Person
Tilley, Leann
- Born
- Edenhope, Victoria, Australia
- Occupation
- Biochemist and Parasitologist
Summary
Leann Tilley is a parasitologist internationally recognised for her work to understand and combat malaria. Her research focuses on Plasmodium cell biology and drug development. In particular she is interested in the action of, and resistance to, antimalarials, working with industry colleagues to design new drugs. During her tenure as Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellow, Tilley created the Georgina Sweet Awards for Women in Quantitative Biomedical Science to support female scientists. Tilley is an active member of professional organisations, and served as President of the Australian Society for Parasitology and the Australian Society for Biochemical and Molecular Biology. She has received a number of awards for her research. In 2011 she was appointed Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Melbourne
Details
Chronology
- 1982 - 2025
- Career position - Member, Australian Society of Biochemical and Molecular Biology
- 1984
- Education - PhD, University of Sydney
- 2004 - 2011
- Career position - Professor, La Trobe University
- 2005 - 2013
- Career position - Deputy Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coherent X-ray Science
- 2010
- Award - Bancroft-Mackerras Medal for Excellence, Australian Society for Parasitology
- 2011 -
- Career position - Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Melbourne
- 2011
- Award - Beckman Coulter Discovery Award, Australian Society for Biochemical and Molecular Biology
- 2011 - 2015
- Award - Australian Professorial Fellowship, Australian Research Council
- 2013 - 2014
- Career position - Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coherent X-ray Science
- 2015 - 2019
- Award - ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship
- 2016
- Award - Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre Eureka Prize for Infectious Diseases Research, Australian Museum
- 2016 - 2020
- Award - Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship, Australian Research Council
- 2017
- Award - Bob Robertson Award, Australian Society of Biophysics
- 2017 - 2018
- Career position - President, Australian Society for Biochemical and Molecular Biology
- 2018 -
- Award - Fellow, Australian Society for Parasitology
- 2022
- Award - Lemberg Medal, Australian Society of Biochemical and Molecular Biology
- 2024
- Career position - Convenor, IUBMB/FAOBMB/ComBio2024 Biomolecular Horizons Organising Congress, Melbourne
- 2025 -
- Award - Honorary Fellow, Australian Society of Biochemical and Molecular Biology
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Anon, 'Leann Tilley, FASP 2018', Newsletter, Australian Society for Parasitology, 29 (1) (2018), 7. Details
- Anon, 'New ASBMB Honorary Members [Merlin Crossley, Briony Forbes, Terry Piva and Leann Tilley]', Australian biochemist 56(3):31-3, 56 (3) (2026), 31-3, https://cdn.wsm.com.au/ASBMB/ASBMB-AB-2025-Vol-56-Number-3-December-High-Res.pdf. Details
- Tilley, Leann, 'Audrey Cahn: a nonagenarian scientist remembers the early days', Wisenet : Journal of the Women in Science Enquiry Network (1998), https://web.archive.org.au/awa/20120321072512mp_/http://www.wisenet-australia.org/issue49/contnt49.htm. Details
Newspaper Articles
- Tilley, Leann and Stone, Bruce, 'A scientist ahead of her times', The Age (2008). Details
Resource Sections
- Tilley, Leann; Stone, Bruce, 'Audrey Josephine Cahn, (1905-2008)', in Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, Canberra, 2023. https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/cahn-audrey-josephine-13608/text24357. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 18 August 2026