Centenary Institute

24/07/2025

It's Week 4 of Wellness Works and this week we’re focusing on Connection & Compassion—nurturing our relationships with others and ourselves to build a supportive and empathetic work environment.

Activities included a relaxing Paint & Sip Afternoon and a Puppy Play Session with our People & Culture mascot Nacho! Some great opportunities to take a break and boost the mood.

23/07/2025

A new study - with the Centenary Institute's Executive Director Professor Marc Pellegrini as senior author - has identified that existing HIV drugs can reduce transmission of the HTLV-1 virus in mice, a first step toward possible treatments.

HTLV-1 affects around 10 million people worldwide and currently has no cure or preventative treatment. The virus is especially prevalent in many First Nations communities globally, including in Central Australia.

The study, co-led by WEHI - Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, also explored combining HIV antivirals with a compound that induces death of infected cells, highlighting a potential future strategy to eliminate the virus.

Read more here: https://www.wehi.edu.au/news/study-identifies-world-first-treatments-to-prevent-a-life-threatening-virus-infection/

-1 Cell Press

21/07/2025

Microscope Monday!

This image entitled 'Waves of Positivity' was submitted by Research Assistant Jade Boland in our 2020 'When Art Meets Science' competition.

The description in Jade's words: This picture reminds me of waves crashing on the beach. I thought of changing the colours to make it look more like the ocean, but the original colours were so beautiful where they merge (red plus blue), so I decided not to change it. This is a section from a mouse gallbladder which I used as a positive control for testing new antibodies (in red and green). The stain definitely worked, and that is a positive result to me.

Scientific Description: Immunofluorescence on mouse gallbladder cut from frozen section. Section stained with DAPI (blue nucleus) Gli2 + AF647 (red), and CK19 + AF488 (green). In red you can see the outer lining of the gallbladder, and in green is the mucosal folds within the gallbladder.

18/07/2025

Australia faces continued COVID-19 circulation during winter, with new Omicron subvariants such as XBB.1.5 contributing to infections and hospitalisations. To date, there have been over 115,000 COVID-19 cases reported to the Australian Government’s National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System for 2025.

Researchers at The Centenary Institute and University of Sydney continue to work to combat the virus and have a new COVID-19 vaccine candidate showing strong protection against multiple variants. By targeting features shared by a range of coronaviruses, the vaccine is designed to offer broader and longer-lasting protection as the virus continues to evolve.

A promising new COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by researchers at the Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney has shown strong potential to protect against both current and emerging coronavirus variants. By targeting features shared by a range of coronaviruses, the vaccine is designed....

16/07/2025

Congratulations to Clinical Professor Devanshi Seth, Laboratory Head from our Centre for Healthy Ageing, who has been selected amongst the next cohort of WILD for stem leaders stepping into Board X Observerships — a unique opportunity designed to build boardroom capability and confidence for women and non-binary leaders in STEM.

These placements are more than just observation — they’re about access, influence, and ensuring technical voices are present at decision-making tables. Professor Seth has been paired with the hosting board of Science & Technology Australia .

15/07/2025

Scientists from the Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney have made a landmark discovery that advances scientific understanding of how therapeutic viruses interact with human cells

Published in the leading journal Cell Press, the study identifies a previously unknown gateway into human cells, a receptor called AAVR2, that gene therapy viruses use to deliver therapeutic genes.

“We found that certain AAV types can use this newly identified receptor, AAVR2, to enter cells, providing an alternative to the previously known entry route,” said Dr Bijay Dhungel, lead author of the study and researcher at the Centenary Institute’s Centre for Rare Diseases & Gene Therapy and the University of Sydney.

“We not only identified this new receptor AAVR2 but also discovered how it binds to the viruses that deliver the genes,” said co-senior author Dr Charles (Chuck) Bailey, Head of the Centre for Rare Diseases & Gene Therapy at the Centenary Institute and researcher at the University of Sydney.

The researchers say the findings have important implications for the future of gene therapy, offering new strategies to tailor treatments, lower required doses and potentially avoid immune-related complications that have limited some current approaches.



NSW Health, National Health and Medical Research Council - NHMRC Tour de Cure Australia Sydney Health

Scientists from the Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney have made a landmark discovery that could lead to safer and more effective gene therapies for a range of serious genetic disorders including Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Pompe disease and haemophilia.

14/07/2025

Microscope Monday!

This image entitled 'The Surface of Venus' was submitted by PhD student Cecy Xi in our 2020 Scientific Image Competition.

This is a liver section stained with hematoxylin and eosin. The large circles are fat droplets. Magnification 100x

11/07/2025

It’s week two of Wellness Works at Centenary and this week we focused on managing stress. As part of the program we hosted a transformative 1-hour meditation session with attendees also going into the draw to win a Stress Relief Package. Congratulations to the lucky winner Sarah from our Communications and Marketing team. To continue with our managing stress theme for Wellness Works, we also handed out the ever-popular free squishies this week!

09/07/2025

Congratulations to Dr Chuck Bailey and Dr Mehdi Tabar from Centenary Institute’s Centre for Rare Diseases & Gene Therapy who have secured competitive Pipeline Accelerator Grants from Therapeutic Innovation Australia (TIA), supporting the development of promising medical innovations.

The grants are part of a national scheme designed to accelerate the discovery and translation of health and medical research by subsidising access to advanced research infrastructure across Australia.

Read more: https://www.centenary.org.au/news/centenary-researchers-awarded-tia-pipeline-accelerator-grants/

08/07/2025

To celebrate today we heard from Dr Mitch Gibbs from on blending Traditional Knowledge and Western science to care for Country.

This NAIDOC Week we acknowledge and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. First Nations cultures and histories are the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth, and at Centenary we also celebrate and recognise the First Nations people as the first scientists of this nation.

07/07/2025

Microscope Monday!

This image entitled 'Ice Flower' was submitted by Emma Zhang in our 2020 'When Art Meets Science' image competition.

The image depicts Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria growing in a dish, demonstrating a crystal-like structure, similar to frost formed in a window.

06/07/2025

NAIDOC Week celebrations will be held across Australia from 6-13 July 2025 to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. First Nations cultures and histories are the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth, and at Centenary we also celebrate and recognise the First Nations people as the first scientists of this nation.