NCIRS affiliate Professor Julie Leask receives Order of Australia

Professor Julie Leask – a former colleague of many NCIRS staffers and a long-time affiliate of the Centre – was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the General Division in this year’s Australia Day Honours.

The accolade was awarded in recognition of Julie’s ‘distinguished service to health and medical research, to policy advice, and to enhancing community understanding of immunisation’. 

Additionally, Julie was among 49 Australians to feature on the 2024 COVID-19 Honour Roll, in acknowledgement of her significant contributions to Australia’s COVID-19 pandemic response.

Julie is a professor in the School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney, where she co-leads the Social and Behavioural Insights in Immunisation research group.

She is also a Professorial Fellow at NCIRS, where she previously: 

• drove the formation of the Social Science Unit
• led the development of Sharing Knowledge about Immunisation (SKAI)
• was a founding chair of the Collaboration on Social Science in Immunisation (COSSI).

NCIRS congratulates Julie on this recognition of the enormous value she brings to immunisation and public health in Australia and internationally.