Nelson appoints science journo as advisor

The Federal Health Minister, Dr Brendan Nelson, has appointed researcher turned science writer Dr Thomas Barlow to be his science advisor.

Barlow's science career began as an undergraduate at the University of Sydney. He completed his training at St John's College, Oxford, and continued as a research fellow at Balliol College, Oxford for a further three years.

In 1998 Dr Barlow was a visiting research fellow at MIT Cambridge, in the US. The focus of his research was protein structure prediction and small molecule drug design.

Dr Barlow went on to be a regular contributor to UK newspaper The Financial Times, writing about science and its role in society.

"Dr Barlow will work closely with advisers in Science Minister Peter McGauran's office, provide a contact point for peak science bodies and interested agencies and ensure that the voice of science is heard loudly and clearly in my office," Nelson said in a statement.