Our People
A Nobel cause
The Marshall Centre was founded in 2007 to celebrate the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Professor Barry Marshall and Emeritus Professor Robin Warren.
Our vision is to champion ideas and thinking that are nobélisable – worthy of a Nobel Prize – and make the Marshall Centre a renowned infectious diseases centre in Australia and globally.Nobel Laureate Professor Barry Marshall
History
Origins
Marshall and Warren discovered H. pylori and its role as the causative agent of gastritis, peptic and duodenal ulcer disease.
Prior to their work, it was believed that bacteria could not persist in the acid environment of the stomach, and that ulcers were largely due to stress or spicy food.
Leading Infectious Disease Research
Marshall and Warren's discovery was the first step in developing more effective treatments for ulcers and in understanding the causative link between H. pylori and stomach cancer.
In addition to H.pylori, the Marshall Centre is at the forefront of infectious disease identification and surveillance, diagnostics and drug design, and transformative discovery.
Meet Our Team
Directors
Our directors work together to ensure efficient and effective operational management of the centre to achieve its strategic vision, goals and priorities.
Professor Barry Marshall NL
Director Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Training
Division of Infection & Immunity
School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
UWA Brand Ambassador & WA Ambassador for Life Sciences
Professor Barry Marshall is a Nobel Laureate, Clinical Professor and Brand Ambassador at The University of Western Australia (UWA). Professor Marshall (UWA graduate-class of ’74), and Emeritus Professor J Robin Warren were awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. Professor Marshall returned to Perth and UWA in 1996 after a tenure at the University of Virginia.
Today, Professor Marshall is the Director of The Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Training, founded in his honour. In addition to Helicobacter pylori research, the Marshall Centre is at the forefront of infectious disease identification and surveillance, diagnostics and drug design, and transformative discovery. His research has expanded with his group to embrace new technologies including next generation sequencing, and genomic analysis.
Associate Professor Charlene Kahler - Deputy Director
Deputy Director Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Training
Head of Division of Immunity & Infection
School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, UWA
Dr Charlene Kahler completed a Bachelor of Science and PhD in microbiology at the University of Queensland. She completed her post-doctoral studies at Emory University in Atlanta (USA, 1993-1998) and Monash University (1998-2004). In 2005, she moved to The University of Western Australia and established her research group focussed on Neisseria pathogens, N. meningitidis and N. gonorrhoeae. She became the Deputy Director of the Marshall Centre in 2016, the Head of the Department of Infection and Immunity from 2017 and is an executive board member for GenomicsWA.
Advisory Board
Our Advisory Board comprises senior representatives from major research institutions, industry and community sectors. They all give their time voluntarily and work together to guide the overall business of the centre.
CHAIR (to be announced)
Professor Tony Cunningham
Co-Director, Centre for Virus Research,
WIMR; Professor Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney;
Director Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis Virology Research (ACH2)
Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases (Sydney ID)
Chair, NSW/ACT Branch, Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences
NHMRC Leadership Fellow
Professor Anthony (Tony) Cunningham, AO, FAHMS is an infectious diseases physician, clinical virologist and scientist, internationally renowned for his research on the immunobiology of HIV and herpesviruses, his work on vaccine and microbicide development, and as an antivirals expert. He is the Director of the Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis Virology Research (ACH2), a Commonwealth Government-funded institute that aims combat the impact of HIV and hepatitis in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region by bringing together basic researchers with translational scientists and physicians.
Since stepping down from the WIMR director role, Professor Cunningham has continued his research on an NHMRC senior Investigator Grant and become immersed in COVID-19 vaccine development and trialling.
Professor Stephan Schuster
Research Director, SCELSE, Professor at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Professor Schuster is a Research Director and Deputy Director at the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering
(SCELSE), and a professor of Environmental Genomics at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Professor Schuster is a founder of the Genome Asia100K consortium, and acts as its scientific director. Since the mid 1990’s, Schuster, together with collaborators at various academic and commercial international institutions, has demonstrated the transformative impact of genomics on the Life Sciences, in particular through next-generation sequencing technology.
