Professor Chris Parish received his undergraduate training at the University of Melbourne and then gained a PhD degree in Immunology at The Walter & Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne. He has spent most of his scientific career in Canberra at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU and until recently was the Director of the school. Chris is an immunologist and cancer biologist with a research career spanning 40 years and has published over 300 scientific papers. He is recognized as a world leader in studies of how the immune system is regulated and the role of complex carbohydrates in immune cell and cancer cell behavior. As a result of this research he has developed several carbohydrate-based drugs, such as PI-88 (Muparfostat), that inhibit inflammation, cancer spread and new blood vessel growth, and has developed immunotherapeutic cancer vaccines. His research findings underpin six Australian biotechnology companies, three of which were founded in Canberra by Chris and his scientific colleagues (Biotron, Lipotek and Beta Therapeutics). He has been elected a Fellow of two learned Australian Academies (ATSE and AAHMS) and has received numerous awards in recognition of his scientific achievements, including the Clive and Vera Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research in 2015, and the 2014 Canberra Citizen of the Year Award.
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