Along the way, we will get to know the Academy’s iconic earliest Fellows who shaped Australian science: from Mark Oliphant to Frank Fenner to Dorothy Hill. We will experience the challenges and curly conundrums that they grappled with, celebrate their triumphs and breakthroughs, and look ahead to today’s emerging generation of top minds following in their footsteps.
Incentivising business investment in R&D
The Australian Academy of Science is calling for an urgent national conversation on R&D investment in Australia.
Current
In summary
- Investment in R&D is at a historic low.
- The Academy's issues paper makes the case for investment in the underpinnings of an Australian future that is flourishing, fair and secure.
- The Academy welcomes additional proposals to stimulate R&D investment and to create the conditions for the broad R&D ecosystem to thrive.
The Australian Academy of Science is calling for an urgent national conversation on R&D investment in Australia.
Investment in R&D is at a historic low. Within five years, Australia will be at the bottom of the OECD, a perilous place in a technologically advanced and volatile world where research – and the technologies it produces – is a source of intense global competition and power. Without it, no nation can remain prosperous or safe.
Australia has a sustained an intolerable pattern of R&D underinvestment by government and the business sector.
Sustained business sector underinvestment has now amounted to a gap of $32.5 billion when compared with the OECD average (0.89% of GDP, less than half the OECD average of 1.99%).
In 2023, the Productivity Commission stated that Australian businesses are not keeping pace with the frontier of innovation and may not be aware of how far they lag.
Large businesses have built their success on the fruits of long-term taxpayer funded research and R&D incentives. They are well positioned to invest and innovate, and to reap the benefits of improved competitiveness, greater profits and access to new markets.
Urgent measures are required to stimulate business investment in R&D.
The Academy proposes incentivising business investment in R&D by applying either a 0.25% or 0.5% R&D levy to businesses with annual revenue of $100 million or more, which can be discounted if businesses invest in R&D.
The levy revenue must be legislated, quarantined and invested in research to maintain the wellspring of innovation needed to keep the R&D system – including businesses – healthy, productive and delivering for all Australians.
The Academy presents two options: an annual continuous levy or a time-limited levy applied until a Research Future Fund reaches maturity.
The measure rewards those businesses that invest in R&D, incentivises those that don’t, and grows the pool of funds available for investment in research.
The Academy commissioned independent economic modelling based on publicly available data from the Australian Taxation Office.
It estimates an R&D levy could raise between $2.14 billion and $12.84 billion annually which would contribute to a Research Future Fund and its returns invested in research.
Australia’s persistent underinvestment in R&D threatens our productivity, limits wage growth, threatens our standard of living and weakens our ability to respond to global volatility. These threats have consequences for every member of society.
For many nations, science and technology is considered an indispensable strategic national asset. Not in Australia, where our record of R&D investment by government and business shows a sustained pattern of decline.
We want technologies like AI to boost our productivity, we want new medicines to keep us healthy, and the most advanced Defence capabilities to keep our island nation safe, but we aren’t willing to invest sufficiently in the discoveries that create them.
Sovereign R&D capability gives us the tools we need to be self-reliant, making us more resilient to external shocks, and turbo charging productivity and economic growth. It’s an investment in ourselves rather than a reliance on others who are motivated to advance themselves, not us.
The Academy welcomes additional proposals to stimulate R&D investment and to create the conditions for the broad R&D ecosystem to thrive.
The Academy’s proposal is included in its submissions to the Economic Reform Roundtable, the Productivity Commission’s Inquiry, and to the Strategic Examination of Australia’s R&D system, which is currently exploring how to drive greater industry investment and boost overall R&D intensity and industrial diversity in Australia.
The journey of Australian science – Eccles and neuroscience
join the Australian Academy of Science for the final instalment of the 2024 public speaker series, which will explore the work of Professor Sir John Carew Eccles AC FAA FRS Nobel Laureate.
Sir John Eccles is internationally recognised for his remarkable and outstanding impact on the neurosciences. He carried out his research in Oxford, Sydney, Dunedin, Canberra, Chicago and Buffalo.
His numerous scientific papers and books, arising from detailed and pioneering experimental studies of synaptic mechanisms and the organisation of neurons in the mammalian central nervous system, continue to have a major influence on brain research. His writings on the mind–brain interaction generated wide interest and debate.
Eccles also made his mark as an administrator, particularly at the Australian National University and the Australian Academy of Science, of which he was a Foundation Fellow and the second President.
Find out more about Professor Sir John Eccles in his biographical memoir and this NHMRC Impact Case Study.
Speakers
Emeritus Professor Stephen Redman AM FAA
Emeritus Professor Stephen Redman was a Professor of Neuroscience at the Australian National University, until he retired in 2007. He started his research career in electrical engineering before switching to neuroscience and receiving his PhD in this field in 1967. He worked directly with Professor Eccles in Chicago in 1967.
Professor Redman’s research achievements centre on the electrical behaviour of neurons, the role of dendrites in the integration of synaptic signalling, and the probabilistic release of neurotransmitter at synapses. He showed that the strength of a synapse is independent of its location on the surface of the neuron, and that the electrical properties of dendritic membranes dominate the neuron’s electrical responses. He discovered that the release of neurotransmitter at synapses in the central nervous system is probabilistic, and that probabilities of transmitter release are modified by the past history of activation of the synapse. This has provided clues for how we make memories.
Professor Redman was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1983.
Professor Lucy Palmer
Professor Lucy Palmer is an ARC Future Fellow and NHMRC Investigator who heads the Neural Network Laboratory and Synaptic Biology Theme at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne.
She completed her Master of Science at the University of Minnesota, USA and PhD at the Australian National University, and was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bern, Switzerland and Charite University, Berlin. Her research uses advanced techniques to investigate brain function, focusing on learning and memory formation in health and disease.
More about the series
The Australian Academy of Science’s public speaker series in 2024, our 70th anniversary year, looked at our history and into our future.
In each instalment, we followed the story of one scientific discipline, with an Academy Fellow and an early-career researcher as our expert guides.
Across geology, virology, astronomy and more, we traced our science history from landmark discoveries to the present cutting edge of Australian science.
Along the way, we got to know the Academy’s iconic earliest Fellows who shaped Australian science: from Mark Oliphant to Frank Fenner to Dorothy Hill. We experienced the challenges and curly conundrums they grappled with, celebrate their triumphs and breakthroughs, and looked ahead to today’s emerging generation of top minds following in their footsteps.
Thank you to the series convenors
- Dr Oliver Mayo FAA FTSE, University of Adelaide
- Professor Susanne von Caemmerer FAA FRS, Australian National University
- Associate Professor Raffaella Demichelis, Curtin University
The journey of Australian science – Oliphant and nuclear physics
Join the Australian Academy of Science in exploring the remarkable work of Professor Sir Mark Oliphant AC KBE FAA FTSE FRS—one of the most influential physicists of the 20th century and the Academy’s founding President. Professor Nanda Dasgupta FAA and Dr Ed Simpson from the Australian National University (ANU) will dive into Professor Oliphant’s pioneering research on nuclear fusion and learn how his experiments paved the way for our modern understanding of energy release from atomic nuclei. We will discover how his early work laid the foundation for future innovations in nuclear technology.
On what would have been his 123rd birthday, this fifth instalment of the 2024 public speaker series will focus on Professor Oliphant’s crucial contributions to the development of particle accelerators, and how his scientific expertise contributed to some of the most significant technological breakthroughs which continue to improve our lives today. Our speakers will also look at Oliphant's impact more broadly, and how he helped build Australia's understanding of science and its importance to society.
Professor Sir Mark Oliphant
Mark Oliphant AC KBE FAA FTSE FRS (1901–2000) was a distinguished Australian physicist whose groundbreaking work left an indelible mark on the field of nuclear science.
