Fellows Update

Obituary

Professor David Cooper AO FAA FAHMS FRACP FRCP FRCPA

19 April 1949 – 18 March 2018

Professor David Cooper was one of the most influential clinical scientists worldwide in the field of HIV/AIDS. Shortly after the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was discovered in 1984, Professor Cooper published a seminal paper in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, which described the initial encounter of HIV with the human immune system. Professor Cooper was a key investigator in proving the efficacy of highly active antiretroviral therapy and implementing its benefits. He was one of the first clinical scientists to recognise the metabolic toxicities of antiretroviral therapy and to contribute to an understanding of the pathogenesis, and was instrumental in the international fight against HIV/AIDS in the developing world.

Professor Cooper was Director of the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney and one of the first responders when the HIV epidemic reached Australia in the 1980s. David played a pivotal role in the ongoing fight against HIV and in 2003, in recognition of his leading contribution in the field of HIV/AIDS research and for developing new treatment approaches, he was made Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO).

Professor Cooper was elected to the Academy in 2007. He was a member of the Academy’s Europe Committee from 2007 to 2011. He was one of four Academy Fellows who convened the 2016 Australia–Indonesia Science Symposium held at the Shine Dome that focused on health, agriculture, the environment and big data, and was a current member of Sectional Committee 13: Immunology and Microbiology.