Peter Doherty was made famous worldwide when he won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Medicine with Swiss colleague Rolf Zinkernagel, for their discovery on the way the body recognises and rejects foreign molecules through killer T cells. This revelation has led to ongoing improvements in treating cancer and organ transplants. Peter is also recognised and respected for his ongoing efforts to share his love of science and impart his insatiable curiosity for learning with the world.
This year, the David Cooper Lecture celebrates 40 years of research impact at the Kirby Institute by hosting Australian immunologist and Nobel laureate Peter Doherty in conversation with journalist and presenter, Natasha Mitchell. Together, they’ll discuss the most challenging health issues of our time, Peter’s fascinating career and inspirations and how any citizen scientist can follow in the footsteps of this renowned laureate professor with an evidence-based worldview.
The David Cooper Lecture is co-presented by the UNSW Centre for Ideas, Kirby Institute and UNSW Medicine & Health.
| Professor Peter Doherty is an Australian immunologist and pathologist who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Rolf Zinkernagel in 1996 for illuminating the nature of immune surveillance and the biological role of the transplant system. The Nobel award, along with being the Australian of the Year in 1997, led to an increasing involvement in public science communication, both in his own area of viral pathogenesis and immunity and in topics related to environmental sustainability and climate change. After working on infection and immunity for 60 years, he moved to emeritus status at the University of Melbourne in July 2023. | |
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| Natasha Mitchell is a multi-award-winning journalist, radio presenter, podcaster, and documentary maker. She is host of ABC Radio National's flagship live events program and podcast BIG IDEAS, and is the originator of some of the ABC's most trailblazing and innovative programs – including the blockbuster radio show and one of Australia's first podcasts, All in the Mind, which she hosted and produced for a decade, and Science Friction, for which she was awarded Best Science and Medicine podcast at the Australian Podcast Awards. She was presenter of ABC's long-running daily social affairs program Life Matters. |
Opinions expressed at this event are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the Kirby Institute or UNSW.
The David Cooper Lecture honours the legacy of the Kirby Institute’s Founding Director. Professor David Cooper AC, who passed away in 2018, was an internationally renowned scientist and HIV clinician, who laid the foundations for Australia’s ongoing global leadership in the fight against the global HIV epidemic.
Make a donation today to support David Cooper’s incredible vision for equitable access to healthcare: unsw.to/DavidCooperMemorialFund.
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