The Kirby Institute (formerly the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research) is a medical research organisation affiliated with the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

and based on UNSW's Kensington campus. Founded in 1986, its initial research focus on

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

has expanded over time to include viral hepatitis,

sexually transmitted infection A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, e ...

s and a range of other infectious diseases. The institute's inaugural director was Professor David A. Cooper.

History

National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (1986–2011)

The National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (NCHECR) was founded in 1986 in response to the emerging HIV/AIDS epidemic in Australia. Start-up funding was provided by the Australian federal government with the goal of reducing the national burden of the epidemic. The centre was later supported by ongoing funding from the federal government, the New South Wales state government and the University of New South Wales, in addition to one-off grants from, among others, the

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be the third largest charitable foundation in the world, holding $ ...

and the

Atlantic Philanthropies The Atlantic Philanthropies (AP) was a private foundation created in 1982 by American businessman Chuck Feeney. The Atlantic Philanthropies focused its giving on health, social, and politically left-leaning public policy causes in Australia, Berm ...

Kirby Institute (2011–present)

In April 2011, on the organisation's 25th anniversary, the NCHECR was renamed the Kirby Institute for infection and immunity in society, with a new focus on behavioural-related infectious diseases affecting "marginalised, disempowered and other communities". The new name was taken in honour of Michael Kirby, a former Justice of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

and an outspoken supporter of human rights, health promotion, and HIV/AIDS research. In 2013, Kirby accepted the role of Patron of the institute. In 2018 the Kirby Institute employed and supported approximately 350 researchers and students and is operating research studies in Australia and worldwide. Outside of Australia, the institute is engaged in disease prevention in countries including

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

, the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. The Kirby Institute is one of Australia's four national HIV research centres; the others are the Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis Virology Research, the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS), and the National Centre in for Social Research in Health.

References

External links

The Kirby Institute official website
{{authority control 1986 establishments in Australia HIV/AIDS organisations in Australia Medical research institutes in Sydney Research institutes established in 1986 HIV/AIDS research organisations University of New South Wales Darlinghurst, New South Wales

History

National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (1986–2011)

Kirby Institute (2011–present)

See also

References

External links