Principal Investigators
Principal Investigator
Associate Professor Jody Peters
I began my career in industry with AGEN Biomedical, where I spent nearly a decade working across manufacturing, product development and research. This experience gave me a strong foundation in translating science into practical diagnostic tools.
I completed my PhD in 2010 with the Australian Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre for Emerging Infectious Disease and am now an Associate Professor at The University of Queensland. My research focuses on mosquito-borne virus discovery and the development of innovative vaccine and diagnostic platforms.
I have helped uncover and characterise multiple new mosquito-associated viruses and developed high-throughput, antigen-independent assays and monoclonal antibody panels to support virus discovery.
More recently, my work harnesses insect-specific viruses to design safe, next-generation vaccines and diagnostics for pathogenic viruses, translating fundamental virology into practical public health solutions.
Principal Investigator
Emeritus Professor Roy Hall
I completed my BSc (Hons) at The University of Queensland and began my research career working on mosquito-borne viruses, later undertaking a PhD through James Cook University.
After several years at The University of Western Australia, I returned to UQ in 1995 and am now Emeritus Professor of Virology and a founding member of the Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre.
My research has focused on understanding the structure and function of flavivirus proteins and how they contribute to viral pathogenesis, with the goal of identifying targets for antivirals, vaccines and diagnostics. This work spans globally important pathogens, including Zika virus, West Nile virus and Chikungunya virus.
A parallel theme of my research is viral ecology and epidemiology, including the isolation and genetic characterisation of new arthropod-borne viruses in Australia. These studies have driven the development of improved surveillance strategies, novel diagnostic reagents and recombinant platforms for producing safe and effective vaccines.