Professor Schuster's expertise lies in developing and implementing sequencing platforms with significant discoveriesinmicrobialandhumanevolution,eukaryotic cell biology and biodiversity.
Professor John Finlay-Jones
Emeritus Professor
Over the past four decades Professor John Finlay-Jones has held positions at Charles Darwin University (Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research, 6 months) Edith Cowan University (Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Research, 10 years), the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research (Assistant Director, 5 years) and Flinders University (School of Medicine, 20 years, and Head of the Faculty of Health Sciences, 5 years).
Professor Finlay-Jones is currently an Emeritus Professor of Flinders University (College of Medicine and Public Health) and an Emeritus Professor of Edith Cowan University. He is a member or chair of several research advisory boards, and a member of the Australian Research Integrity Committee (ARIC).
Professor John Challis
University Professor Emeritus, University of TorontoProfessor John Challis is an experienced health and medical researcher and administrator in University, Research Institute and not-for profit sector; worked primarily in Canada and Australia, served as Chair of Dept Physiology, University of Toronto, Scientific Director, CIHR Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health, Vice President Research and Associate Provost, University of Toronto, President and CEO, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Vancouver BC, Pro-Vice Chancellor Health Sciences, University of Western Australia, Executive Director, WA Health Translation Network. Professor Challis has more than 600 peer publications and articles, H-index 86, trained more than 100 students and postdoctoral fellows; Life member Royal Society of Canada; Fellow, Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, UK, Royal Society of Biology, UK. In 2020, he was appointed Officer in the Order of Canada for his seminal contributions to the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, and to health research and innovation in Canada and abroad.
Professor Jeff Keelan
Head of School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, UWA
Jeff Keelan is Professor of Obstetrics and Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia (UWA, QEII Medical Centre). Originally trained in Auckland in clinical biochemistry and then placental biology, he has made important research contributions in reproductive health, specifically in the areas of placental infection/inflammation, preterm labour & birth, and placental drug transport and metabolism. He is currently leading research into the microbiome in pregnancy and the treatment/prevention of preterm birth.
Professor Keelan is an experienced a graduate student supervisor and mentor and has supervised over 50 research students in his career. He has published almost 200 research articles/reviews which have been cited over 9300 times; his h-index is 54 (Google Scholar, December 2020).
Dr. Richard Young
Richard Young trained with Deloitte in South Africa where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. After a couple of years Richard took a sabbatical from accounting practice and spent 10 years as a senior lecturer at the University of Cape Town, primarily teaching and supervising research by post graduate students. During this time Richard’s research interests centred on the effectiveness and efficacy of written communication by accountants with an emphasis on the impact of technical language, in particular symbolism, on the communication outcomes.
Following immigration to Australia in 1986 Richard returned to accounting practice wherein he specialised in intellectual property matters. Richard has recently retired and his current interests in the broader accounting discipline are corporate governance with an emphasis of the emergence of social license to operate issues. Richard has served as a director on several public company and not-for-profit boards, including Rhodes Mining Ltd, Swan Resources Ltd, Matlock Mining Ltd, Effusiontech Pty Ltd, Nauti-Craft Pty Ltd, MLC Council, Chartered Accountants Education Committee and School Bursaries Trust in South Africa.
Admin Staff
This team is committed to providing excellent professional services to the centre and its stakeholders.
Liz Fu
Senior Administrative Officer
Liz Fu provides senior administrative and executive support to Professor Barry Marshall’s roles as UWA Brand Ambassador, WA Ambassador for Life Sciences and Director for the UWA Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Training. Liz also provides strategic planning and direction for the Marshall Centre and liaises with diverse local, national and international stakeholders.
Hannah Vu
Marketing Officer – Community Engagement
Hannah Vu is a Marketing and Communication professional who promotes cutting edge human science research and technology. Hannah’s role is to aid WA’s Ambassador for Life Sciences, Professor Barry Marshall (NL) by promoting engagement within the WA community to advise, inspire, mentor and raise science awareness.
Research Groups
Our research group consists of more than 40 leading academics and researchers in the infectious diseases field. To find out more, see Our Research page.