The Burnet Institute is an Australian medical

institute An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

that combines medical research in the laboratory and the field, with

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

action to address major health issues affecting disadvantaged communities in Australia, and internationally. As of 2011, the institute was home to more than 450 medical researchers, working across six main themes: infectious diseases; maternal and child health; sexual and reproductive health; alcohol and other drugs harm reduction; immunity, vaccines and immunisation; and the health of young people. With a head office located in Commercial Road,

Prahran Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Prahran recorded a po ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, the institute delivers public health programs across four continents including

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

, and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and is led by its director and chief executive officer, Professor Brendan Crabb , an immunologist.

Current research

Burnet Institute has particular expertise in infectious diseases (especially HIV, hepatitis viruses, influenza and malaria) and in understanding the immune responses to these infections. Their work also focuses on sexual health, drug and alcohol use, both in risky behaviours associated with infectious diseases and as major health problems in their own right. Translating new knowledge into tangible and practical health outcomes is also a major focus of the institute. The Institute grew out of the Queen's Memorial Infectious Disease Hospital, Fairfield Hospital and was founded in 1986, named in honour of Sir

Frank Macfarlane Burnet Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, (3 September 1899 – 31 August 1985), usually known as Macfarlane or Mac Burnet, was an Australian virologist known for his contributions to immunology. He won a Nobel Prize in 1960 for predicting acquired immune ...

as the Macfarlane Burnet Centre for Medical Research, Burnet was a

Laureate In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or military glory. It is also used for recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, the Student Peace Prize, and for former music direc ...

of the 1960

Nobel Prize for Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, according ...

. The institute's official name is the Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health, more commonly known as the Burnet Institute. In 2002, the Austin Research Institute merged with the Burnet Institute.

References

External links

Burnet InstituteGlobal Health Gateway
{{Authority control Research institutes established in 1986 1986 establishments in Australia Burnet University of Melbourne Monash University

Current research

See also

References

External links