About Our Project

artist's impression of the Peter Doherty Institute building

The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity is named after the esteemed Nobel Laureate (1996) and Laureate Professor at the University of Melbourne, Professor Peter Doherty, who is also the Institute’s Patron.

Once operational in 2014, the Doherty will house a coalition of infection and immunology experts to lead the fight against infectious human diseases.

More than 700 scientists, researchers and staff will collaborate in a state-of-the-art facility and teach, train, provide scholarships for and inspire future generations of students, clinicians and researchers.

The six organisations bought together to form the Doherty partnership are the:

  • The University of Melbourne's Department of Microbiology and Immunology;
  • The Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory, The University of Melbourne;
  • The Victorian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System;
  • The Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory;
  • The Victorian Infectious Diseases Service; and the
  • The Victorian Life Sciences Computation Initiative.

In future it is envisioned other organisations will join the Doherty either in entirety or in part, such as the Nossal Institute for Global Health which will have representatives based at the Institute when it opens in 2014.

The Doherty is being constructed on the corner of Grattan and Elizabeth Streets Melbourne, locating it right in the heart of Melbourne’s hub of healthcare, research and education excellence, the Parkville Precinct. It is the first institute of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

Construction works update

Construction works on the site earmarked for the Peter Doherty Institute began on the 15th August 2011 and will continue until late 2013.

To ensure the local community is kept informed about progress on the construction site, the University of Melbourne has developed a neighbour newsletter. Read about what is happening on the site right now:

Demolition works update

Demolition works took place on the site from 17th May and until early August 2011.

For more information about how the Demolition works progressed, read the neighbour newsletters: