Professor Deborah Williamson

• Key Achievements
• Publications
• Projects
• Research Groups

• Key Achievements

  • Deborah is a member of the Royal College of Physicians and a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists and has held leadership roles across in Parkville Precinct in clinical and public health microbiology including as the Deputy Director of MDU PHL and Director of Microbiology at RMH before becoming the Director of VIDRL in 2021. Deborah is a current co-chair of the Communicable Diseases Genomics Network of Australia, a member of the Public Health Laboratory Network of Australia, an NHMRC Investigator Grant Fellow, and a Dame Kate Campbell Fellow. She has also been the recipient of several research awards, including the University of Auckland Vice Chancellor’s Prize for best Doctoral Thesis (2016), a L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowship (2017), and was awarded the 2020 Frank Fenner Award for research by the Australian Society for Infectious Diseases.  

  Publications
  Loading ORCID data…
  Projects

  • Clinical metagenomics

    Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) is transformative approach in microbial diagnostics and patient care, because it can be used to detect and characterise all known pathogens – bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic – from a sample in a single test within a clinically actionable timeframe. The application of metagenomic next generation sequencing in a diagnostic setting has the potential to transform patient care, enabling personalised approaches to infectious diseases treatment, including countering antimicrobial resistance. The MRFF funded Meta-GP program will develop and implement clinical metagenomic diagnostics for infectious diseases in Australia.

  • Public health genomics

    Molecular epidemiology of bacteria and viruses are an important component of outbreak investigations and can be used for analysis on global diversity of circulating strains. These projects apply whole genome sequencing techniques to characterise the transmission and evolution of pathogens of public health interest.  

  Research Groups

  • Williamson group

    The Williamson research group focuses on the development and evaluation of new diagnostic tests, and the translation of genomic technologies to infectious diseases. Their research has directly influenced the way microbiology is applied to clinical practice and public health, including responses to antimicrobial resistance, sexually-transmitted pathogens and COVID-19. 

    ---

    Lab Team

    

    • Dr Shivani Pasricha

      Postdoctoral Fellow and Lab Manager
    • Dr Danielle Ingle

      NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow
    • Dr Melinda Ashcroft

      Postdoctoral Research Officer (Bioinformatics)
    • Dr Marilyn Ninan

      Research Fellow
    • Dr Eike Steinig

      Research Fellow (Bioinformatics)
    • Dr Soo Jen Low

      Research Officer (Bioinformatics)
    • George Taiaroa

      Research Fellow
    • Jacqueline Prestedge

      Research Program Officer
    • Socheata Chea

      Research Support Officer
    • Bowen Zhang

      Research Support Officer
    • Cheryll Sia

      PhD Graduate Researcher
    • Dr Eloise Williams

      PhD Graduate Researcher
    • Dr Katherine Bond

      PhD Graduate Researcher
    • Dr Charlotte Bell

      PhD Graduate Researcher
    • Franca Azzato

      PhD Graduate Researcher
    • Sophie Herman

      Research Assistant
    • Mona Lisa Taouk

      Research Assistant

Full University of Melbourne profile