Australian science: global impact

Harnessing Death for Life

Tuesday 5 February 2013, 6 pm

Professor Suzanne Cory, AC PresAA FRS
Honorary Professorial Fellow
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Suzanne Cory is one of Australia's most distinguished molecular biologists. She was born in Melbourne, Australia and graduated in biochemistry from The University of Melbourne. She gained her PhD from the University of Cambridge, England and then continued studies at the University of Geneva before returning to Melbourne in 1971, to a research position at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. From 1996 to 2009 she was Director of The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and Professor of Medical Biology of The University of Melbourne. She is currently a Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Melbourne and Honorary Professorial Fellow at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. Her research has had a major impact in the fields of immunology and cancer and her scientific achievements have attracted numerous honours and awards. In 2010 she was elected President of the Australian Academy of Science.

This lecture is co-sponsored by The Charles Perkins Centre.

Harnessing Death for Life

Cancer is ‘a malady of the genes’ (JM Bishop, Nobel Laureate). The past 30 years have seen a revolution in our understanding of the genetic lesions that contribute to cancer development. One of the most surprising discoveries has been that impairment of the natural process of cell death (apoptosis) is a critical step towards malignancy and impedes effective cancer therapy. This lecture will describe how detailed knowledge about the molecular circuitry regulating the cellular life/death switch is leading to an exciting new class of drugs that should greatly aid treatment of many types of cancer.