ANZAAS Science Talk, Melbourne
All welcome, free, tell your friends! Free refreshments after the talk
Wednesday 19th August 2026, 6:30 pm
At Bio21 Institute, 30 Flemington Rd, near corner with Park Drive, Parkville
Professor Ian Gust AO
Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital
“Serendipity in Science”
Born in the lucky country and growing up in an era of peace, prosperity and expanding opportunities, I’ve been incredibly lucky.
Lucky in my mentors and choice of career. lucky to be involved in the birth of several new organisations and the response to some public health crises. This has led me to reflect on the nature of luck. Golfer Gary Player once remarked “the harder I practice, the luckier I get” – is there a similar recipe for the aspiring scientist?
Professor lan Gust is renowned for pioneering work in virology and the development of drugs and vaccines. He and collaborators were the first to isolate the hepatitis A virus and respiratory syncytial virus. He served as Australia’s Chief Medical and Scientific Adviser on AIDS from 1989 to 1992, and directed the National Hepatitis Reference Centre from 1979 to 1990. From 1985 to 1991, he was the inaugural director of the Burnet Institute, then research director at CSL. Post-retirement, he continues as consultant to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF, and the World Bank.
Following his talk, Professor Gust will be presented with the 2026 ANZAAS Medal
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Forthcoming talk:
Wednesday 16th September Professor David Ashley CEO VCCC
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We are pleased to acknowledge the support by CSL and Bio21 for the ANZAAS Melbourne science talks series
Further Info: David Vaux davidlaurencevaux@gmail.com
http://www.anzaas.org.au/victoria/
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Click HERE to see past ANZAAS Science Talks
Elizabeth Vincan May 2026
AIDS and COVID-19: a Tale of Two Pandemics
Desley Whisson April 2026
Out on a Limb: Koalas and Yellow-bellied Gliders in Victoria’s Changing Forests
Ella Finkel March 2026
Take nobody’s word for it
Michael Foley November 2025
Human therapies inspired by sharks
Ros Gleadow October 2025
The poisonous plate of climate change
David Mitchell September 2025
Cosmic Rays – Celestial Bullets
Christopher Fairley August 2025
Whose fault is it that Bob got syphilis?
Anette “Peko” Hosoi July 2025
Form, Function and Physics: How Fluid Mechanics Shapes Life
Ricky Johnstone June 2025
Are we really ready for research-driven personalised cancer care in Australia?
John Long May 2025
Secret Life of Sharks – Lessons in Evolution and Survival
Peter van Wijngaarden March 2025
Imaging the eye to see the brain
Tony Heyes November 2024
Disability, Innovation and Spin-offs
David Vaux August 2024
Cell death: Bench to Bedside
Peter Cowan July 2024
Xenotransplantation: Custom-Designing Pig Parts for People
Richard Olive May 2024
The West Gate Bridge Disaster – A Failure at the Engineering, Organisational and Personal Levels
Greg Moore November April 2024
Urban trees are vital for sustainable, liveable cities
Rachelle Buchbinder March 2024
Hippocrasy, how doctors are betraying their oath
Daniel Mathews November 2023
Topology and the shape of space
Beth Ebert October 2023
Improving early warnings of epidemic thunderstorm asthma
David Komander September 2023
Playing Tag with Ubiquitin
David Vaux August 2023
A short history of cancer genes
Chris Greening May 2023
The atmosphere as a hidden energy source for life
Jim Goding March 2023
Transistors, the Microchip & the Second Industrial Revolution
Paul Lasky November 2022
A new window on the Universe
Peter Currie October 2022
Regeneration: Myths and monsters and modern medicine
Heather Mack September 2022
Injecting eyes with antibodies to treat problems of the retina
Helen Green August 2022
Dating Australia’s rock art
Mahdi Jalali July 2022
Transport electrification and integration of EVs within the electricity grid
Grant McArthur June 2022
Science led inroads into melanoma – Australia and New Zealand’s disease
Alan Duffy May 2022
Darkness visible down-under
Timothy Clark April 2022
The importance of reproducibility and integrity in science: a fishy perspective
Tilman Ruff March 2022
Ending the nuclear weapons era evidence, challenges and pathways
Brian Abbey November 2021
The colour of cancer: could ‘smart’ microscope slides transform tissue diagnostics?
Cameron Simmons October 2021
Creating stop signs in mosquitoes; is this the end-game for Dengue?
Madhu Bhaskaran September 2021
Unbreakable sensors the future is here
Anne Marie Tosolini August 2021
Fossil Leaves from Cretaceous and Paleogene Polar Environments
Geoff Brooks July 2021
Green Steel: Can we decarburise steel production?
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