Renowned for his pioneering research in nuclear fusion, Professor Oliphant’s experiments were crucial in understanding how atomic nuclei can merge to release energy. His innovative work on particle accelerators, particularly cyclotrons, revolutionised experimental nuclear physics and advanced our ability to probe the fundamental nature of matter.
In addition to his scientific achievements, Professor Oliphant played a key role in the development of nuclear technology during World War II, contributing his expertise to the Manhattan Project. His contributions have had lasting impacts on both theoretical and applied physics, shaping the future of nuclear energy and particle physics.
Professor Oliphant’s leadership extended beyond his scientific work. As the founding President of the Australian Academy of Science, serving from 1954 to 1960, he was instrumental in advancing the scientific community in Australia, promoting research and fostering collaboration. His presidency helped establish the Academy as a leading institution for scientific excellence and innovation in the country.
Speakers
Professor Mahananda (Nanda) Dasgupta FAA
Professor Nanda Dasgupta is an experimental physicist and Director of the Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility in the Department of Nuclear Physics at ANU. This facility is the largest and highest voltage ion accelerator in Australia and one of only three in the world.
Professor Dasgupta is a world leader in measuring and understanding the complex quantum interactions occurring in collisions of heavy nuclei. She was the first woman to be tenured in the Research School of Physics at ANU, was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2011, and currently sits on the National Science and Technology Council.
Dr Edward (Ed) Simpson
Dr Ed Simpson is a nuclear physicist and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Nuclear Physics and Accelerator Applications at ANU. His research focuses on nuclear collisions and how they can be used in fundamental science, from the quantum mechanics that govern fusion to the reactions that power stars. Increasingly, his research seeks to build a bridge between foundational nuclear science and nuclear applications, from particle beam cancer therapies to understanding the effects of radiation on spacecraft.
Dr Simpson is also a former Australian Science Policy Fellow, contributing to science policy at the then Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, and the Department of Education, Skills and Employment. In these roles, he supported Australia’s delegation to the International Panel on Climate Change and helped develop the 2021 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap.
More about the series
The Australian Academy of Science’s public speaker series in 2024, our 70th anniversary year, looked at our history and into our future.
In each instalment, we followed the story of one scientific discipline, with an Academy Fellow and an early-career researcher as our expert guides.
Across geology, virology, astronomy and more, we traced our science history from landmark discoveries to the present cutting edge of Australian science.
Along the way, we got to know the Academy’s iconic earliest Fellows who shaped Australian science: from Mark Oliphant to Frank Fenner to Dorothy Hill. We experienced the challenges and curly conundrums they grappled with, celebrate their triumphs and breakthroughs, and looked ahead to today’s emerging generation of top minds following in their footsteps.
Thank you to the series convenors
- Dr Oliver Mayo FAA FTSE, University of Adelaide
- Professor Susanne von Caemmerer FAA FRS, Australian National University
- Associate Professor Raffaella Demichelis, Curtin University
The journey of Australian science: Le Fèvre and chemistry
Leading chemistry researchers Professor Rich Payne FAA (University of Sydney) and Associate Professor Rona Chandrawati (UNSW Sydney) will explore the significant scientific contributions of Academy Foundation Fellow Professor Raymond Le Fèvre FAA FRS, how the discipline of chemistry has developed, and how their fields of chemistry are impacting our lives today.
In the words of Sir Mark Oliphant, Inaugural President of the Australian Academy of Science, “Raymond was one of the earliest, and most valuable fellows of the Australian Academy of Science. He played a significant part in getting the young Academy off the ground, and in making it respectable, for his standards were high and his knowledge of procedures profound. “Raymond’s attitude towards science, and its responsibilities, as well as its benefits, for mankind generally, reflected his caring personality and I learnt much in discussion of such questions with him.”
Professor Raymond James Wood Le Fèvre FAA FRS
Professor Raymond Le Fèvre made significant contributions to the field of chemistry, particularly in physical chemistry. His work in physical chemistry has had a lasting impact on the field, especially in our understanding of molecular properties, spectroscopy, and the behaviour of organic compounds. His research has provided valuable insights that continue to influence contemporary chemical science.
