Australian molecular biologist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Douglas James Hilton (born 13 June 1964 in England) is an Australian molecular biologist. He is the CEO of CSIRO[1] and immediate past Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia. His research has focused on cytokines, signal transduction pathways and the regulation of blood cell formation (hematopoiesis). Hilton was the President of the Association of the Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) from 2014-16.[2]
Doug Hilton | |
|---|---|
Hilton in 2019 | |
| Chief Executive of the CSIRO | |
| Assumed office 1 July 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Larry Marshall |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Douglas James Hilton 13 June 1964 Eton, Berkshire, England |
| Education | East Doncaster High School |
| Alma mater | Monash University |
| Occupation | Molecular biology and hematopoiesis at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research |
Hilton migrated to Australia with his family in 1970 and grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Warrandyte. He was educated at Warrandyte Primary School and East Doncaster High School, where he recalls being inspired by “a wonderful biology teacher”.[3]
Hilton received a Bachelor of Science from Monash University. He spent summer holidays as an undergraduate researcher in the laboratory of Ian Young at the John Curtin School of Medical Research. His Honours and PhD research projects were conducted with Professors Don Metcalf and Nicos Nicola at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, and resulted in the cloning of the cytokine Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF).[4]
Hilton spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow studying the erythropoietin (EPO) receptor with Professor Harvey Lodish at the Whitehead Institute, MIT, USA.[4] In 1993 Hilton returned to the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute where he continued his research into cytokine signalling, with discoveries including the interleukin-11 receptor, the interleukin-13 receptor, and the Suppressors of Cytokine Signalling (SOCS) proteins. In recent years, together with Professor Warren Alexander and Dr Benjamin Kile, Hilton has established a new program using large-scale mouse genetics and genomics to identify regulators of blood cell formation, with a view to determining targets for the development of new medicines. He has been the head of the Institute's Division of Molecular Medicine since it began in 2006, and is a professor in the University of Melbourne Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science.
From 1997 to 2001, Hilton served as Director of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Cellular Growth Factors,[5] during which he initiated the Australian Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP). He is also a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of the biotechnology company MuriGen Therapeutics.[6] He currently serves on the Board of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, the Australian Cancer Research Foundation Medical Research Advisory Committee,[7] the Victorian Cancer Agency Plan Implementation Committee, the Victorian Life Sciences Computational Initiative Steering Committee,[8] the Board of the Bio21 Cluster,[9] and the Board of the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Thailand.[10]
On 1 July 2009, Hilton became the sixth Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.[11]
At the time of appointment, Hilton believed that the Institute's success requires:[citation needed]
On 19 June 2023, it was announced that Doug Hilton was to become the Chief Executive of CSIRO starting 29 September 2023. [12]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.