WEHI Wednesday Seminar hosted by Professor Ivo Mueller

Professor Aaron Jex Bsc PhD

President of the Australian Society for Parasitology; Head of Technology Governance and Strategy, WEHI

NHMRC L1 Leadership Fellow, Laboratory Head and Division Co-Lead – Immunity Division, WEHI

From molecules to surveillance: controlling infectious disease

Davis Auditorium

Join via SLIDO enter code #WEHIWednesday

Including Q&A session

Professor Aaron Jex is a Laboratory Head and Co-Lead in the Immunity division at WEHI, where he leads an infectious diseases research laboratory and Head of Technology Governance and Strategy. He is also the President of the Australian Society for Parasitology.

Professor Aaron Jex’s work integrates parasite genomics, molecular biology and public health surveillance. His laboratory investigates the genomics and population genetics of gastrointestinal pathogens, particularly parasitic protists such as Giardia duodenalis and gastrointestinal worms including Ascaris suum. A major research theme is post-transcriptional regulation, especially the role of RNA-binding proteins in parasite stress responses, drug resistance, development and transmission. This work aims to define how parasites programme infectious life stages with the messenger RNA instructions required for rapid invasion and survival. Professor Jex also has more than 20 years’ experience working with the Australian and international water sector. A second major theme builds on his COVID-19 wastewater surveillance research to advance wastewater-based public health monitoring in Australia. This includes leadership in the CRC SAAFE program, which develops One Health strategies to reduce antimicrobial resistance across agribusiness, food and the environment, and a senior research role in the National Wastewater Surveillance Program through the Australian Centre for Disease Control. This program expands surveillance beyond SARS-CoV-2 to other high-risk respiratory pathogens, including influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and highly pathogenic avian influenza, and emerging or re-emerging pathogens including diphtheria, measles and poliovirus. Together, these programs inform infectious disease transmission in Australia and are becoming a critical pillar of national public health control and pandemic preparedness.

Through his research, Aaron hopes to improve our understanding and control of infectious disease, reduce the transmission of antimicrobial resistance and support more sustainable food production, global and environmental health.

All welcome!