Otago University researcher receives 2027 Fleming Prize

An Otago University researcher at the forefront of introducing the genome sequencing programme during Covid-19 has been awarded one of microbiology's highest honours in the 2027 Fleming Prize.

Dr Jemma Geoghegan works in Otago's Department of Microbiology and Immunology and has spent her career revealing the hidden forces that shape infectious diseases.

She's also the Webster Family Chair in Viral Pathogenesis and a Rutherford Discovery Fellow.

Her research sat at the intersection of virology, evolutionary biology and genomics, having discovered and described thousands of viruses, and challenged long-held assumptions about virus-host relationships.

This put her at the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic response.

In 2020, she was part of the team that established the SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance programme, helping place viral genome sequencing at the centre of outbreak investigations.

This programme, later described as "world leading", demonstrated how real-time genomic data could inform public health responses by identifying transmission pathways, resolving outbreak clusters and guiding interventions.

"We can't always predict which discoveries will turn out to be useful, or when," Geoghegan said.

"During Covid, we were able to take approaches developed through years of research into virus evolution, apply them directly to understanding transmission and informing New Zealand's public health response."

She'd become a trusted expert voice on infectious diseases, her work in public engagement recognised with the 2025 Prime Minister's Science Communication Prize.

"Communicating science is a really important part of being a researcher," she said, "particularly when you're working on something that directly affects people's lives".

And it was an aspect of the job she greatly enjoyed.

These days, her research was expanding into pathogen genomics across human, wildlife and environmental systems, helping to prepare for the next pandemic.

"I'd really like to acknowledge the students, postdocs and collaborators I've worked with, both in New Zealand and internationally," she said.

"Science is very much a collective effort, and I've been fortunate to work with some fantastic people who have contributed enormously to the research being recognised by this award."

About the award

Named after Sir Alexander Fleming, a pioneer of modern medicine, the Microbiology Society awards the Fleming Prize annually to someone with an outstanding research record.

It will be presented at the society's annual conference in Birmingham in the United Kingdom next year, where Geoghegan will also deliver the Fleming Prize Lecture.