Getting off to a good start

22 July 2022

Dr Daniel Enosi Tuipulotu has been awarded the Jim Pittard Early Career Award by the Australian Society for Microbiology.

The Award is given to two scientists in the early stages of their careers, recognising their distinguished contributions to Australian research in microbiology. As for this year, Dr Enosi Tuipulotu shares the Award with Dr Rachael Lappan from Monash University.

“It’s a fantastic feeling to be recognised as a leading early career researcher by experts in your field and that your body of research is considered important,” said Dr Enosi Tuipulotu.

Driven by a keen interest in microorganisms and infectious diseases, Dr Enosi Tuipulotu has formed a focus on microbiology since his undergraduate years. 

During his PhD studies at The University of New South Wales, he worked on identifying novel antiviral therapies. In 2019,  Dr Enosi Tuipulotu joined the Man Group as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR), ANU. Currently, he is developing innovative solutions to control multi-drug resistant pathogens.

Dr Enosi Tuipulotu’s work has also been recognised by The Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology (ASI). Earlier this year, he was awarded a $3,000 ASI Career Advancement Award. 

His deep dive into the immune system even enabled him to expand the influence of his research into cancer biology by shedding new light on the development of colorectal cancer, which earned him the 2022 GESA Mostyn Family Grant.

Dr Enosi Tuipulotu finds it “truly humbling” to have been awarded all these honours and grant support at this early stage, which is, without doubt, a critical point in his scientific career.

 “It has helped to wane any imposter syndrome that I and many other ECRs in academia face,” he said.

With a strong start, Dr Enosi Tuipulotu is committed to continuing to deliver quality research. He hopes one day, his research into microbiology and immunology can be translated into the clinic—“bringing everything full circle from bench to bedside,” as he put it.