The 6th Lorne Infection and Immunity Conference was held 17-19 February 2016 at Mantra Lorne. This annual conference is co-hosted by the VIIN and the Queensland based Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre. It regularly boasts a great line up of international and Australian speakers from various infection and immunity disciplines.

There was a strong virology focus at this year's conference with Charles Rice, The Rockefeller University, delivering the plenary presentation on Hepatitis C and beyond: New insights into virus-host interactions. Charles is pictured below left along with local virologists. Left to right: Heidi Drummer, Burnet Institute (Conference Organising Committee Member); Charles Rice, The Rockefeller University; Karla Helbig, La Trobe University; Michael Beard, University of Adelaide (Conference Organising Committee Member); Alex Khromykh, Univeristy of Queensland (Conference Organising Committee Member).

Now a regular feature of the conference, the Early Career Research (ECR) Lunch (above right) was very well-received. This event is organised by an ECR committee and gives aspiring students and postdocs the opportunity to sit and chat to the national and international invited speakers in an informal setting.

Watermark Intellectual Asset Management hosted a breakfast workshop on the Thursday morning of the conference, giving all attendees the opportunity to ask pressing questions about patents and biotechnology. Watermark will be partnering with the VIIN for two further workshops in May 2016, one in Clayton and one in Parkville.

Also on offer were Student Poster Prizes. Steven Cho, Hudson Institute (below left) and Ambika Murthy, Institute for Molecular Bioscience (below right) took away the awards this year, each worth $300.

The VIIN hosts a number of events aimed at Postgraduate Students and Early Career Researchers throughout the year. For more details on upcoming VIIN events>

View more photos from the 2016 Lorne Infection and Immunity Conference>