An ARC and NHMRC research fellow, and a public health physician, Professor Beeson completed his medical degree at Monash University in 1992.

Based at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research with field work at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital and Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Program, Malawi his thesis titled ‘Mechanisms of placental infection by Plasmodium falciparum,’ commenced in February 1997 and passed in January 2001 through the University of Melbourne.

Following postgraduate specialty training as a public health physician in 2001, he headed a research group at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute from 2004-2010. In January 2011 he joined Burnet Institute.

Professor Beeson has worked in malaria research in Africa and Asia for 20 years, including Malawi, Kenya, Papua New Guinea and Thailand.

His research group primarily focuses on understanding how malaria causes disease in people and how immunity to malaria develops, and on the development of interventions to reduce malaria such as vaccines or public health programs. Their research currently involves clinical and population studies in Papua New Guinea, Africa and Asia.

With a particular interest in the affects of malaria in pregnancy, and maternal health more broadly, Professor Beeson completed his PhD thesis on malaria in pregnancy, which included studies in Malawi, Central Africa.

This work has highlighted the challenge of improving maternal health in resource-poor countries with a high burden of disease, emphasising the need for programs and interventions that address multiple causes of poor maternal health rather than specific diseases in isolation.