Professor James McCaw awarded Australian Laureate Fellowship

Professor James McCaw has been awarded a prestigious Australian Laureate Fellowship from the Australian Research Council.

The fellowship was awarded in recognition of the support he has provided for early-career researchers and his outstanding research contribution for the benefit of national and international communities.

Professor McCaw, who received $3.5 million, will work to develop mathematical models that will help Australia respond to public health emergencies.

“My work will use mathematics to understand how infectious pathogens spread within the body and between hosts, to help Australia prepare and respond to pandemics and other communicable disease threats. We aim to better understand how novel drugs and vaccines can be used to reduce illness and slow transmission for infectious diseases like influenza and or malaria,” Professor McCaw said.

“Thank you to the ARC for this fellowship, which will support a large team to undertake new innovative mathematical and data-driven research, enabling us to think boldly, enhancing our understanding of infectious diseases and how we can combat them for them for the benefit of society.”

The ARC Laureate Fellowships funds are awarded over five years to cutting edge senior researchers who can provide a supportive research environment for early career researchers and conduct research to benefit national and international communities. The program allows Fellows to design ambitious research programs around a team of postdoctoral fellows and postgraduate students to mentor Australia’s up-and-coming researchers.