GSK Australia Award for Research Excellence
The GSK Award for Research Excellence is one of the most prestigious awards available to the Australian medical research community. It has been awarded since 1980 to recognise outstanding achievements in medical research and facilitates career development with potential importance to human health and Australian research.
It was first presented as the Wellcome Australia Medal and then as the Glaxo-Wellcome Medal before receiving its current name.
We are delighted to support the Australian health research community with the GSK Award for Research Excellence (ARE).
The 2025 GSK ARE winner was announced at the Australian Academy of Science's Science at the Shine Dome.
Virologist recognised for AI-based disease detection wins the 2025 GSK Award for Research Excellence
Professor Edward Holmes has been awarded the 2025 GSK Award for Research Excellence (ARE) for his pioneering use of metatranscriptomics and artificial intelligence (AI) to identify viruses, improve diagnostics and better understand how infectious disease epidemics emerge.1,2
Metatranscriptomics refers to the process of sequencing all genetic material in a sample to determine which viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens are active.3 The approach offers a comprehensive view of infections, opening new possibilities for faster, more accurate diagnoses.
A world-leading virologist, National Health and Medical Research Council Leadership Fellow and Professor of Virology at the University of Sydney, Professor Holmes has made landmark contributions throughout his career. During the COVID-19 pandemic he was the first to publicly release the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), enabling global scientific collaboration that led to the development of diagnostic tests and vaccines within days of its release.4
Over the past decade, the emergence of new viruses has shown that previously unknown pathogens can trigger epidemics and, in some cases, global pandemics.5 Recent research estimates that there are millions of undiscovered viruses, some of which will have the potential to infect humans, underscoring the need for innovation that enables rapid detection to help prevent disease emergence and reduce future pandemic risk.6
Accepting the award, Professor Holmes said:
“It’s an honour to receive the 2025 GSK Award for Research Excellence and to see our work be acknowledged in this way. Identifying the cause of an infection can sometimes be a complex, piecemeal process that is too slow to change the course of a patient’s illness.” He adds, “We are looking to change that. By pairing metatranscriptomics and advanced AI, we can now identify all the different microbes responsible for a specific infection. We are hoping to use this technique to deliver a diagnosis in as little as 24 hours, giving clinicians a critical head start in treating patients and responding to emerging threats.”
Working in collaboration with clinicians at a major Australian hospital, Professor Holmes’ team is developing a one-stop AI-based platform to rapidly and accurately identify pathogens in real patient samples, initially looking at patients with respiratory conditions. While he focuses on decoding genetic data, his clinical partners bring vital patient insights highlighting how collaboration across research and frontline care can turn innovation into real-world impact.
Dr Krispin Hajkowicz, a Senior Infectious Diseases Physician and Clinician Researcher at the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, said the ability to integrate this technology into hospital workflows could be game-changing.
“When a patient is admitted with a life-threatening infection, every hour counts. This technology has the potential to give us an accurate diagnosis within hours from a single sample. That speed means we can make targeted treatment decisions sooner, avoid unnecessary medications, and give patients the best chance of a faster recovery,” said Dr Hajkowicz, “I’m incredibly proud to be part of this journey and congratulate Professor Holmes on this well-earned recognition.”
Professor Holmes said the $150,000 AUD grant will help accelerate the refinement of the AI platform including investment in specialised equipment to process and analyse sequencing data at speed.
He added, “Current metagenomic techniques generate enormous volumes of data, often taking days to interpret. Our platform will cut through that complexity to deliver accurate results within a clinically relevant timeframe, directly supporting better patient care.”
Dr Alan Paul, Executive Country Medical Director at GSK Australia said, “Professor Holmes’ work is a breakthrough in how we approach infectious disease detection. By combining global expertise in virology with cutting-edge AI, he is creating a tool that could save lives, reduce healthcare costs and improve future pandemic preparedness. We are proud to support this innovation through the GSK Award for Research Excellence.”
The 2025 GSK ARE was presented to Professor Holmes at the Australian Academy of Science’s Science at the Shine Dome 2025 Spring Soiree in Canberra. Now in its 45th year, the GSK ARE is one of the most prestigious and longstanding independent awards open to the Australian medical research community.
References:
- Hou X, at al. Using artificial intelligence to document the hidden RNA virosphere. Cell. 187(24):6929-6942.e16 (2024). doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.09.027.
- Wu, F., Zhao, S., Yu, B. et al. A new coronavirus associated with human respiratory disease in China. Nature 579, 265–269 (2020). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2008-3
- Shi M, Zhang YZ, Holmes EC. Meta-transcriptomics and the evolutionary biology of RNA viruses. Virus Res. 2;243:83-90. (2018) doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2017.10.016.
- Lurie, N., Saville, M., Hatchett, R., & Halton, J. Developing Covid-19 Vaccines at Pandemic Speed. New England Journal of Medicine 382(21), 1969–1973. (2020) doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2005630
- Woolhouse, M.E.J., Brierley, L., Predicting the emergence of human infectious diseases. Current Opinion in Virology, 62, 101347. (2024) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coviro.2023.101347
- Carlson, C.J., Zipfel, C.M., Garnier, R., Bansal, S., Global estimates of mammalian viral diversity accounting for host sharing. Science of The Total Environment, 887, 163818. (2023) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163818