Professor Edward Holmes
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Professor Edward Holmes

FAA, FRS
NHMRC Leadership Fellow &
Professor of Virology
Faculty of Medicine and Health
Fellow, Australian Academy of Science
Fellow, The Royal Society
Phone
+61 2 9351 5591
Professor Edward Holmes

Professor Eddie Holmes is known for his work on the evolution and emergence of infectious diseases, particularly the mechanisms by which RNA viruses jump species boundaries to emerge in humans and other animals. He currently holds an NHMRC Leadership Fellowship and is Professor of Virology at the University of Sydney. He moved to the University of Sydney in 2012. He has studied the emergence and spread of such pathogens as SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus, dengue virus, HIV, hepatitis C virus, myxoma virus, RHDV and Yersinia pestis. His previous appointments include Verne M. Willaman Chair in the Life Sciences at the Pennsylvania State University, USA, and Affiliate Member of the Fogarty International Centre (2005-2012), National Institutes of Health, USA. From 1999-2004 he was Fellow of New College, Oxford. In 2021 he recieved the (Australian) Prime Minister's Prize for Science and in 2023 he was awarded the Croonian Medal and Lecture 2024 from The Royal Society. He is the author of 768 peer-reviewed papers and two books. His publications have ~149,000 citations (h-index of 173; see http://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=Syrp1IMAAAAJ&hl=en)

His interest in the emergence and spread of novel viral infections began in the late 1980s/early 1990s, as this was a time of the highest rates of HIV-associated deaths and when hepatitis C virus was first identified. He has spent over 30 years using molecular genetic techniques to understand the determinants of cross-species pathogen transmission and emergence, including SARS-CoV-2. His work has helped define the barriers faced by viruses as they emerge in new hosts, determine the range of transmission patterns exhibited by emerging viruses, and establish genetic models for host switching.

Currently, he is studying why some pathogens are particularly likely to jump between species and spread, and using metagenomic technology to discover novel viruses and determine the possible microbial cause of disease syndromes (e.g. emerging tick-borne disease in Australia). The data generated will be used to reveal some of the fundamental roles of virus ecology and evolution, and understand the measurable impact of the novel infections on public and animal health. He is also using 'ancient DNA' to investigate the causes and patterns of spread of past pandemics such as plague and cholera.

Applications from potential Ph.D. students are welcome.

  • Revealing virus ecology.
  • Exploring the virosphere (with 'meta-transcriptomics').
  • The evolution of viral emergence.
  • The evolution of virus virulence and host range.
  • Studying microbial evolution and emergence using ancient pathogens.
  • The Royal Society (UK)
  • Australian Academy of Science
  • American Society for Microbiology
  • 2023: Croonian Medal and Lecture 2024. The Royal Society, UK.
    2023: Croonian Medal and Lecture 2024. The Royal Society, UK.
    2023: Croonian Medal and Lecture 2024. The Royal Society, UK.
  • MJD White Medal, Genetics Society of AustralAsia.
  • 2022 NHMRC Peter Doherty Investigator Grant Award (Leadership).
  • Ralph Slatyer Medal, Research School of Biology, Australian National University.
  • 2021: (Australian) Prime Minister’s Prize for Science.
  • 2021: General Symbiont Award (with Prof. Yong-Zhen Zhang).
  • 2020: NSW Premier’s Prize for Science and Engineering.
  • 2017: Fellow, The Royal Society (FRS).
  • 2017: Australian Laureate Fellow, Australian Research Council (ARC).
  • 2017: NSW Premier’s Prize for Science and Engineering (Biological Sciences).
  • 2017: Fellow, The Royal Society of New South Wales.
  • 2015: Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA).
  • 2011: Australia Fellow, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australia.
  • 2010: Fogarty International Center Director's Merit Award to the Multinational Influenza Seasonal Mortality Study Team (MISMS). National Institutes of Health, USA.
  • 2010: Faculty Scholars Medal in the Life and Health Sciences. The Pennsylvania State University, USA.
  • 2008: Kavli Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, USA.
  • 2003: Scientific Medal. Zoological Society of London, UK.
Infection and Immunological Conditions
Project titleResearch student
The role of soil viruses in nutrient cyclingMingming DU
Clinical metagenomics for rapid pathogen diagnosis characterisation and molecular epidemiology in hospitalised adults with severe infectionKrispin HAJKOWICZ
Novel Viruses in Australian Horses, Bats, and Wildlife, Understood Through Metatranscriptomics.K9 JENNS
Exploration of the Virosphere in Animals Introduced to AustraliaJasper SCHWARZ

Selected publications

Publications

Selected Grants

2024

  • Explaining virus diversity, Holmes E, Harvey E, Petrone M, Australian Research Council (ARC)/Discovery Projects (DP)

2023

  • Rewarding Research 2024, Holmes E, Faculty of Medicine and Health/FMH Rewarding Research Success

In the media

New York Times profile:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/21/health/covid-lab-leak-eddie-holmes.html

Covid-19: Five days that shaped the outbreak:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-55756452

Related research articles

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