The Burnet Institute is one of the leading medical research and public health Institutes in Australia. With more than 250 scientists and public health professionals based at our laboratory facilities and headquarters in Melbourne, and over 100 health professionals located in 11 offices in seven countries across Asia, the Pacific and Africa. The Institute links laboratory research and public health with the aim of reducing the impact of serious infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, malaria and tuberculosis (TB); cancers such as breast, ovarian and prostate; and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
The Burnet Institute was established in 1986 to focus on reducing the impact of infectious diseases. The 2006 merger of the Austin Research Institute with a background of success in the development of immune based treatments for disease with the Burnet Institute has created a unique ‘Super-Institute’.
The Institute has public health programs within established partnerships and collaborations with local, regional and national governments, international development and non-government organisations (NGOs), as well as other medical research and public health groups.
In 2007, the Burnet Institute celebrated its 21st Anniversary. The Institute has grown from a small group of dedicated visionaries, to an internationally recognised medical research and public health Institute. The past 21 years have seen remarkable advances in infectious diseases research, especially in the areas of work undertaken by the Institute such as HIV, hepatitis and measles.
Our programs have now grown to include other infectious diseases such as avian influenza, malaria and TB and with the addition of the Austin Research Institute to also include areas such as immunology, inflammation and cancer research.
The growth of the Burnet’s public health programs has been extraordinary, with not only local public health programs but the significant international research into many resource-poor communities of our region with 11 dedicated Burnet Offices in seven countries.
The International Health Research Group is a novel multidisciplinary scientific program, based on high-quality laboratory science, along with clinical and social research, and strong public health principles, to address three of the major health problems of the Asia-Pacific region; namely malaria, HIV and TB.
The Institute will continue to provide globally competitive research throughout 2008 by utilizing its innovative skills in laboratory based biomedical research and public health, in order to produce practical health outcomes. By developing better rapid tests to identify new infections; new vaccines for the prevention and treatment of diseases; as well as using our expertise in public health to implement relevant health policies, education programs and training in order to build capacity, while collaborating with both local and international organisations.
The Burnet Institute is affiliated with Monash University, the University of Melbourne, the Alfred Hospital, and is a founding member of the Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct (AMREP). The Burnet’s Centre for International Health and Centre for Harm Reduction provide education programs that include graduate diplomas, Masters of Public Health (International stream), numerous short courses and workshops both in Australia and across the globe.