Dr Clovis Palmer
Head, Palmer Group
Dr Palmer came from Jamaica to study plant biology at Sydney University, but he quickly developed an interest in HIV research.
“I had friends with HIV. It was personal for me.”
He joined the Burnet Institute nearly eight years ago to work in HIV.
“In a typical day I might supervise students, write grants and papers, review articles for journals, oversee beginner students, check student theses and do hands on bench work in the lab.
“I sense that a lot of people here are doing this work because they are engaged in the community and they want to make a difference. They are driven by that, rather than a sense of competition or building their profile.”
IMAGE: Jason Asselin representing Burnet at Midsumma 2016
Jason Asselin
Research Assistant
Jason joined the Burnet after eight years of working in HIV community-based prevention and support in both Toronto and Melbourne.
“I’ve been here nearly three years, and I’ve been able to develop skills I didn’t have when I started, and to identify areas of interest and work that I hadn’t dabbled in before.
“I like that the days are very different. I can go from working on a very heavy data load to engaging with the community – clinicians, prevention workers, sexual health clinics.
“That’s probably why I came to Burnet. It was clear to me that Burnet had this unique approach where the community is still the focus of their work.”
IMAGE: Julie Tartaggia
Julie Tartaggia
Program Manager, Lao PDR and the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP)
With a background in overseas development work, Julie has lived and worked in Nepal and Bangladesh.
“I joined Burnet because they’re a progressive organisation that believes in health interventions based on research based evidence, and they do these in partnership with communities
“After I started working here, I found there is also a strong focus on local ownership and building country level capacity through all our work.
“I enjoy the brilliant and generous people I have the opportunity to work with every day."
