Katie Stanhope

Katelyn is a PhD student at Burnet Institute and Deakin University’s School of Medicine, co-supervised by Professor Alyssa Barry and Professor James Beeson. Her research investigates the extensive genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum and its implications for malaria vaccine development. By integrating malaria genomics, bioinformatics, and immunology, Katelyn aims to define antigen serotypes and their geographic patterns to inform more broadly protective malaria vaccines. 

Katelyn began her PhD in 2024, following several years of involvement with the Barry Lab. She first joined Burnet in 2021 for an internship during her Bachelor of Biomedical Science at Deakin University (commenced in 2019), and returned in 2022 to complete an honours project (H1) applying a novel SNP-barcoding assay to Cambodian P. falciparum samples, revealing local transmission patterns. She has since worked as a research assistant, contributing to molecular assay development, data processing, and lab operations.

Beyond the bench, Katelyn is laboratory custodian, a member of the Health and Safety Committee, and is the lead for the Barry Lab’s My Green Lab initiative. She is also actively involved in many committees and scientific communities such as the ACREME network, reflecting her strong commitment to collaborative research and scientific engagement.

• 2022: Bachelor of Health and Medical Science (Honours), Deakin University, Australia
• 2021: Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Deakin University, Australia