Associate Professor Daniel Rawle is Head of the Emerging Viral Diseases Laboratory at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane, Australia, and Co-Deputy Director of the Centre for Tropical Health and Emerging Diseases. He is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and internationally recognised virologist whose research focuses on understanding how emerging and re-emerging viruses cause disease and how this knowledge can be translated into new vaccines, antivirals and immunomodulatory therapies.
Over the past decade, A/Prof Rawle has established expertise in virus-host interactions, viral immunopathology, and the development of high-containment (PC3) mouse models for studying viruses. His work has spanned a broad range of medically important viruses, including HIV, SARS-CoV-2, Japanese encephalitis virus, West Nile virus, chikungunya virus, Ross River virus, Oropouche virus and other emerging arboviruses.
His laboratory is particularly focused on mosquito-borne viruses that pose growing threats to Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. Through an integrated program of molecular virology, immunology and preclinical research, his team investigates the mechanisms governing viral replication and immunopathology, while advancing next-generation vaccines and therapeutic interventions. A/Prof Rawle currently leads multiple nationally funded research programs, including NHMRC Investigator and Ideas Grants, as well as collaborative projects examining the impacts of climate change on vector-borne disease emergence.
Dr Rawle has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, including papers in Cell, Nature Reviews Immunology, Nature Communications, Cell Reports, npj Vaccines and PLoS Pathogens. His research has contributed important advances in understanding SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis, arboviral disease mechanisms and vaccine development. He has secured more than AUD $3 million in competitive NHMRC funding as a Chief Investigator and has received numerous awards, including the QIMR Berghofer Breakthrough Award (2022) and the Adele Green Emerging Research Leader Award (2025).
