Professor Anthony (Tony) Cunningham, AO, FAHMS, MD, FRACP, FRCPA is an infectious diseases physician, clinical virologist and scientist, well known internationally for his research on the immunobiology of HIV and herpesviruses, his work on vaccine development and trialling, especially for shingles and herpes, and as an antivirals expert. He is the Director of the Centre for Virus Research at WIMR and of the Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis Virology Research (ACH2). This is a Commonwealth Government-funded institute that aims combat the impact of HIV and hepatitis in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region by bringing together basic researchers with translational scientists and physicians. Professor Cunningham has previously worked at Stanford University, USA, built up the State Reference Laboratory in Virology and a state reference HIV laboratory at Westmead Hospital in the mid-1980s before assuming directorship of WIMR in 1996. Professor Cunningham has served on numerous international expert panels on HIV/HSV, antivirals and vaccines. In 2010 he was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for ‘service to medicine, particularly in the field of viral research and through the development and leadership of medical and biomedical research’ and in 2015 was elected as an inaugural fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. Since stepping down from the WIMR director role he has continued his research on an NHMRC senior Investigator Grant and become immersed in COVID-19 research and other issues, including:
- A member of the NSW COVID-19 Vaccine committee and the newly established NSW Waratah COVID vaccines trial alliance and the national Vax4COVID trials alliance
- A contributing author and lead author respectively: Papers on ‘The risk of COVID19 recurrence in Winter’ and ‘Vaccines for COVID19’ commissioned from the Australian Academies of Science and Health and Medical Science by the Chief Scientist of Australia for the Commonwealth Ministers of Health and Science;
- A member of the Safety Review Board for University of Queensland Phase 1 clinical trial of SARS-CoV-2 Sclamp vaccine and of the Seqirus global COVID vaccines advisory committee setting up phase 2/3 trials.
