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C Raina MacIntyre

Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, UNSW
Professor Raina MacIntyre is NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, Head of the Biosecurity Program at the Kirby Institute, and Professor of Global Biosecurity at UNSW. She runs a highly strategic research program spanning epidemiology, vaccinology, mathematical modelling, public health and clinical trials in infectious diseases. She is an international leader in emerging infections, and is involved in research on face mask, vaccines, influenza and other infectious diseases research studies that directly inform national and international policy and practice in communicable disease control. She has over 300 publications in peer-reviewed journals and leads a NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Epidemic Response. She has a particular interest in adult vaccination with a focus on the elderly. She has won numerous awards for her research including the Sir Henry Wellcome Medal from the US Association of Military Surgeons for her work on risk analysis of bioterrorism and the Frank Fenner Award for advanced research in infectious diseases. She also won the Public Health Association of Australia's Immunisation Achievement Award in 2014. She has served on numerous expert committees nationally and internationally, including for the Institute of Medicine in the US and the WHO. She was a finalist in the 2017 Eureka Prizes and won the 2017 CAPHIA Research Team Prize.

The NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence which she leads, Integrated Systems for Epidemic Response https://sphcm.med.unsw.edu.au/centres-units/centre-research-excellence-epidemic-response is focused on research and capacity building to enhance epidemic and outbreak response. She is also part of UNSW-VIRL, a centre for excellence in vaccine research. www.creimmunisation.com.au

Research lab: https://sphcm.med.unsw.edu.au/Raina-MacIntyre-research-lab

With COVID surging, should I wear a mask?

Nov 21, 2023 04:04 am UTC| Health

COVID is on the rise again, with a peak likely over the holiday season. Given this, health authorities in a number of Australian states have recommended people start wearing masks again. In Western Australia, masks have...

Cruise ships are back and carrying COVID. No, it’s not 2020. But here’s what needs to happen next

Oct 31, 2022 08:49 am UTC| Business

Cruise ships carrying passengers with COVID are back in the news. The Coral Princess, with an unconfirmed number of people testing positive on board, is set to dock at Fremantle, Western Australia. The Quantum of The Seas,...

At what point is a disease deemed to be a global threat? Here's the answer

Jun 23, 2022 16:17 pm UTC| Health

Whenever there is an outbreak of a disease in the world such as monkeypox it is up to the World Health Organization (WHO) to consider what sort of weight to give it, including whether or not it constitutes a public...

At last, health, aged care and quarantine workers get the right masks to protect against airborne coronavirus

Jun 17, 2021 04:12 am UTC| Health

Almost a year ago, in July 2020, our calls for the government to urgently upgrade the guidelines to protect health workers from airborne SARS-CoV-2 fell on deaf ears. The existing guidelines said health providers...

Coronavirus: how worried should I be about the shortage of face masks? Or can I just use a scarf?

Feb 04, 2020 13:09 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has just declared the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. There have been nearly 10,000 cases of the so-called 2019-nCoV in China, 23 countries...

How contagious is the Wuhan coronavirus and can you spread it before symptoms start?

Jan 30, 2020 06:01 am UTC| Health

Cases of the Wuhan coronavirus have increased dramatically over the past week, prompting concerns about how contagious the virus is and how it spreads. According the World Health Organisation, 16-21% of people with the...

Economy

Time to buy local: war fuel price shocks reveal the folly of a long food supply chain

Most of our food travels many thousands of kilometres across Australia to reach our kitchens. We are highly dependent on a vast web of long-haul trucks to move food between growers, massive food distribution hubs and large...

Gold is meant to be a ‘safe haven’ in uncertain times. Why is it crashing amid a war?

Gold has long enjoyed a reputation as a financial safe haven during stormy times. But over the past few months of geopolitical chaos and market panic, the precious metal has moved more like a roller coaster than a steady...

WTO Reform Talks Begin in Cameroon Amid Global Trade Tensions

Trade ministers from around the world convened Thursday in Yaoundé, Cameroon, for a critical four-day summit focused on reforming the World Trade Organization. The high-stakes gathering comes at a turbulent moment...

Japan Eyes Oil Futures Intervention to Stabilize Yen Amid Middle East Crisis

Japan is exploring an unconventional strategy to halt the yens ongoing decline directly intervening in global crude oil futures markets. The proposal, first reported by Reuters, signals Tokyos growing frustration as...

U.S. Stock Futures Steady as Iran Reviews U.S. Ceasefire Proposal

U.S. stock index futures held relatively steady on Wednesday evening after Iran signaled it was reviewing a ceasefire proposal put forward by Washington aimed at ending the ongoing Middle East conflict. The cautious market...

Politics

Russia-Iran Military Alliance Deepens With Drone Shipments Amid Middle East Tensions

Moscow is moving closer to completing a multi-phase transfer of lethal drones, medicine, and food supplies to Tehran, according to Western intelligence sources cited by the Financial Times. The deliveries are designed to...

Iran-U.S. Negotiations: Tehran Reviews American Peace Proposal Amid Ongoing Gulf Conflict

Irans foreign minister confirmed Wednesday that Tehran is examining a United States peace proposal aimed at ending the escalating Gulf war, though officials stressed this falls short of direct negotiations between the two...

FEMA Reinstates $1 Billion Disaster Prevention Grant Program After Court Order

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has announced the resumption of a key disaster prevention initiative after facing legal challenges that forced the reversal of its earlier cancellation. The agency is once again...

Taiwan Arms Deal on Track Despite U.S.-China Summit Uncertainty

Taiwans Defense Minister Wellington Koo confirmed Thursday that the next major U.S. arms sale to the island remains on schedule, revealing that Taipei has already received a formal letter of guarantee from Washington...

G7 Foreign Ministers Gather in France Amid Global Tensions and U.S. Policy Uncertainty

Foreign ministers from the worlds top Western democracies have convened in France this week for a high-stakes two-day summit at the historic 12th-century Abbaye des Vaux-de-Cernay, located roughly 40 kilometers southwest...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

Reflection AI Eyes $25 Billion Valuation in Massive $2.5 Billion Funding Round

Nvidia-backed artificial intelligence startup Reflection AI is in advanced discussions to secure $2.5 billion in fresh funding, with negotiations pointing to a staggering pre-money valuation of $25 billion, according to a...

Nanya Technology Shares Surge 10% After $2.5 Billion Private Placement from Sandisk and Cisco

Shares of Taiwan-based memory chip manufacturer Nanya Technology soared to their daily limit of 10% on Thursday morning following the companys announcement of a major $2.5 billion private placement deal backed by prominent...

SK Hynix Eyes Up to $14 Billion U.S. IPO to Fund AI Chip Expansion

South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix has submitted a confidential filing for a U.S. stock market listing in 2026, with sources indicating the move could raise as much as $14 billion. The company intends to offer...

Meta Ties Executive Pay to Aggressive Stock Price Targets in Major Retention Push

Meta Platforms made a significant move this week by granting restricted stock units and stock options to several of its most senior leaders, including Chief Financial Officer Susan Li and Chief Technology Officer Andrew...

SpaceX IPO Filing Expected This Week as Valuation Could Surpass $75 Billion

Elon Musks SpaceX is reportedly moving closer to going public, with plans to submit its initial public offering prospectus to regulators as early as this week or next, according to a report by The Information citing a...