TLDR: Professor Edward Holmes, a leading virologist, has received the 2025 GSK Award for Research Excellence for his groundbreaking work in using metatranscriptomics and artificial intelligence to rapidly detect infectious diseases. His innovations aim to revolutionize diagnostics, enhance pandemic preparedness, and accelerate the identification of new pathogens, building on his prior critical contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professor Edward Holmes, a distinguished virologist and National Health and Medical Research Council Leadership Fellow at the University of Sydney, has been awarded the prestigious 2025 GSK Award for Research Excellence (ARE). The accolade recognizes Professor Holmes’ pioneering application of metatranscriptomics and artificial intelligence (AI) to identify viruses, enhance diagnostic capabilities, and deepen the understanding of how infectious disease epidemics emerge.
The award was presented at the Australian Academy of Science’s Science at the Shine Dome 2025 Spring Soiree in Canberra. Professor Holmes’ innovative approach involves sequencing all genetic material in a sample (metatranscriptomics) to gain a comprehensive view of infections, enabling faster and more accurate diagnoses. This technology is poised to open new avenues for preventing disease emergence and mitigating future pandemic risks.
Throughout his illustrious career, Professor Holmes has made significant contributions to virology. Notably, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he was the first to publicly release the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. This pivotal action facilitated rapid global scientific collaboration, leading to the swift development of diagnostic tests and vaccines.
In his acceptance speech, Professor Holmes expressed his gratitude, stating, “It’s an honour to receive the 2025 GSK Award for Research Excellence and to see our work be acknowledged in this way. Identifying the cause of an infection can sometimes be a complex, piecemeal process that is too slow to change the course of a patient’s illness.” He further elaborated on the transformative potential of his work: “We are looking to change that. By pairing metatranscriptomics and advanced AI, we can now identify all the different microbes responsible for a specific infection.”
Dr. Alan Paul, Executive Country Medical Director at GSK Australia, lauded Professor Holmes’ achievements, remarking, “Professor Holmes’ work is a breakthrough in how we approach infectious disease detection. By combining global expertise in virology with cutting-edge AI, he is creating a tool that could save lives, reduce healthcare costs and improve future pandemic preparedness. We are proud to support this innovation through the GSK Award for Research Excellence.”
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The urgency for such innovation is underscored by recent research estimating millions of undiscovered viruses, some with the potential to infect humans. Professor Holmes’ research, which can identify new viruses in hours instead of days, is a critical step towards transforming diagnostics and patient care globally, bolstering preparedness against future infectious disease threats.
