Emeritus Fellow to lead science at Melbourne

Professor Day’s research interests include infectious disease and global health with a particular interest in malaria.

Currently a Professor in the Departments of Microbiology and Medicine at the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine, she was previously Chair of the Department of Medical Parasitology, Director of the Masters Program in Global Public Health and the Director of the Institute of Urban and Global Health.

Professor Day said she was “excited at the prospect of returning home to Melbourne to take on the challenge of leading a world-class science faculty”.

Following post-doctoral work in Papua New Guinea, Professor Day held positions in biology at Imperial College, London and in zoology at Hertford College, University of Oxford (1993-2004).

She was a Founding Partner of both the Wellcome Trust Centre for the Epidemiology of Infectious Disease (WTCEID) and the interdisciplinary Peter Medawar Pathogen Evolution Research Centre at Oxford, during which time she was appointed a Visiting Professor at the Harvard School of Public Health.

University of Melbourne Provost Professor Margaret Sheil said she was extremely pleased with Professor Day’s appointment to lead the Faculty of Science.

“Karen is an outstanding researcher with extensive international experience who is strongly committed to building interdisciplinary teams to tackle important societal challenges. I am delighted she is returning to the University as Dean,” she said.

Professor Day is a member of the NYU Society of Fellows and an Emeritus Fellow, Hertford College, Oxford. She holds a BSc (Hons) with a double major in microbiology/biochemistry from the University of Melbourne and a PhD in Molecular Parasitology from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), University of Melbourne.

Professor Day will commence as Dean in January 2014. She succeeds Professor Rob Saint, who recently took up the role of Pro Vice Chancellor (Research Strategy) at the University of Adelaide.