Bethany A Horsburgh 12th Australasian Virology Society Meeting 2024

Bethany A Horsburgh

Bethany is a Research Associate at the Kirby Institute, UNSW, currently focussed on the development and validation of whole-genome sequencing methodologies for HIV and Hepatitis C. She completed her Bachelor of Science (Advanced) with Honours in 2016 at the University of Sydney, majoring in Immunobiology and Biology, followed by a PhD (2020) at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research. Her studies focused on the use of single-copy assays and high-throughput sequencing to characterise full-length HIV genomes during suppressive antiretroviral therapy, ultimately aiming to accurately identify the target cells for an HIV cure. Prior to her current role at the Kirby Institute she worked as a research assistant to further develop an understanding of genetically diverse viruses and high-throughput sequencing techniques. In 2021 this work assisted in the identification of a previously uncharacterised strain of Hendra virus, which has since been implicated in the most southerly case of Hendra virus infection in Australia. Bethany is the current secretary of the Australian Centre for Hepatitis Virology, after having served as the Early Career Representative in 2023. She is a founding member of the Kirby Institute Early and Mid-Career Academic Network (KEMCAN) committee, and has been an International AIDS Society Change Maker since 2022.