Few scientists can claim to have changed medicine as profoundly as Emeritus Professor Jacques Miller AC.
WEHI honoured his extraordinary contribution with the launch of the biography Jacques Miller: A Life of Discovery and the announcement of the Jacques Miller Discovery Award.
Prof Miller transformed our understanding of the immune system through discoveries that established the function of the thymus and identified T cells and B cells.
His breakthroughs challenged prevailing scientific thinking: the thymus was then regarded as having little or no function, but Prof Miller showed it was critical to the development of the immune system.
His work helped lay the foundations of modern immunology. More than six decades later, his discoveries underpin advances in vaccines, organ transplantation, autoimmune diseases and cancer immunotherapy and continue to influence medical research around the world.
Written by Caitlin McInnis, the new biography traces Prof Miller’s life and the discoveries that reshaped our understanding of immunity. Prof Miller joined WEHI in 1966, beginning a long association in which he helped build the institute’s global reputation in immunology.
“The impact of Jacques’ work extends far beyond the laboratory and has improved the lives of millions of people,” said WEHI director Professor Ken Smith.
“His research legacy reminds us that the breakthroughs that shape the future of health often begin decades earlier, with a question no-one else had thought to ask.”
