Life scientists pick up Australia Day honours

It's a big day for many Australians, but Australia Day also proved a big day for many life scientists who were recipients of various honours, issued in a ceremony in Canberra yesterday.

Among the recipients of the Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) were:

• Dr Robyn Alders, Principal Investigator, Tufts University, RESPOND Project within the USAID Emerging Pandemic Threat Program, Associate Professor, International Veterinary Medicine Section, Environmental and Population Health Department, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, Director, International Rural Poultry Centre, KYEEMA Foundation, Australia, for distinguished service to veterinary science as a researcher and educator, to the maintenance of food security in developing countries through livestock management and disease control programs, and to the Australian poultry industry.

• Dr John Prineas, Honorary Professor at the Nerve Research Foundation at the University of Sydney, Adjunct Professor, Department of Neurosciences at the University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey, for distinguished service to medicine in the field of neurology as an academic, researcher and mentor, to improving the lives of people with Multiple Sclerosis, and to medical education.

• Professor Alastair MacLennan, Professor and Head, Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Adelaide, Head, South Australian Cerebral Palsy Research Group researching genetic susceptibility and environment triggers as causes of cerebral palsy, for distinguished service to medicine as a leading researcher and practitioner in the areas of obstetrics and gynaecology and the causes of cerebral palsy, to medical education, and to professional development.

Among the recipients of the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) included:

• Professor Ian Olver, Chief Executive Officer of Cancer Council Australia and Clinical Professor of Cancer Care in the Department of Medicine at the University of Sydney, for service to medical oncology as a clinician, researcher, administrator and mentor, and to the community through leadership roles with cancer control organisations.

• Professor Rawlinson, Director of Virology and Senior Medical Virologist at the South Eastern Area and Illawarra Health Service, Conjoint Professor in the School of Medical Sciences at the University of New South Wales, Adjunct Professor in the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, and Conjoint Professor at the Prince of Wales Clinical School, and Associate Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biosciences at the University of Technology, Sydney, for service to the medical sciences as a clinician, educator and researcher in the disciplines of virology and pathology.

• Professor Tony d'Apice, Director of Immunology Research, St Vincent’s Hospital, for service to medical research, particularly in the fields of nephrology and immunology, through leadership roles in the development of organ transplantation science, and as an academic and author.

Australian Life Scientist would like to congratulate all the recipients of honours on Australia Day.