James, Evonne Lu and Alexander Pacnik.

A big congrats to all our winners!

📸 Image one: Burnet Prize winner, Dr Sylvie Callegari

📸 Image two: Professor Lynn Corcoran PhD Prize winner, Dr Shene Chiou

📸 Image three: L-R WEHI Director Professor Ken Smith, Jimena Espinoza Girao, Penelope Metcalf, Reuben Andradec, Joanna Metcalf, Gianna Zheng, Kate Metcalf, Caleb Xiao, WEHI President John Dyson and Richie Huang

19/05/2026

Congratulations to our biomedical animator extraordinaire, Dr Drew Berry, who has been inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Victoria.

For over three decades, he has been blending cinematic storytelling with scientific accuracy to illuminate the hidden molecular and cellular worlds within the human body.

Beyond educational materials, Dr Berry also creates public art productions. He’s won a BAFTA and an Emmy, and even created a music video for musician Björk’s song ‘Hollow’ which explores her ancestry and her connection to the past.

Read the story: https://www.wehi.edu.au/news/royal-society-of-victoria-honours-for-wehi-biomedical-animator/

Björk ‘Hollow’ music video: https://youtu.be/Wa1A0pPc-ik?si=NIyaHnPcysr9kl9e

download the app: http://bitly.com/biophiliaappwritten by björk director: drew berryproducer: max whitby, touch press2011 wellhart ltd / one little indian lt...

14/05/2026

What gets PhD student Jhobert Bernal out of bed in the morning? The chance to make a real difference in people’s lives.

In JB’s words:

“I’m a PhD student working on an international research collaboration aiming to eliminate malaria in the Philippines by 2030.

“Most of the work is in the field, collecting samples and interviewing people to identify if there is still residual malaria in their communities. We process the results at WEHI and I help analyse the data we gather.

"As someone who has spent a lot of time collecting samples and gathering research data, I've met a lot of people whose lives are deeply affected by different diseases. It’s incredibly rewarding knowing that I can genuinely help improve their lives and that their circumstances can change for the better.”

Jhobert Bernal is a PhD student researching the less common and under-recognised malaria species Plasmodium malariae and contributing to an international malaria detection study in the Philippines.

13/05/2026

Ever wondered what hiccups are? Or whether a voice transplant is possible?

𝘜𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 might just be the podcast for you.

Launched by Dr Sarah Holper - a neurologist and WEHI alum - this podcast takes a fascinating deep dive into our body’s features, flaws and sometimes questionable design choices.

Dr Holper recently completed her PhD at WEHI where she investigated plasma biomarkers of tau dysregulation, neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease, helping to improve diagnostic and prognostic precision.

She brings that same scientific rigour and passion to her bite-sized podcast episodes designed to spark your curiosity – and explore the questions you didn’t know you had.

🎧 Listen now:

Listen to wherever you get your podcasts!

12/05/2026

“It’s such an exciting time for cancer immunotherapy, because I really feel like we’ve just scratched the surface on what’s possible,” says Professor Misty Jenkins AO.

WEHI’s Professor Jenkins explains to the Guardian Australia about the potential of CAR T-cell therapy and the need to build local expertise and infrastructure to bring these breakthroughs to more patients.

After embarking on a trial of CAR T-cell therapy, actor Sam Neill announced he is cancer-free. Researchers are enthusiastic the therapies could be a major weapon in the battle against cancer

12/05/2026

Join WEHI’s Dr Sylvie Callegari online tomorrow for the latest Ask The Expert session from Fight Parkinson's, exploring how mitochondrial function and ubiquitin are linked to Parkinson’s disease and what this research could mean for future treatments.

📅 Wednesday 13 May, 5:30pm AEST

Further details below 👇

Join us for our next Ask the Expert session on Wednesday 13 May, where Dr Sylvie Callegari will guide us through current research exploring the role of mitochondrial function and ubiquitin in Parkinson’s.

This free online session will unpack how this research connects to Parkinson’s, what it may mean for future treatments, and how to recognise research that is credible and evidence‑based. Dr Callegari will also touch on common questions people have when searching for information online and how this compares with specialist medical advice.

The session runs from 5:30pm to 6:30pm (AEST) via Microsoft Teams and is open to anyone who would like to learn more.

Find out more and register here:
https://www.fightparkinsons.org.au/event/parkinsons-research-webinar-mitochondria/