11 May 2006
Monash University has received two Federation Fellowships in the 2006 round of the federal grants, designed to enable outstanding internationally renowned researchers to continue their work in Australia.
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| Professor Jamie Rossjohn. |
Leading researchers Professor Jamie Rossjohn, (Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences) and Professor Pascal Van Hentenryck (Faculty of Information Technology) have been awarded the fellowships by the Australian Research Council, announced today by Science Minister Julie Bishop.
Professor Rossjohn's research is centred on understanding bases of infection and immunity, specifically host recognition, responses developed by the pathogen and drug design to modulate and/or counteract these events. The fellowship was recognition of his team's, colleagues' and collaborators' achievements at Monash and throughout Australia, he said.
Professor Rossjohn's research team and collaborators have provided seminal insight into the processes linked to infection and immunity, publishing more than 90 research papers in this area.
The recipient of the Science Minister's Prize for Life Scientist of the Year in 2004, Professor Rossjohn will be a main user of the synchrotron in which Monash has invested some $7 million as well as provided the land on which the synchrotron is being built.
Professor Van Hentenryck, currently based at Brown University in the US, will join Monash's Faculty of Information Technology to establish in Australia a leading international centre for optimisation.
Resource optimisation is critical for preserving the environment, saving energy and oil and ensuring local businesses remain internationally competitive. Professor Van Hentenryck's research will enable scarce resources to be made available where needed.
Professor Van Hentenryck has developed four pioneering software systems that have transformed Operations Research (OR) and made him the inspiration for a new generation of OR researchers. The Optimisation Programming Language system he designed is now standard software for researchers and applications developers.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research Professor Edwina Cornish said it was wonderful that researchers of the calibre of Professors Van Hentenryck and Rossjohn would join the five other Federation Fellows already at Monash.
"These world-class researchers will further boost the outstanding research strengths of Monash University , building teams of first-rate researchers and talented post-graduate students around them and leading ground breaking research," she said.
For more information contact Melissa Marino, Media Communications, on + 61 3 9905 2085 or 0437 121 978.
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