2017 Laureate Profile: Professor Edward Holmes

Professor Edward Holmes

Administering Organisation: The University of Sydney
Discipline Area: Biological Sciences and Biotechnology

Fellowship project summary

Redefining virus ecology and evolution (FL170100022)

This project aims to employ novel genomic analyses of viruses from Australian fauna to resolve major questions in RNA virus ecology and evolution, and is expected to reveal the basic processes that shape the virosphere, determine how viruses jump species to emerge and cause disease in new hosts, and how viruses evolve new levels of virulence. The research will provide a new understanding of how viruses evolve and contribute to global ecosystems and develop new bioinformatics tools to identify and analyse highly divergent genome sequences through studying meta-transcriptomic data from diverse animal phyla, from prokaryotes and basal eukaryotes, from iconic native mammalian species and their major invasive pests. The benefits provided will include determining the viromes of native and invasive species and enhancing the efforts to protect iconic Australian species from infectious disease.

Australian Research Council funding: $3,402,903

About Professor Holmes

Professor Edward Holmes is a Professor in Biology and Medicine at The University of Sydney. He is internationally recognised for his work on the emergence, evolution and spread of infectious diseases. Professor Holmes has studied the emergence and spread of the avian influenza virus, HIV, dengue virus, hepatitis C virus, myxoma virus, rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus and the plague bacterium. He was awarded an Australia Fellowship by the National Health and Medical Research Council in 2011 and is a Fellow of The Royal Society (2017) and Australian Academy of Science (2015). Professor Holmes’ previous appointments include Verne M. Willaman Chair in the Life Sciences and Eberly College of Science Distinguished Senior Scholar (2007–2012) at the Pennsylvania State University, USA, and Affiliate Member of the Fogarty International Centre (2005–2012), National Institutes of Health, USA. From 1999–2004 he was Fellow of New College, Oxford.

Find out more about Professor Holmes and his research by visiting his profile page on The University of Sydney website.

For further information about this funding scheme, please visit the Australian Laureate Fellowships scheme page on the ARC website.