Professor Gail Matthews is Head of the Therapeutic Vaccine and Research Program at the Kirby Institute UNSW, as well as Head of Infectious Diseases at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney. Her background is in HIV, viral hepatitis and strategic therapeutic clinical trials, and has expanded over the last 3-years to include a strong research portfolio and leadership role in COVID-19. She is recognised as a leader in her field both nationally and internationally, has led multiple large scale clinical trials (including US NIH), and has just been awarded a NHMRC Investigator Leadership grant (2023-2027), having held two prior Career Development Fellowships.