Anthony Cunningham Australian Society for Microbiology Annual Scientific Meeting 2019

Anthony Cunningham

Professor Anthony Cunningham, AO, FAHMS MD, MBBS, BMedSci (Hons), FRACP, FRCPA, FASM, FRNS Professor Tony Cunningham AO is Director of the Centre for Virus Research at Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Professor, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Vaccine Theme Leader, Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute at the University of Sydney, and an NHMRC Senior Leadership Fellow. Since 2003 he has been Director of the Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis Virology Research (ACH4), a Commonwealth Government-funded institute that aims to combat the impact of HIV and hepatitis in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region by bringing together basic researchers with translational scientists and physicians. He trained in infectious diseases, clinical virology and virology research at the University of Melbourne and as a postdoctoral fellow in infectious diseases at Stanford University. His major research interests are in HIV and Herpesviruses (mainly Herpes simplex virus) biology and immunology, especially in relation to the development of microbicides and vaccines, now extending skills to COVID vaccine research. He is one of the three top cited herpes vaccinologists internationally over the past 10 years (Expertscape 2024). His most recent research focuses on the mechanism of action of adjuvanted protein and RNA vaccines in human lymph node explants. Tony has published more than 470 papers, with more than 31,000 citations, H index 94. He has also played a leading international role in elucidating HIV interactions with macrophages, as reservoirs, and with dendritic cells as an initial target cell following transmission. His group has also made numerous key contributions to HSV immunology which has led to the development and trialling of a partially successful HSV vaccine candidate by GlaxoSmithKline. He and his colleagues also pioneered the study of anterograde transport of herpes simplex virus in neuronal axons in vitro in 1994, and have made major contributions in understanding the mechanisms since. He has participated in numerous international roundtables and often consults for global pharma on antivirals and vaccines In 2010, Tony was made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for “service to medicine, particularly in the field of viral research and through the development and leadership of medical and biomedical research”.