ProfMichael Wallach

Professor Michael Wallach is a distinguished molecular parasitologist with over 35 years of experience spanning both academic and industrial science. His expertise lies in basic and applied molecular parasitology, with a research career that has made significant contributions to global health and biotechnology.

In September 2002, Professor Wallach was appointed the inaugural Director of the Institute for the Biotechnology of Infectious Diseases (IBID) at University of Technology Sydney. His international research career has included appointments at institutions such as Rockefeller University in New York, the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem, and the University of Bern in Switzerland. His early work on malaria and Leishmania was groundbreaking, resulting in publications in journals including Nature and PNAS.

A major focus of Professor Wallach’s research has been on Eimeria in chickens—the causative agent of coccidiosis, the most economically significant disease in the poultry industry. His work led to the development, patenting, registration, and commercialisation of CoxAbic®, a maternally derived subunit vaccine marketed by Abic Ltd., a subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceuticals in Israel.

Professor Wallach has published many peer-reviewed papers and has been invited to present his research at numerous international conferences. His work has been recognised through various prestigious grants and awards, including funding from the National Institutes of Health (USA), the Roche Foundation (Switzerland), and the Invited Lectureship Travel Grant from the Australian Society for Parasitology in 1996.

Since 2007, Professor Wallach has expanded his research to include immunological strategies for controlling seasonal and pandemic influenza. Collaborating with the Swedish National Veterinary Institute, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (USA), and the WHO Centre of Expertise for Flu Research, he contributed to a landmark proof-of-concept study completed in 2009 and published in 2010.

In 2008, he established a Bio-Innovation course at UTS, designed to foster creativity and translational thinking among Masters and PhD students. The course, which has also been delivered at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, equips participants with the skills to develop innovative medical health products. More recently, he launched an international version of the course, bringing together PhD students from UTS, the Kolling Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, the Technion, and National Taiwan University/Academia Sinica. This global program rotates annually among host countries and promotes cross-cultural collaboration in biomedical innovation.

In 2013, Professor Wallach was appointed the inaugural Director of the SPARK Sydney program, modelled on the successful SPARK initiative at Stanford University. Officially launched in November 2014 by UTS and the Kolling Institute, the program provides seed funding and professional mentoring to help researchers translate their discoveries into real health solutions. 

As an Adjunct Professor Wallach continues to be a passionate advocate for bridging the gap between research and impact, with a career dedicated to improving human health through scientific innovation and global collaboration.