Sorrell-Gilbert Prize for research excellence in infectious diseases
The Sorrell-Gilbert Prize for research excellence in infectious diseases recognises outstanding research publications by early and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) within the University of Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute (Sydney ID).
Two prizes will be awarded each year in recognition of outstanding research publications by EMCRs within Sydney ID, each valued at $15,000:
- One prize for basic science (wet lab) research
- One prize for clinical or public health research (human and/or animal infectious diseases)
In announcing the Sorrell-Gilbert Prize, Sydney ID Director Professor Ben Marais paid tribute to the enduring legacies of two visionary leaders who pioneered clinical infectious diseases and microbiology in Sydney. “Together, Professors Sorrell and Gilbert exemplified innovation, collaboration, and service. They were mentors and role models to many, and their influence continues to shape infectious diseases research, clinical care, and public health in Australia and beyond,” Marais said.
Professor Tania Sorrell AM FAHMS and Professor Lyn Gilbert AO FAHMS
Sydney ID Ambassador Professor Sorrell was recruited to Westmead Hospital in 1979 where she established the nation’s first major academic infectious diseases unit in a general teaching hospital, laying the foundations for clinical and academic excellence in infectious diseases. Under her leadership the collaborative University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology (CIDM) was opened in 1992 - becoming a national leader in infectious diseases through integrating basic and translational research and education with clinical and laboratory service.
Professor Gilbert, a pioneering Australian infectious diseases physician and clinical microbiologist, joined Westmead in 1991. As Director of CIDM Laboratory Services, she rapidly built a nationally recognised program in diagnostic and public health microbiology and infection prevention and control and helped to guide Australia’s immunisation policy and pandemic preparedness.
The first recipients of the Sorrell-Gilbert Prize exemplify the vision and innovation that Professors Tania Sorrell and Lyn Gilbert championed throughout their careers.
Dr Mary Petrone was honoured as the inaugural winner of the Sorrell-Gilbert Prize for basic science research and accepted the award in absentia. In receiving the wonderful news, she thanked Professors Sorrell and Gilbert for this enormous honour and acknowledged their pioneering contributions that have paved the way for researchers like herself. She expressed deep gratitude for their vision and generosity, which continue to inspire the next generation of scientists committed to advancing infectious diseases research.
Associate Professor Phoebe Williams was honoured as the inaugural winner of the Sorrell-Gilbert Prize for clinical or public health research. In accepting her prize Phoebe Williams thanked Professors Sorrell and Gilbert, along with Sydney ID, for their mentorship, leadership and support of EMCRs.
We can't be what we can't see - and hearing of your journeys reminded me of how lucky I am to be following in the footsteps of those who have had the (harder job) of paving the way before me.
The winning papers
PNAS
A ~40-kb flavi-like virus does not encode a known error-correcting mechanism
Dr Mary Petrone from the School of Medical Sciences is advancing our understanding of virus evolution and pandemic preparedness. Her work combines wet lab and genomic epidemiology approaches to track RNA virus diversity, including SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging pathogens. Beyond human health, Dr Petrone explores marine viromes and ancient virus-host co-divergence, offering insights into the ecological origins of future zoonotic threats. Her prize-winning PNAS publication on flavi-like viruses reveals novel aspects of viral genome complexity, potentially challenging fundamental principles of RNA virus evolution.
The Lancet Regional Health – South East Asia
Coverage gaps in empiric antibiotic regimens used to treat serious bacterial infections in neonates and children in Southeast Asia and the Pacific
Associate Professor Phoebe Williams from the School of Public Health, is a paediatrician and infectious diseases physician whose research tackles one of the most pressing global health challenges: antimicrobial resistance in children. Her work spans Australia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, where she leads clinical trials and implementation studies to improve empiric antibiotic regimens for neonates and children. Through projects like the NeoSEAP study and her advisory role with the World Health Organization, Williams is shaping international policy and practice to reduce child mortality from infectious diseases. Her prize-winning paper in The Lancet Regional Health – South East Asia highlights critical gaps in antibiotic coverage, particularly in low-resource settings.
We were honoured to have both Professors Sorrell and Gilbert award the prizes at the Sydney ID Annual Colloquium where they both reflected on their work journeys and the challenges they faced along the way.
L to R: Deputy Director Jamie Triccas, Lyn Gilbert, Phoebe Williams, Tania Sorrell, Director Ben Marais
Professor Tania Sorrell
“I would very much like Sydney ID’s next generation of researchers, to be able, like me, to look back on their professional careers as an exciting and rewarding journey, despite the inevitable challenges and the sometimes exciting, sometimes difficult choices to be made along the way.
I especially enjoyed working with basic scientists, veterinarians, clinicians and medical mycologists to understand the pathogenesis of the serious infection, neurological cryptococcosis, in order to develop new drugs and diagnostics that would improve health outcomes, and in conducting trials of new drugs and treatment strategies with national and international colleagues. Latterly my attention was more focussed on COVID 19, pandemic diseases and advisory roles in emerging infectious diseases - with an attendant appreciation of the complexities of integrating research, public health, clinical practice, policy development, implementation and administration, and especially for our younger colleagues, combining these with family, social life and other responsibilities.
This prize is our way of giving to outstanding young researchers a small contribution in recognition of their potential and of the support and opportunities afforded to/taken by us along over our (long) careers.
The talent of our EMCRs and quality of publications entered in this prize give us great confidence you are capable of achieving your goals. Again, congratulations to the winners”.
As Sydney ID Ambassador, Professor Sorrell continues to draw on her own research journey to inspire and guide the next generation of infectious diseases researchers through her mentoring, sharing her experience and wisdom to empower emerging scientists to tackle the world’s most pressing infectious disease challenges.
Professor Gilbert reflected on her research journey as a staff specialist
“In public hospital service departments, research was – and still is - neither expected nor welcomed. However, it was hard to ignore the potential value of data from patients’ stories and their clinical samples to tackle clinical problems and, potentially, improve future clinical care.
When I started my specialist career, departmental budgets were flexible enough to allow us to incorporate modest research projects, designed to improve clinical practice or generate new knowledge. And it was easier to support researchers’ conference attendance to present research results or establish collaborations with other researchers. This has become much more difficult now that budgets, staff activities and data are increasingly scrutinised and micromanaged.
Our hope is that the Sorrell-Gilbert prize will provide a small incentive for young researchers, keen to build a research profile, to push through the initial barriers to establishing a research track record that will enable them to gain a competitive grant or research position in future.”
The Sorrell–Gilbert Prize represents an investment in the next generation of infectious diseases researchers who will follow in their footsteps at the University of Sydney.
Learn more about Phoebe and Mary's research in their #WeAreSydneyID videos!
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