Associate Professor Sarah Auburn is a molecular biologist, whose passion is using genetics/genomics to learn about the biology and the epidemiology of pathogens and their hosts. In pursuit of this interest, she obtained a PhD in genetic epidemiology from Oxford University, and has acquired research skills transcending field work, molecular laboratory techniques and bioinformatics. In her first post-doc (2007-10), A/Prof Auburn facilitated the establishment of the Sanger Institute’s first Plasmodium laboratory and gained expertise in malaria genomics. In 2010, she joined Menzies where she leads the genomic studies on Plasmodium vivax (P.vivax).
A/Prof Auburn’s current research program incorporates molecular biology, population genomics and software development to generate laboratory and analytical tools for molecular surveillance of P. vivax towards elimination of this species. This work leverages on a unique network spearheaded by A/Prof Auburn in partnership with global collaborators – the vivax Genomic Epidemiology Network (vivaxGEN). This network is made up of more than 16 partner countries and has generated more than 1000 global P.vivax genomes.
In recognition of her translational and capacity building work in vivaxGEN and the Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN), Dr Auburn has been invited to join highly reputable committees including the Australian Centre of Research Excellence in Malaria Elimination and the Centre for Genomics and Global Health.