More about the work of Le Fèvre
Australian Academy of Science biographical memoir
Australian Academy of Science Le Fèvre Medal
Speakers
Professor Rich Payne FAA
Professor Rich Payne is an international leader in the fields of organic chemistry and chemical biology. He is recognised for pioneering a number of technologies for accessing precisely modified peptides and proteins for applications in biology and medicine. His lab is also recognised for the development of modified peptide drug leads for a range of diseases, such as anti-inflammatories, anti-thrombotics and anti-infectives (including for COVID-19). The impact of his research has led to the award of more than 20 prestigious prizes, including the Malcolm McIntosh Prime Minister’s Prize, and the AJ Birch and HG Smith Medals from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.
Rich was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2023.
Associate Professor Rona Chandrawati
Associate Professor Rona Chandrawati is internationally recognised as an emerging leader in the fields of nano sensors and nanoparticle-based drug delivery. She has achieved world-class research results in the synthesis and development of colourimetric nano sensors and nanozymes for nitric oxide delivery. As the country’s leading researcher in colourimetric polymer sensor technology, her patent-pending nano sensors have enabled the detection of target analytes without the need for specialised equipment. These have been used to monitor food spoilage and contamination, contributing to reducing the nation’s $10 billion worth of edible food waste each year. Furthermore, her synthesis of nanoparticles and nanozymes for nitric oxide delivery have significant therapeutic implications, particularly for the treatment of glaucoma, a condition affecting one in 10 Australians.
Rona was awarded the Academy’s Le Fèvre Medal in 2023.
More about the series
The Australian Academy of Science’s public speaker series in 2024, our 70th anniversary year, looked at our history and into our future.
In each instalment, we followed the story of one scientific discipline, with an Academy Fellow and an early-career researcher as our expert guides.
Across geology, virology, astronomy and more, we traced our science history from landmark discoveries to the present cutting edge of Australian science.
Along the way, we got to know the Academy’s iconic earliest Fellows who shaped Australian science: from Mark Oliphant to Frank Fenner to Dorothy Hill. We experienced the challenges and curly conundrums they grappled with, celebrate their triumphs and breakthroughs, and looked ahead to today’s emerging generation of top minds following in their footsteps.
Thank you to the series convenors
- Dr Oliver Mayo FAA FTSE, University of Adelaide
- Professor Susanne von Caemmerer FAA FRS, Australian National University
- Associate Professor Raffaella Demichelis, Curtin University
The journey of Australian science – Dorothy Hill, geology and coral reefs
This event will focus on the work of Professor Dorothy Hill AC CBE FAA FRS, who was the first woman elected to the Australian Academy of Science. The speakers will explore the significant work of Professor Hill who was a pioneering figure in the field of geology, particularly in the study of coral reefs and the stratigraphy of the Great Barrier Reef. Her contributions were significant not only for their scientific merit but also for breaking barriers for women in academia.
Professor Dorothy Hill
Dorothy Hill made a broad contribution to science in Australia at a time when both university and government science were in need of considerable improvement, and the benefits of research were not widely appreciated among university administrators.
She discovered the use of fossil corals in sorting out the correlations of Palaeozoic rocks in Australia, took advantage of the vicinity of the Great Barrier Reef for research, expanded the knowledge of stratigraphy of eastern Australia, and used this newly available information for a revitalised interpretation of continental geology. In doing this she gave great support to field workers and students in their studies, and to the exploration companies working on the coal, oil and economic sedimentary rocks of Queensland. Finally, she set standards for the preparation of large volumes such as those in the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, which were her major contributions to the study of corals.
She was known as an active sports person, a strong leader in academe, a powerful supporter of women’s educational rights, a keeper of intellectual truth as she saw it, a maintainer of academic merit, and a member of Australia’s armed forces. She took part in the education of a large number of students who supported her efforts to advance geology.
