John Mattick joins Green Templeton College

Professor John Mattick (AO FAA FTSE FAHMS HonFRCPA) has recently been appointed Chief Executive of Genomics England and Research Fellow at Green Templeton College, Oxford.

He obtained his BSc from the University of Sydney and his PhD from Monash University in Melbourne. He undertook his postdoctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and then joined the then new CSIRO Division of Molecular Biology in Sydney, where he developed one of the first genetically engineered vaccines.

In 1988, he was appointed Foundation Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, where he was also Foundation Director of the Australian Genome Research Facility and the Institute for Molecular Bioscience.

From 2012 until 2018, Professor Mattick was the Executive Director of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, where he established a major human genome sequencing facility and one of the world’s first clinically accredited genome analysis enterprises.

Professor Mattick is known for his work on the non-protein-coding genome, showing that it is largely devoted to the production of a multi-layered RNA regulatory system that, inter alia, orchestrates the epigenetic trajectories of differentiation and development.

He has published over 300 research articles and perspectives, and his honours and awards include:

• Inaugural Gutenberg Professorship of the University of Strasbourg
• The Order of Australia and Centenary Medal
• Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technology & Engineering
• Membership of the European Molecular Biology Organization
• Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia
• The IUBMB Medal
• The Human Genome Organisation Chen Award for Distinguished Achievement in Human Genetic & Genomic Research
• The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Bertner Award for Distinguished Contributions to Cancer Research.