Gustav Nossal
Encyclopedia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, FRS
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, FAA
Australian Academy of Science
The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The Academy is modelled after the Royal Society and operates under a Royal Charter; as such it is...
(born 4 June 1931) is an Australian research biologist.
Life and career
Gustav Nossal's family was from ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. He was born four weeks prematurely in Bad Ischl
Bad Ischl
Bad Ischl is a spa town in Austria. It lies in the southern part of Upper Austria, at the Traun River in the centre of the Salzkammergut region. The town consists of the Katastralgemeinden Ahorn, Bad Ischl, Haiden, Jainzen, Kaltenbach, Lauffen, Lindau, Pfandl, Perneck, Reiterndorf and Rettenbach...
while his mother was on holiday. When he was eight years old the family left their home town of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
for Australia because the Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
had annexed Austria and Nossal's father was Jewish.
When he first attended his school in Australia, Nossal spoke no English but he graduated from St Aloysius' College in 1947 as the dux of the College. In 1948, he entered Sydney University's
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
Medical School
University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine
Sydney Medical School is the graduate medical school of the University of Sydney, and is widely regarded as one of the most highly rated education and research institutions of the Asia Pacific region...
, graduating later with first class honours. At the age of 26, he left his job in Sydney and moved to Melbourne to work with Macfarlane Burnet
Frank Macfarlane Burnet
Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, , usually known as Macfarlane or Mac Burnet, was an Australian virologist best known for his contributions to immunology....
in Medical Science at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. Nossal became the head in 1965 when Burnet retired.
Nossal gained his PhD degree in 1960.
Career achievements
In 1965, at the age of 35, Nossal became director of Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical ResearchWalter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research is Australia's oldest medical research institute.In 2011, the institute is home to more than 650 researchers who are working to understand, prevent and treat diseases including blood, breast and ovarian cancers; inflammatory diseases such as...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, a position that he kept until 1996. In parallel, he was Professor of Medical Biology at Melbourne University.
Nossal's research is in fundamental immunology
Immunology
Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...
, in the field of "antibody formation and immunological tolerance". He has written five books and 530 scientific articles in this and related fields.
Nossal has been President (1986-1989) of the 30,000-member world body of immunology, the International Union of Immunological Societies
International Union of Immunological Societies
The International Union of Immunological Societies, a member of the International Council for Science, is an organization which serves as an umbrella organization for many national immunological societies. The organization was founded in 1969....
; President of the Australian Academy of Science
Australian Academy of Science
The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The Academy is modelled after the Royal Society and operates under a Royal Charter; as such it is...
(1994-1998); a member of the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC
PMSEIC
The Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council is the Australian government's principal source of advice on science, engineering, and innovation issues, as well as relevant aspects of education and training...
) (1989 to 1998); and Chairman of the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (1987-1996).
He has been Chairman of the committee overseeing the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
's Vaccines and Biologicals Program (1993-2002) and Chairman of the Strategic Advisory Council of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates. It is "driven by the interests and passions of the Gates family"...
Children's Vaccine Program (1998-2003).
He was Deputy Chairman of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation from 1998 to 2000.
He is Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Global Foundation, The purpose of the foundation is to "encourag[e] Australia’s sustainable national development in a global context."
Sir Gustav is a member of the Patrons Council of the Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria
Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria
The Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria is an Australian charity that was formed by a group of concerned parents in May 1964 to provide support and information to all Victorians affected by epilepsy...
.
Awards and recognition
- 1970 – Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(Civil) for medical research - 1977 – knightedKnight BachelorThe rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
for his ground-breaking work in immunologyImmunologyImmunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the... - 1982 – awarded the ANZAAS MedalAustralian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of ScienceThe Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science is an organisation that was founded in 1888 by Archibald Liversidge as the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science to promote science. It was modelled on the British Association for the Advancement of Science...
- 1989 – made a Companion of the Order of Australia
- 1990 – awarded the Albert Einstein World Award of ScienceAlbert Einstein World Award of ScienceThe Albert Einstein World Award for Science is a yearly award given by the World Cultural Council "as a means of recognition, and as an incentive to scientific and technological research and development", with special consideration for researches which "have brought true benefit and well being to...
, the award given to researchers working in areas that "have brought true benefit and well being to mankind" - 1996 – won the Koch Gold Medal, the prize being awarded for prizes for major advances in biomedical sciences, particularly in the fields of microbiology and immunology.
- 1997 – listed the 100 Australians identified as Australia's Living National TreasuresAustralian Living TreasuresAustralian Living Treasures are people who have been nominated by the National Trust of Australia. The first list of 100 Living Treasures was published in 1997....
- 2000 – named as Australian of the YearAustralian of the YearSince 1960 the Australian of the Year Award has been part of the celebrations surrounding Australia Day , during which time the award has grown steadily in significance to become Australia’s pre-eminent award. The Australian of the Year announcement has become a very prominent part of the annual...
- 2001 – recipient of the Centenary MedalCentenary MedalThe Centenary Medal is an award created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the Centenary of Federation of Australia and to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government...
- 2002 – Nossal was featured on an Australian postage stamp
- 2006 – Inducted as an honorary member of the Monash University Golden Key Society
- 2007 – The Nossal Institute for Global Health at the University of MelbourneUniversity of MelbourneThe University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
was named in honour of Sir Gustav. - 2009 – The new Nossal High SchoolNossal High SchoolNossal High School is a state government selective school in Victoria, Australia. Located in the Berwick campus of Monash University and adjacent to Chisholm Institute and Berwick TEC , the school opened in 2010 with 200 students...
, located at the Berwick campus of Monash University, is named in honour of Sir Gustav.
External links
- Short biography
- Gustav Nossal – Virology Down Under
- 1987 interview and 1998 interview on the Australian Academy of ScienceAustralian Academy of ScienceThe Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The Academy is modelled after the Royal Society and operates under a Royal Charter; as such it is...
website. - The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization—a millennial challenge
- Liz Cincotta. "Passage to Australia". The AgeThe AgeThe Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, 19 June 2008. - Video of Gustav Nossal lecture on The 50-Year Revolution in Global Public Health, Sydney University, July 2008