Nobel Prize winner to strengthen national science body

Synchrotron science in Australia has been strengthened by the announcement that Nobel Prize winner Professor Peter Doherty has formally accepted an invitation to join the National Science Colloquium of the Australian Synchrotron.

The National Science Colloquium (NSC) provides strategic advice and advocacy services to the Australian Synchrotron, particularly in relation to its research and goals. Chaired by eminent immunologist Sir Gustav Nossal, the NSC includes leaders in science and industry from across Australia and New Zealand.

The Director of the Australian Synchrotron, Professor Keith Nugent, said he was delighted that Professor Doherty had accepted a position on the NSC.

“Peter is a scientist of immense standing in the world’s scientific community and we are buoyed by his acceptance,” said Professor Nugent. “His vigour and insight will be a great addition to the work of our most important advocacy group.”

Professor Doherty won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Swiss colleague Rolf Zinkernagel after they discovered the basic principle underlying cell-mediated immunity. Doherty was made Australian of the Year in 1997.

Doherty’s original degree was in veterinary science from the University of Queensland, after which he studied for and received his PhD from the University of Edinburgh Medical School. He is the first person with a veterinary qualification to receive a Nobel Prize.

Since 2002, Professor Doherty has spent most of his time in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne, though he still does some work at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, USA. His major focus is on influenza immunity and on promoting the evidence-based values of science within Australian society.

The NSC was set up in December 2009 and last met in May 2011.