Club Melbourne Ambassadors influencing the science sector

August 03, 2021

Great minds live in Melbourne and the city continues to be Australia’s innovation hub. In celebration of National Science Week, Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) takes the opportunity to acknowledge several of the Club Melbourne Ambassadors (CMA) who have influenced and supported the science sector both here locally and internationally.

Owned and led by Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, with support and collaboration from MCB and the Victorian State Government, Club Melbourne harnesses the passion of Melbourne’s elite thinkers and leaders. CMA and thought leaders work together with MCB to secure and host international conferences. These conferences are pivotal to promoting Victoria’s expertise in fields such as science, medicine and technology around the world, boost its economy and leaving lasting business networks and research legacies.

Professor Sharon Lewin 

Professor Sharon Lewin is one of Melbourne’s sector champions in the medical field and a Club Melbourne Ambassador. known internationally as a global leader in HIV research, she is an infectious diseases physician and basic scientist and the inaugural Director of The Doherty Institute, a joint venture of the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital. 

Prof. Lewin leads a large research team that focuses on understanding why HIV persists on treatment and how HIV interacts with other common co-infections, including hepatitis B virus (HBV). Her team has pioneered multiple early phase clinical trials aimed at ultimately finding a cure for HIV infection and collaborates widely with research groups across Asia, the United States and Europe.

As one of Melbourne’s great minds and a thought leader in the medical field, Prof. Lewin was crucial to the success in securing the International AIDS Conference 2014 where she co-chaired one of the largest ever health conferences hosted in Australia. 

Doctor Dean Morris

Doctor Dean Morris is the Head of Operations at ANSTO’s Australian Synchrotron facility. The Australian Synchrotron is a world-class research facility that uses accelerator technology to produce a powerful source of light - x-rays and infrared radiation, a million times brighter than the sun.

The Australian Synchrotron state-of-the-art technologies support the research needs of Australia’s major universities and research centres, and businesses ranging from small-to-medium enterprises to multinational companies. Access to these technologies helps Australia’s brightest minds to be at the forefront of their fields, strengthening Melbourne’s reputation in the scientific community and attracting experts from around the world.

Born in Wales, Doctor Morris has completed a Ph.D. in X-ray optics at the Daresbury and Brookhaven synchrotrons. He has extensive experience in the scientific sector acquired through different jobs around the world, including performing as CERN Business Manager for Oxford Instruments, a key supplier of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN).

Doctor Morris works collaboratively with Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) as a Club Melbourne Ambassador to support Melbourne in securing and hosting international conferences in the scientific and engineering sector.

Professor Hugh Taylor AC

Melbourne Laureate Professor Hugh Taylor is the Harold Mitchell Professor of Indigenous Eye Health at the University of Melbourne and an expert and pioneer in eye health. Previously he was Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Melbourne and Founding Director of the Centre for Eye Research Australia. He has devoted over 40 years to ophthalmic research and teaching, aiming to improve lives through the design and delivery of community eye health care programs and is a Club Melbourne Ambassador.

Professor Taylor has supported MCB in numerous bids, including securing the World Ophthalmology Congress 2022 (WOC 2022) which prior to the pandemic, was expected to be the largest conference ever secured for Victoria. The congress may now see delegates from across the globe connect virtually to discuss new trends, products and developments in ophthalmology and eye health.

Find out more about Melbourne’s greatest minds and expert sectors:

www.melbournecb.com.au/business-events/ambassadors