Outstanding researcher to head Centenary Institute

4 December 2006
Professor Mathew Vadas, MB BS, PhD, DSc, FRACP, FRCPA, has been appointed as the new Executive Director of the Centenary Institute of Cancer Medicine and Cell Biology. Centenary’s Chair, Hon Michael Egan, announced the appointment today.

Centenary, which has strong intellectual links with the University of Sydney and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, and is located on the joint campus, is one of Australia’s foremost medical research institutes.

In May 2005, Professor Antony Basten, Centenary’s Founding Director announced his decision to step down after leading Centenary for more than 15 years. This was followed by a national and international search to replace Professor Basten and to lead the Centenary in its new phase of growth.

Professor Vadas, currently the Director of the Division of Human Immunology at the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science in Adelaide, will begin his appointment at Centenary on 1 January 2007.

Mr Egan said, "Centenary is privileged to recruit such an outstanding researcher and clinician".

Professor Vadas brings an expansive intellect, distinguished research career and extensive management experience to the critical task of managing an internationally competitive medical research organisation. Prof Vadas was the Inaugural Director of the Hanson Centre for Cancer Research, now known as the Hanson Institute, in Adelaide. He is also the Chair of the Medical Research Advisory Board of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation, serves on the NH&MRC Development Grants and Program Grants committees, Clinical Professor of Immunology and of Medicine at the University of Adelaide, and a Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Centre for Vascular Research at the University of NSW.

Within the scientific community, Professor Vadas has an internationally established reputation in the fields of inflammation and cancer and is one of Australia’s most highly cited scientists. He is one of Australia’s Inaugural ISI-Thompson Citation Laureates and current list of ISI Thompson "Highly Cited" scientists. His scientific research embodies a multi-disciplinary approach to the discovery of new molecules or pathways leading to novel therapeutics.