معرفی
Dr Rebecca Rockett is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. She is an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow (2023–2027) and a principal investigator within the Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute (Sydney ID) and the Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology – Public Health at Westmead campus.
Education & Training:
- PhD in Molecular Virology, University of Queensland (2015) – characterised pathogenesis of newly discovered human polyomaviruses.
- Post-doctoral development in next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics at SydneyID.
Research Focus:
Dr Rockett’s overarching goal is to improve detection and treatment of existing and emerging high-burden infectious diseases. She leverages pathogen genomics, metagenomics, epidemiology and bioinformatics to:
- track and contain outbreaks via real-time genomic surveillance;
- detect antimicrobial resistance determinants;
- investigate vaccine breakthrough infections;
- develop molecular diagnostics for respiratory viruses, malaria and STIs.
Recent Publication Trends:
Her 2020–2025 publications reveal an intensive focus on SARS-CoV-2, covering co-infections, variant subtyping, resistance mutations, and assay optimisation. Additional work addresses monkeypox antibody responses, Salmonella and Legionella outbreak genomics, and capacity-building for genomics in low-resource settings.
Scientific Awards & Fellowships:
- NHMRC Senior Research Fellow (2023–2027)
- NHMRC Investigator Grant recipient (2023–2027)
Research Supervision & Grants:
- Current HDR students: David Pham (Targeted Metagenomic NGS for Infectious Disease Diagnosis); Sarah Smith (Phylo-epidemiology of invasive pneumococci).
- Major grants (2022–2024):
– Deployable Genomics-Guided Outbreak Response Program (ReSPOnd), Office of Global and Research Engagement
– Metagenomic NGS for female sexual & reproductive health in Zambia, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
– Castanet: analytics toolkit for capture-based pathogen surveillance, Sydney ID Strategic Funding
Laboratories & Collaborations:
She leads a research group within the Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute and works closely with the Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology – Public Health at Westmead, maintaining strong collaborative networks across Australian public health laboratories and international partners in the Asia-Pacific region.