Dr Lee Yeoh

Lee's research focuses on developing new vaccines and therapeutics to the malaria parasite, aiming to define the best candidates to include in future vaccines.

He is particularly interested in the strategy around this selection, such as which correlates of protection to prioritise. Lee isolates antibodies generated against specific malaria antigens, testing them to see which might work most effectively, and in which combination.

Lee also develops monoclonal antibodies as therapies against Plasmodium vivax malaria. He is particularly interested in multiple antibodies against different targets, the synergistic interactions between these targets, and how these might be improved.

Lee has a broad area of expertise. He completed a BSc (Hons) at the University of Melbourne, majoring in Botany. He completed a PhD in the laboratories of Professor Stuart Ralph and Professor Geoff McFadden, followed by a postdoctoral position with Dr Michael Duffy, both at the University of Melbourne.

Lee's research has combined equal parts bioinformatics and wet‐lab work, including:

• transcriptomics
• whole‐genome sequencing
• phylogenetic analysis
• molecular and cell biology
• CRISPR‐Cas9.

His projects have investigated the role and mechanism of alternative splicing in apicomplexan parasites, and the function of epigenetic regulation in the malaria parasite.

Lee is passionate about staff and student welfare. He is lead delegate of the Burnet union (NTEU), and was elected president of the NTEU Research Institutes Branch in 2026.

• 2018: PhD, The University of Melbourne;
• 2009: BSc (Hons), The University of Melbourne

• 2026: President of the NTEU Research Institutes Branch
• 2026: Lead union delegate, NTEU, Burnet Institute
• 2025: Research Student Committee Deputy Chair
• 2023: Research Student Committee member
• 2021: Honorary Senior Fellow, Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne;
• 2017: Australian Epigenetics Alliance (AEpiA);
• 2010: Australian Society for Parasitology (ASP)

• 2026: Malaria Synergy Program Seed Grant
• 2025: Shark Tank Grant, Burnet Institute
• 2024: Life Sciences Discipline Funding travel award
• 2023: Shark Tank Grant, Burnet Institute
• 2022: ACREME Seed Funding Grant
• 2020: Bio21 Institute Research Fellow Travel Award;
• 2019: EMCRA travel award, School of Biomedical Sciences, the University of Melbourne;
• 2019: Australia-Germany joint research co-operation scheme grant, UA-DAAD;
• 2013: Best postgraduate speaker presentation, Malaria in Melbourne Conference;
• 2013: VLSCI Travel Award, OzEMalaR Travel Award, Bio21 Travel Award;
• 2012: VLSCI PhD Top-Up Scholarship;
• 2011: The Megan Klemm Postgraduate Research Award, the University of Melbourne;
• 2010: Best first-year speaker at the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Postgraduate retreat;
• 2010: Best Student Oral Presentation for an Australian Society for Parasitology member at ICOPA XII;
• 2010: Australian Society for Parasitology Student Travel Grant

• 2021–present: Senior Postdoctoral Research Officer, Malaria Immunity and Vaccines group, Burnet Institute
• 2017–2021: Postdoctoral Research Officer, Michael Duffy laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne