Michelle Rourke

Michelle Rourke is a Scientific Officer affiliated with the Australian Defence Force Malaria and Infectious Disease Institute, where she investigates international legal frameworks for pathogen sample sharing and genetic sequence data governance. She is also a non-resident Affiliate at Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Science and Security and contributes to the Global Virome Project’s Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Working Group.

• Education:
  • Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts, Australian National University
  • Bachelor of Applied Science (First Class Honors in Virology), Queensland University of Technology
  • Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics, University of Queensland
  • Graduate Certificate in Journalism, University of Queensland
  • Doctoral candidate in Law, Griffith University Law School

Her research bridges virology and legal governance, focusing on the implications of the United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol for virus access and benefit-sharing. She previously conducted military-related research on mosquito-transmitted viruses at the Army Malaria Institute during her 2009-2020 tenure in the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps.

• Scientific Awards:
  • Fulbright Scholarship (2017), supporting her work at Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law