WEHI Laureates
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research has been built on outstanding research and scholarship, outstanding governance and outstanding philanthropic and community support.
During 2007, the Board resolved to establish a Laureate Awards program to celebrate exceptional individual contributions. The Laureate Awards created a prestigious society of honoured individuals in two categories: Laureate Scientist and Laureate Member.
The inaugural awards were announced in November 2007 at the Annual General Meeting by the President, Mr Leon Davis AO. Those awards were:
Laureate Scientist: Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet OM AK KBE
Laureate Scientist: Sir Gustav Nossal AC CBE
Laureate Member: Sir Andrew Grimwade CBE
The Laureates for 2008:
Laureate Scientist: Professor Donald Metcalf AC FAA FRS
Laureate Scientist: Professor Jacques Miller AC FAA FRS
Laureate Member: Mr Bruce Teele
Below are the citations for all six Laureates announced to date - the range and depth of their achievements is truly outstanding. In the years to come, more Laureates will be added to the Walter And Eliza Hall Institute honour roll.
Laureate Scientist - Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet OM AK KBE
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Laureate Scientist Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet is honoured for exceptional research achievements and outstanding scientific leadership. Burnet illuminated many areas: microbial genetics, virology, immunology and autoimmunity. From the early 1930s to the late 1950s, he pioneered the study of animal viruses, particularly influenza virus. His Clonal Selection Theory, published in 1957, transformed understanding of the immune system.
In 1960, Burnet shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine with Sir Peter Medawar for the discovery of acquired immunological tolerance. Burnet spent almost his entire 42-year career at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and was its third director, from 1944 to 1965. He brought the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute on to the world stage and exerted remarkable influence on the early development of medical research in Australia.
Laureate Scientist - Sir Gustav Nossal AC CBE
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Laureate Scientist Professor Sir Gustav Nossal is honoured for exceptional research achievements in the field of immunology and for outstanding scientific leadership. Sir Gustav’s research greatly advanced understanding of how the body generates antibodies to protect us from infectious diseases. In addition, his ideas and experiments greatly clarified how tolerance to self is generated during normal development of the immune system and how breakdown of this tolerance can lead to autoimmune disease.
As director for 31 years, from 1965 to 1996, he transformed the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute into the dynamic organisation it is today. He greatly increased the institute’s scientific scope and size, placed it on a robust financial footing, jointly masterminded a magnificent new building and created a supportive and collaborative culture. Above all, he inspired and nurtured high scientific achievement. Over four decades he has inspired and guided the national scientific agenda and been an energetic warrior for global health, most notably through service with the World Health Organization and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In summary, Sir Gustav Nossal has helped shape the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and the national and international science agenda for more than four decades. He is a most fitting inaugural Laureate Scientist.
Laureate Member - Sir Andrew Grimwade CBE
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Laureate Member Sir Andrew Grimwade is honoured for 30 years of distinguished service to the Institute. Elected to the board in 1963, he became treasurer in 1965, vice-president in 1977 and succeeded Sir Colin Syme as president in 1978. He served in that capacity until the end of 1992. Sir Andrew inaugurated and chaired the Finance Advisory Committee, oversaw the development of a new superannuation scheme, and guided the formation of the Ethics Committee.
With Sir Gustav Nossal, he brilliantly masterminded the board strategy for a new institute building and secured $39 million of government support for it. Sir Andrew’s generous personal philanthropic donations to the institute included three extraordinary works of art: two Clifton Pugh portraits and a tapestry by John Olsen. He became a good friend to many institute scientists. Sir Andrew is a most fitting recipient of the inaugural Laureate Member award.
Laureate Scientist - Professor Donald Metcalf AC FAA FRS
Donald Metcalf first joined the scientific staff of the Institute in 1954 and was appointed assistant director and head of the Cancer Research Unit from 1965 to 1996. Now 80, he remains very active in his laboratory within the Cancer and Haematology division. He is the author of nine books and more than 700 scientific papers. Outstanding among his many achievements have been the development of culture systems for the study of blood cell formation and the discovery and development of the 'colony stimulating factors' (CSFs), cytokines that promote white blood cell formation from haematopoietic stem cells. The CSFs have provided benefit to more than nine million cancer patients worldwide.
Metcalf’s achievements have attracted many international honours and awards, including all the major cancer prizes. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, a Fellow of The Royal Society and a Foreign Associate of the US Academy of Sciences.
Laureate Scientist - Professor Jacques Miller AC FAA FRS
Jacques Miller first joined the scientific staff of the Institute in 1966, as head of the Experimental Pathology Unit, a position that he held with great distinction until his retirement in 1996. Miller is internationally renowned for two seminal discoveries. He is the only living person to have discovered the function of a major organ - in 1961, he showed that the thymus is crucial for the normal development of the immune system.
In 1967, he was the first to show (with Graham Mitchell) that there are two major classes of lymphocytes, which are both required during immune responses. His work revolutionised immunology and ushered in a new area of biomedical research: the field of T cell biology. Miller has been accorded many major international prizes and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, a Fellow of The Royal Society and a Foreign Associate of the US Academy of Sciences.
Laureate Member - Mr Bruce Teele
Mr Bruce Teele retired from the board of the institute in November 2003 after a 32-year association, including 21 years as a director and 10 years as president of the board. Mr Teele spent most of his professional career with JBWere, becoming chairman and CEO. His association with the Walter And Eliza Hall Institute started in 1971, when he was asked to serve on the Finance Advisory Committee. He joined the board in October 1982 and became treasurer soon after. Under his sound financial stewardship, the Walter And Eliza Hall Institute’s endowment steadily prospered, providing highly valued security and flexibility. In 1993, on the retirement of Sir Andrew Grimwade, Mr Teele became president.
During his presidency, he steered through many major decisions, and in particular the search for a new director to succeed Professor Nossal; the establishment of the Leadership Fellowships to honour Professors Nossal, Metcalf and Miller and enable us to attract leading young scientists to the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute; recruitment to the board of a cadre of superb directors; strong support for acquiring and developing the Biotechnology Centre at Bundoora; and strong support for the establishment of the new division of Structural Biology.