Burnet Senior Research Officer Dr Liriye Kurtovic has been awarded a Moderna Global Fellowship 2023 to support her research into the development of a new malaria vaccine.
The coveted fellowship supports scientists and healthcare professionals in their research pursuits and the development of mRNA therapies, with only a small number awarded globally each year.
Dr Kurtovic will receive funding over two years to cover salary costs and expenses to support her research into an mRNA vaccine for malaria. Dr Kurtovic said she was honoured to receive the award.
“I’m incredibly grateful to have received this fellowship to support the work I am doing to advance an innovative malaria vaccine,” she said.
“This is something I have been working on for many years, having started at Burnet as a student in 2014.”
“As an early career researcher, having the opportunity to lead this research project is a great step for my professional development.”
Dr Kurtovic said her goal was to create a malaria vaccine that had lasting protection.
“The benefit of mRNA technology is that it allows us to easily modify and refine the vaccine as we go,” she said.
“If successful, we could apply this knowledge to develop lasting vaccines for malaria and potentially other infectious diseases in the future.”
Burnet Commercial Project Manager, Vaccine Development Dr Claretta DSouza said it was a tremendous accolade and would set Dr Kurtovic on a strong career path in scientific research.
“We are incredibly proud of Dr Kurtovic and everything she has achieved, and we look forward to seeing where her research leads,” she said.
“This is a very prestigious award, with applicants from across the world, so it shows that Dr Kurtovic’s research is on par with the highest standard of global medical research.”
Dr DSouza said the fellowship demonstrated the high calibre of research being conducted at Burnet.
“The fellowship is a recognition of the quality science that is being undertaken at Burnet and will further strengthen our relationship with Moderna, which is a world-leading organisation in the field of mRNA vaccine development,” she said.
Dr Kurtovic is part of a broader group of researchers working as part of the Burnet Vaccine Initiative (BVI), which is designed to have translational outcomes that will take novel vaccines to the clinic.