Tanya Golubchik

Tanya Golubchik is a Senior Lecturer in Computational Microbiology and an NHMRC Principal Research Fellow at the University of Sydney's School of Medical Sciences under the Faculty of Medicine and Health. She is affiliated with the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre and the Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute (Sydney ID). Her research focuses on applying modern genomics technologies to study pathogen evolution and transmission, particularly in viruses and bacteria with public health significance. She has collaborated extensively with institutions such as the University of Oxford's Big Data Institute and the PANGEA-HIV Consortium, contributing to HIV and SARS-CoV-2 genomic analysis.

Educated at the University of Sydney with a dual major in biology and computer science, she earned her PhD in molecular biology. Her postdoctoral work at the University of Oxford involved pneumococcal vaccine escape variants and within-host bacterial evolution. She led computational analysis of SARS-CoV-2 sequencing during the pandemic as part of the COG-UK Consortium and returned to Sydney in 2022.

Her research interests include understanding how pathogens evolve within hosts, develop strategies to combat infections, and integrate metagenomics for clinical insights. She has pioneered methods like targeted metagenomics for simultaneous sequencing and transcriptional profiling of pathogens. Recent work examines RSV intrahost diversity in infants and SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics in the UK. She also explores climate change impacts on disease through CLIMADE and investigates HIV transmission networks in Africa.

Her scientific contributions include the 2023 Thompson Prize from the University of Sydney. Research grants span projects like genomics solutions for HIV surveillance in low-income settings, vector-borne disease detection amid climate change, and metagenomic studies in female reproductive health. Her work bridges epidemiology, genetics, and translational research, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to global health challenges.

In advising and grants, she has secured funding for high-throughput sequencing and transmission network analysis. While no formal advisee names are listed, her supervisory roles in molecular epidemiology and bioinformatics suggest active student mentoring. Collaborations with international teams and institutes highlight her global engagement in addressing infectious disease threats through computational and genomic strategies.

Key teams include the PANGEA-HIV Consortium, COG-UK, and CLIMADE. She leads initiatives at Sydney ID and the School of Medical Sciences, advancing pathogen genomics and outbreak response methodologies.