

Infection and Immunity
Doherty Institute
Welcome to Infection and Immunity - Evidence Explained, a Doherty Institute podcast. Each fortnight we bring you the latest news and information on all things infectious diseases and immunology from the Doherty Institute and our collaborators.
Join us as we talk with world-leading experts to discuss the latest scientific and public health evidence around emerging and endemic diseases, from COVID-19 and Buruli ulcer, to HIV and the flu.
Join us as we talk with world-leading experts to discuss the latest scientific and public health evidence around emerging and endemic diseases, from COVID-19 and Buruli ulcer, to HIV and the flu.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 29, 2021 • 19min
Managing our mental health during a pandemic
We are taking a step outside of our infection and immunity bubble to talk about mental health. Our guest is Dr Grant Blashki - he is a GP, lead clinical advisor for Beyond Blue and Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne’s Nossal Institute for Global Health.Grant is going to talk through why some of us are feeling this way, some tips to manage our mental well-being and the latest evidence of how the pandemic has impacted mental health in Australia and around the world.We want to hear from you! Help us shape future episodes of our podcast by telling us a little about yourself, how you listen to and what you'd like to hear more of in 2022. The survey is anonymous and will only take a few minutes to complete.Infection and Immunity – Evidence ExplainedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 27, 2021 • 14min
Yes, Victoria needed a circuit breaker
We speak with Director of Doherty Epidemiology, Professor Jodie McVernon, picking her brains about what's happening in Melbourne right now - she analyses the types of transmission we are seeing in Melbourne, why we needed the 7-day circuit breaker and her top tip for getting through lockdown.We want to hear from you! Help us shape future episodes of our podcast by telling us a little about yourself, how you listen to and what you'd like to hear more of in 2022. The survey is anonymous and will only take a few minutes to complete.Infection and Immunity – Evidence ExplainedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 20, 2021 • 13min
BONUS EP: Australian Institute of Infectious Disease
The Victorian Government has announced they will commit an additional $245 million to fund the construction of the Australian Institute for Infectious Disease.Headquartered in the prestigious Melbourne Biomedical Precinct, the AIID will bring together an exceptional network of leading researchers, public health experts and clinicians from the University of Melbourne, Burnet Institute, the Doherty Institute and other partnersIn this special bonus episode, we speak with the Director of the Doherty Institute, Professor Sharon Lewin about the new Institute.We want to hear from you! Help us shape future episodes of our podcast by telling us a little about yourself, how you listen to and what you'd like to hear more of in 2022. The survey is anonymous and will only take a few minutes to complete.Infection and Immunity – Evidence ExplainedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 18, 2021 • 34min
COVID-19 Treatments Part 2 - The Indian experience
In this special two-part episode, we explore the role of COVID-19 treatments in the pandemic.From the very beginning, vaccines have been touted as the way out. We’ve all watched in real-time as various technologies have been developed, produced, tested and injected into people’s arms around the world.In part 1 we spoke with Associate Professor Steven Tong. An Infectious Diseases Physician at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Co-Lead of the Clinical Research Discipline at the Doherty Institute, Steve is also Lead Investigator of the AustralaSian COVID-19 Trial, or ASCOT.In the part 2 we speak with Professor Vivek Jha who is the Executive Director of the George Institute, responsible for coordinating ASCOT in India. He speaks very candidly about life in India during this disastrous second wave and the importance and challenges of conducting a clinical trial during this time.We want to hear from you! Help us shape future episodes of our podcast by telling us a little about yourself, how you listen to and what you'd like to hear more of in 2022. The survey is anonymous and will only take a few minutes to complete.Infection and Immunity – Evidence ExplainedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 14, 2021 • 30min
COVID-19 Treatments Part 1 - The Australian experience
In this special two-part episode, we explore the role of COVID-19 treatments in the pandemic.From the very beginning, vaccines have been touted as the way out. We’ve all watched in real-time as various technologies have been developed, produced, tested and injected into people’s arms around the world.In part 1 we speak with Associate Professor Steven Tong. An Infectious Diseases Physician at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Co-Lead of the Clinical Research Discipline at the Doherty Institute, Steve is also Lead Investigator of the AustralaSian COVID-19 Trial, or ASCOT.Part 2 will look at the Indian experience.We want to hear from you! Help us shape future episodes of our podcast by telling us a little about yourself, how you listen to and what you'd like to hear more of in 2022. The survey is anonymous and will only take a few minutes to complete.Infection and Immunity – Evidence ExplainedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 29, 2021 • 24min
How do we increase confidence in COVID-19 vaccines?
Australia has seen a waning willingness to accept COVID-19 vaccines, dropping from around 75 per cent late last year to around 60 per cent in February this year. Refusal has increased from 5 to 15 per cent. How do we increase confidence?We speak with vaccine confidence, acceptance and uptake expert, Associate Professor Margie Danchin. Margie is a consultant paediatrician at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital, and a Clinician Scientist at the University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children't Research Institute.We want to hear from you! Help us shape future episodes of our podcast by telling us a little about yourself, how you listen to and what you'd like to hear more of in 2022. The survey is anonymous and will only take a few minutes to complete.Infection and Immunity – Evidence ExplainedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 15, 2021 • 36min
Flu and COVID-19 - what to expect this winter
Professor Kanta Subbarao is the Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza at the Doherty Institute. A virologist and physician, prior to her role at the Doherty Institute, she was at the helm of the Emerging Respiratory Viruses Section of the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health in the United States, where she worked on the original SARS coronavirus and later, MERS.We want to hear from you! Help us shape future episodes of our podcast by telling us a little about yourself, how you listen to and what you'd like to hear more of in 2022. The survey is anonymous and will only take a few minutes to complete.Infection and Immunity – Evidence ExplainedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apr 1, 2021 • 21min
Victorian COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Usually Ben is the Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis at the Doherty Institute, and an infectious diseases clinician at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. But during the pandemic, his expertise have been called upon by Victoria’s Department of Health.Last year he headed up the re-introduction of hotel quarantine and now he is managing the mammoth task of rolling out the COVID-19 vaccination program around Victoria.We want to hear from you! Help us shape future episodes of our podcast by telling us a little about yourself, how you listen to and what you'd like to hear more of in 2022. The survey is anonymous and will only take a few minutes to complete.Infection and Immunity – Evidence ExplainedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 26, 2021 • 34min
Leftover questions from our COVID-19 vaccines Q&A event
While our regular season is fortnightly, we are releasing this special episode today because of the timeliness of the topic. Doherty Institute Director, Professor Sharon Lewin answers some of the questions on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout that we didn’t get to at our recent Q&A event, COVID-19 Vaccines - Your questions answered.We want to hear from you! Help us shape future episodes of our podcast by telling us a little about yourself, how you listen to and what you'd like to hear more of in 2022. The survey is anonymous and will only take a few minutes to complete.Infection and Immunity – Evidence ExplainedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 18, 2021 • 29min
Laureate Professor Peter Doherty
Laureate Professor Peter Doherty talks COVID-19 vaccines, the importance of science communication and how he spent 2020.We want to hear from you! Help us shape future episodes of our podcast by telling us a little about yourself, how you listen to and what you'd like to hear more of in 2022. The survey is anonymous and will only take a few minutes to complete.Infection and Immunity – Evidence ExplainedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