Speakers
Professor Dorrit Jacob FAA
Dorrit Jacob is the Director of the Research School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National University. She studied mineralogy and geology at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany after obtaining a degree as chemical laboratory technician ad Fresenius University of Applied Sciences. She received her PhD from Georg-August University in Goettingen, Germany for her thesis on petrology and geochemistry of diamond-bearing eclogites from Earth’s mantle beneath Siberia. During her postdoctoral years in Germany and the US, she became intrigued by how organisms form minerals and expanded her research focus towards biomineralisation. She was awarded a permanent German Science Foundation Heisenberg Chair in Biomineralisation in 2012 at the University of Mainz in Germany. In 2013 Professor Jacob emigrated to Australia with her family to accept an ARC Future Fellowship at Macquarie University, and headed the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences there in 2019–20. She has been in her current role at the ANU since 2020. Professor Jacob was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2021.
Associate Professor Zoe Richards
Zoe Richards is the Curator of Marine Invertebrate Zoology at the Western Australia Museum and the leader of a Coral Conservation and Research Group (CORE) within the Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory at Curtin University. With over two decades of experience spanning the fields of taxonomy, molecular systematics, population genetics, ecology and conservation biology, she applies a unique combination of field experience and quantitative data collection techniques with classical taxonomic training and genetics. By studying and facilitating taxonomic research on marine invertebrate biodiversity, her research unveils the intricate web of marine life and underpins effective monitoring and conservation decision-making. She is a Churchill Fellow and a member of the IUCN Coral Specialist Group. Associate Professor Richards takes pride in collaborating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, notably in the Kimberley region, where she has forged opportunities for meaningful engagement, capacity building and research partnerships.
More about the series
The Australian Academy of Science’s public speaker series in 2024, our 70th anniversary year, looked at our history and into our future.
In each instalment, we followed the story of one scientific discipline, with an Academy Fellow and an early-career researcher as our expert guides.
Across geology, virology, astronomy and more, we traced our science history from landmark discoveries to the present cutting edge of Australian science.
Along the way, we got to know the Academy’s iconic earliest Fellows who shaped Australian science: from Mark Oliphant to Frank Fenner to Dorothy Hill. We experienced the challenges and curly conundrums they grappled with, celebrate their triumphs and breakthroughs, and looked ahead to today’s emerging generation of top minds following in their footsteps.
Thank you to the series convenors
- Dr Oliver Mayo FAA FTSE, University of Adelaide
- Professor Susanne von Caemmerer FAA FRS, Australian National University
- Associate Professor Raffaella Demichelis, Curtin University
The journey of Australian science – Prescott and soil science
Distinguished Professor Brajesh Singh FAA and Dr Zefang Shen will explore the work of Professor James Arthur Prescott CBE FAA FRS, pioneering developments in soil science, and what is next in the field.
Professor James Arthur Prescott CBE FAA FRS
James Prescott was born in 1890 in Lancashire, England. In 1912, he received the first postgraduate scholarship in agricultural science awarded by the British Government, which he used to study soil phosphate, including its extraction and estimation, at the Rothamsted Experiment Station.
In 1916, he became Chief Chemist and Superintendent of Field Experiments at the Sultanic Agricultural Society of Egypt, where he was involved in studies of bacteriological activity and spacing and watering trials using maize and cotton.
Professor Prescott came to Australia in 1924, when he became Chair of Agricultural Chemistry at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Agricultural Research Institute. In 1947, in recognition of his service to Australian science, he was made a Companion of the Order of the British Empire, and in 1971, the Australian Society of Soil Science established the JA Prescott Medal for outstanding contributions to soil science and climatology—an honour that Prescott said gave him more pleasure than any other.
He was not only a scientist concerned with fundamental research, but a conservation-minded agriculturalist: he recognised the need for land development in Australia provided it was based on sound principles and attempted within the limits imposed by climatic conditions.
His classification and mapping of Australian soils and his direction of detailed soil surveys of strategically chosen areas, together with his climatological techniques for determining the availability of soil moisture, provided the best practical parameters for the use and conservation of Australian soils. This was recognised when he became a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1954.
