AWARDS

AVS Young Award

The AVS Young Award honours the legacy of the founder of the society Prof Paul Young, his outstanding contributions to virology and the effort he put into supporting and developing the society for more than two decades. The award recognizes outstanding mid-career researchers who have made substantial contributions to AVS and the discipline of virology either within or beyond the scientific community. The awardee will receive 2 years of free honorary membership in the society and invitation to speak at the following AVS meeting.

Closing Date: WEDNESDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2026. Late applications will not be considered.

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    • Mid-career researcher (6-15 years post-Ph.D. considering career interruptions) actively engaged in virology research.

    • AVS member for at least last 4 consecutive years.

    • Hast to be registered for the meeting and attend in person.

    • At least one member of their group (employee or HDR student) will be presenting a talk or a poster at the upcoming AVS meeting.

    1. Contribution to AVS (5%)

      • Leadership roles within AVS committees or working groups that delivered high-quality outcomes for the society (2%);

      • Active involvement in AVS conferences, workshops and other activities (2%);

      • Contributions to AVS publications, newsletters and media communications (1%).

    2. Contribution to Virology (45%)

      These contributions could include but are not limited to:

      • Teaching undergraduate courses at tertiary level or other relevant teaching activities

      • Public outreach and media engagement (including policy and advocacy as examples)

      • Contribution to editorial boards, review panels, etc

      • Membership in research centres and consortia

      • National and international collaborations

      • Industry engagement in the virology field

    3. Excellence in supervision and mentorship (25%)

      Supervision of research students / ECRs with demonstrated high quality outcomes (publications and career outcomes of mentees)

    4. Research excellence (25%)

      • High quality publications and/or commercialisation / IP outcomes (10%).

      • Acquisition of competitive research grants (10%).

      • National and international recognition as evident by invitations to speak at the meetings, invited reviews and editorials, etc (5%).

  • Applicant should submit the following documents by email (events-awards@avs.org.au):

    • Proof of PhD award date.

    • Cover letter that addresses the award criteria.

    • Detailed CV with a list of publications.

    • Support letter from a current AVS member that can endorse their application.

    • ROPE statement detailing career disruptions if required.

    Applicants that claim career interruptions may be asked to provide additional supporting documents.

  • A subcommittee of senior AVS members (15+ yrs post PhD) will be formed to review these applications. Include AVS CoM Awards subcommittee member (Chair), 3 previous AVS presidents, 1 ECR (current AVS Rising Star).

Indigenous Delegate Travel Awards

The Australasian Virology Society is proud to support the participation of First Nations and Indigenous delegates in the (AVS) Biennial Scientific Meeting through The Indigenous Delegate Travel Awards. These awards aim to increase representation and inclusion of Indigenous peoples within the professional virology research community by facilitating the recognition of First Nations and Indigenous voices in the scientific program of the biennial AVS conference. They are intended to contribute towards travel, accommodation, registration, and other reasonable costs associated with conference attendance, and will be awarded as a reimbursement upon provision of receipts.

In 2026, three Indigenous Delegate Travel Awards (AUD $2000 each) will be available, with sponsorship kindly provided by the journal ‘Viruses’, La Trobe Rural Health School, and the Burnet Institute.

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  • To be eligible for the award, applicants must:

    1. Self-identify as Indigenous (Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Māori, Pasifika, or other Indigenous person from the Australasian region);

    2. Be registered for the relevant AVS Annual Scientific Meeting;

    3. Either:

      • Submit an abstract for presentation at the conference; or

      • Be participating as an invited speaker in the conference program and provide an abstract of the talk.

    Applicants at any career stage are eligible and encouraged to apply.

  • Eligible delegates must indicate their wish to be considered for the Indigenous Delegate Travel Award at the time of abstract submission by forwarding their Abstract submission confirmation email to GEDI@avs.org.au.

    Applications will be evaluated based on:

    • quality of abstract and scientific contribution

    • distance travelled and associated barriers to conference attendance*.

    Although previous recipients of the award remain eligible, preference will be given to applicants who have not previously received the Indigenous Delegate Travel Award.

    *NB: The AVS13 LOC may reach out to final candidates for this award to clarify details around travel distance and associated barriers.

AVS Rising Star Award

The purpose of the AVS Rising Star Award is to acknowledge outstanding early career researchers who have made seminal contributions to the virology discipline and who demonstrate strong potential to become future leaders in virology research in Australia or New Zealand.

Applications are now closed for 2026.

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    • The AVS Rising Star Award is open to early career researchers with no more than 5 years of postdoctoral experience (with consideration to career breaks), with either doctoral or post-doctoral studies undertaken in Australia/New Zealand.

    • Career breaks due to illness, maternity leave or carer responsibilities will not count towards the 5 years.

    • Applicants must be current AVS members.

    • Applicants must be based in Australia or New Zealand at the time of applying or if based overseas, intending to return to Australia or New Zealand to continue their career.

    • Previous awardees of the AVS Rising Star or, before 2017, the Young Investigator Award, are not eligible.

  • Please upload the application as a single PDF document with requested information in the following order: Abstract, CV, statement outlining contributions to field/leadership, statement of career breaks (if relevant) and letter from university.

    Name PDF file: Applicant Surname_AVS_RSA_YY.

    • A copy of the abstract submitted for presentation at the AVS meeting including all authors and affiliations. Applicant must be the presenting author (highlighted by underlining name). Data should largely comprise new and unpublished results.

    • A statement outlining contributions to the field, leadership or emerging leadership roles (maximum 200 words).

    • A current CV (2 page maximum, at least 11 point font) including conference presentations, funding/grants received, and publications (please indicate your role in these).

    • A statement outlining any career disruptions (if relevant).

    • Evidence of when and where PhD was awarded (e.g. academic transcript or letter from university).

  • The Local Organizing Committee will form a judging panel that will include members of the LOC, and members of the AVS executive who will decide based on the quality of the presentation at AVS meeting, the track record of the applicant with respect to opportunity, and evidence of emerging leadership in the field according to the scoring rubric.

    Scoring Rubric:

    Click here to view the program

    When selecting the awardee, the LOC must take into consideration the gender and diversity of awardees, on balance, over a 4 year period and strive to obtain a 50/50 gender target. The LOC when considering the marks for the presentation should consider the allocated duration of the presentation and mark relative to opportunity.

  • The winner will be announced at the closing ceremony of the AVS scientific meeting. The winner is expected to make themselves available for photography/media, and details will be publicly acknowledged on the AVS website. Winners will be asked to provide a paragraph, for posting on the AVS website, about their work and how the award has helped them achieve their goals.