Burnet and the 'Big Three'

Burnet’s Fight Against HIV

Burnet’s Fight Against TB

Fight against Malaria

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Burnet's Other Work

The integration of lab-based medical research with field-based public health programs is what makes the Burnet Institute unique. Burnet’s culture links innovative discovery-oriented research with development and humanitarian action.

Across Burnet’s four Centres – Virology, Immunology, Population Health and International Health –some of the key areas of research and public health programs include:

• A major focus on infectious diseases of global significance such as The ‘Big Three’; HIV, TB and malaria, which are all preventable but still cause the deaths of seven million people a year.
• Major research programs into influenza, hepatitis viruses and measles to find new ways to protect people from becoming infected with these viruses. Work on developing new or improved vaccines and identifying new drugs or treatments for people who are already infected.
• Research programs intobreast, ovarian, prostate and lung cancer at the Burnet have already made a number of breakthroughs and several vaccines for the treatment of people living with these cancers are currently going through clinical trials and are showing some very promising results.
• Burnet researchers are also looking at auto-immune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, where the body’s own immune system begins to turn on itself, making antibodies against certain body tissues. Our research teams have identified a range of molecules which are involved in the inflammation process which is often the major cause of disease in these conditions and now we’re looking at ways of preventing the onset of these diseases in the very early stages.
• With 11 offices across Southeast Asia, Africa and the Pacific, the Burnet supports a range of public health and education programs that are focused on prevention of diseases such as HIV, helping to build the capacity of resource-poor communities to improve their health care, as well as issues such as women’s and children’s health, implementing vaccination programs for diseases like measles, and working with at-risk communities on disease prevention.
• Education remains a key role through providing training in laboratories and social research for Australian and international students undertaking postgraduate research projects. The Burnet also delivers public health courses for undergraduate and postgraduate levels through associations with the University of Melbourne, Monash University, Deakin University, La Trobe University and Atma Jaya Catholic University in Indonesia. 

For more information about Burnet’s work go to www.burnet.edu.au