Join us to hear from Professor Singh and Dr Shen about the history of soil science, the pioneering work they both do, and what’s next in the field. Whether you’re a student, professional, or simply curious about the fascinating world of soil science, this event promises to inform and inspire!
Speakers
Distinguished Professor Brajesh Singh FAA
Brajesh Singh is a Distinguished Professor of Soil biology, at Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University. Through his fundamental research, he identifies the quantitative relationships between microbial diversity and ecosystem-host functions and how natural and anthropogenic pressures such as climate change affect this.
His applied research harnesses the knowledge gained in fundamental studies to improve agriculture productivity, restoration success and environmental sustainability. Outcomes from his research have informed multiple policy decisions at national and international levels, and he is currently working with multiple government and inter-governmental bodies including the European Commission and United Nation agencies such as Food and Agriculture Authority (FAO) to support the implementation of relevant Sustainable Development Goals.
He serves on the FAO’s Intergovernmental Panel on Soil and is Chair of FAO International Network on Soil Biodiversity.
Professor Singh is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, American Academy of Microbiology, Australian Society of Soil Science, and American Society of Soil Science. He is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher, Humboldt Research Awardee and winner of the Applied Microbiology International Awards Dorothy Jones Prize.
Dr Zefang Shen
Dr Zefang Shen earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2020 from Curtin University, where he developed wearable robots for rehabilitation. Since 2019, he has worked with the Soil and Landscape Science Group at Curtin University to develop machine learning research and engineering solutions in soil science.
Dr Shen’s research focuses on the development of novel machine learning for optimal, transferable, and interpretable spectroscopic modelling in soil assessment. He has pioneered in optimisation-based hyperparameter tuning to automate deep learning pipelines for soil spectroscopic modelling, deep transfer learning to leverage large soil spectral libraries for accurate characterisation of soil organic carbon, and explainable artificial intelligence for model interpretation and knowledge discovery.
His work has been published in prestigious journals including ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Global Change Biology, Communications Earth & Environment, SOIL, Scientific Reports and more.
Dr Shen goes beyond research to engineer practical solutions for soil monitoring. He is the developer of a global soil organic carbon estimation service with visible and infrared spectroscopy, incorporating cutting-edge machine learning research in soil spectroscopy. He also contributes to a sensing system for soil property characterisation, a portable, automated platform for cost-efficient measurement and monitoring of soil.
More about the series
The Australian Academy of Science’s public speaker series in 2024, our 70th anniversary year, looked at our history and into our future.
In each instalment, we followed the story of one scientific discipline, with an Academy Fellow and an early-career researcher as our expert guides.
Across geology, virology, astronomy and more, we traced our science history from landmark discoveries to the present cutting edge of Australian science.
Along the way, we got to know the Academy’s iconic earliest Fellows who shaped Australian science: from Mark Oliphant to Frank Fenner to Dorothy Hill. We experienced the challenges and curly conundrums they grappled with, celebrate their triumphs and breakthroughs, and looked ahead to today’s emerging generation of top minds following in their footsteps.
Thank you to the series convenors
- Dr Oliver Mayo FAA FTSE, University of Adelaide
- Professor Susanne von Caemmerer FAA FRS, Australian National University
- Associate Professor Raffaella Demichelis, Curtin University
Public speaker series 2024
The journey of Australian science: Tracing our history, discovering future paths. Join the Australian Academy of Science in our 70th anniversary year for a look at our history and into our future, at our 2024 public speaker series.
Across geology, virology, astronomy and more, we trace history from landmark discoveries to the present cutting edge of Australian science.
The journey of Australian science – Burnet and immunology
Distinguished immunology researchers Professor Sharon Lewin and Associate Professor Misty Jenkins explore the significant scientific contributions of Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet OM KBE FAA FRS FRSNZ, recent developments in immunology, and what the field may offer in the future.
Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet
A Nobel Laureate and Academy Founding Fellow, Burnet is considered one of the 20th century’s greatest scientists. He made significant contributions to bacteriology, virology and immunology during his 59-year career, most of which was spent at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) in Melbourne.
Burnet made important discoveries about viral diseases including influenza, herpes, poliomyelitis and Murray Valley encephalitis, as well as bacterial diseases including psittacosis and Q fever. Later in life, he went on to lecture and write extensively about problems of human biology, ageing and cancer.
Since then, the study of the immune system and how it functions has continued to develop and play a crucial role in shaping our everyday lives – from understanding allergies, to vaccinations, personalised medicine, organ donations and cancer treatments.
In the past decade in particular, the understanding and development of new immunotherapies has undergone a revolution.
Join us to hear from Professor Lewin and Associate Professor Jenkins about these latest advances, the amazing work they both do, and how they think immunology will continue to evolve and shape our future. Whether you’re a student, a healthcare professional, or simply curious about the fascinating world of immunology, this event promises to inform and inspire!
Speakers
Professor Sharon Lewin AO FAA FAHMS
Sharon Lewin is the inaugural director of the Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and the recently established Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics. She is an infectious diseases physician, basic scientist and President of the International AIDS Society. She has authored more than 360 publications and given more than 100 major international invited talks on the search for an HIV cure. Her research focuses on understanding why HIV persists and finding a cure for HIV infection. Professor Lewin has received numerous awards and played a major leadership role in the COVID-19 response in Australia.
Associate Professor Misty Jenkins AO
Misty Jenkins is an NHMRC Fellow and laboratory head in the Immunology Division at WEHI. Associate Professor Jenkins leads the immunotherapy program within The Brain Cancer Centre and is dedicated to discovering novel immunotherapy targets for high grade gliomas in adults and children. Her research focuses on the development of novel chimeric antigen receptor T cells for brain cancer. Her group also uses cutting edge two-photon microscopy combined with mouse models of brain cancer to investigate the tumour microenvironment and uncover the unique biology of brain tumours.
More about the work of Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet
More about the series
The Australian Academy of Science’s public speaker series in 2024, our 70th anniversary year, looked at our history and into our future.
In each instalment, we followed the story of one scientific discipline, with an Academy Fellow and an early-career researcher as our expert guides.
Across geology, virology, astronomy and more, we traced our science history from landmark discoveries to the present cutting edge of Australian science.
Along the way, we got to know the Academy’s iconic earliest Fellows who shaped Australian science: from Mark Oliphant to Frank Fenner to Dorothy Hill. We experienced the challenges and curly conundrums they grappled with, celebrate their triumphs and breakthroughs, and looked ahead to today’s emerging generation of top minds following in their footsteps.
Thank you to the series convenors
- Dr Oliver Mayo FAA FTSE, University of Adelaide
- Professor Susanne von Caemmerer FAA FRS, Australian National University
- Associate Professor Raffaella Demichelis, Curtin University
Archival material featured in publications
The following publications have material drawn from the Fenner Archives.
Please contact the Academy if you would like to purchase a copy of Still No Mawson, The First Fifty Years or A big bold, simple concept.
Still No Mawson: The original diaries of scientist Frank Stillwell are held in the Fenner Archives and record his perspective of Sir Douglas Mawson's 1911 Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE). Edited by Bernadette Hince and with the support of Geoscience Australia and the Geological Society of Australia, the full diaries have been published and reveal what everyday life was like for the team of 15 men.
A big, bold, simple concept: To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the dome the Academy asked author and historian Alan Roberts to write about it design, construction and history. Alan's extensive research has revealed previously unknown or forgotten information about the dome from numerous archival collections. Features of the dome's architecture from its conception to construction and renovation are all shown, providing insight into a remarkable building and the people who brought it to life.
The Australian Academy of Science: The First Fifty Years. This third publication was published to commemorate the Academy's 50th anniversary and was built upon Fenner's two earlier volumes. Eminent scientist Frank Fenner spent a great deal of time working in the basement of the Shine Dome searching through the many files of archives stored there to document the Academy's work and impact since 1954.