Person

Varghese, Joseph Noozhumurry (Jose) (1949 - )

Born
13 March 1949
Nairobi, Kenya
Occupation
Molecular biologist and Virologist

Summary

Jose Varghese is an expert molecular biologist who has worked in the medical research field since 1980 when was invited by Peter Colman to collaborate on analysis of human influenza Type A viruses in 1980. This research had unprecedented results in terms of identifying the structure of the virus and allowed for the development of Relenza, a groundbreaking drug that works against all strains of influenza virus including bird flu and swine flu.

When he was seconded from his position with Colman in the CSIRO's Division of Protein Chemistry, to the Biomolecular Research Institute, Varghese continued his research into influenza. During his time there (1990-2000) he also led successful research into the following; the structure of several plant hydrolyses; the structure of the Interleukin-6 receptor; the improvement of X-Ray brilliance using mono-capillary optics; the construction of computer simulations molecules binding onto a protein surface to aid the process of drug design.

Varghese has published over 90 scientific articles, which have been cited, as of 2008, over 4 600 times.

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Details

In 2011 Varghese (with colleagues in the Amyloid Structure Team) was awarded the CSIRO Medal for Research Achievement for determining one of the first known structures of amyloid beta - a toxic protein present in the brains of Alzheimer's sufferers. The structure has been sought for 25 years, but had proved incredibly difficult because of the protein's propensity to self-assemble and clump together.

Chronology

1968
Education - Bachelor of Science (Physics and Mathematics), University of Queensland
1969
Education - Honours in Theoretical Physics, University of Queensland
1970 - 1974
Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Physics, University of Western Australia at Nedlands, Perth
1974 - c. 1977
Career position - ARC Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Crystallography Centre, University of Western Australia
1977 - c. 1980
Career position - Science Research Council (UK) Postdoctoral Fellowship at the School of Molecular Sciences, University of Sussex in England
1980 - c. 1984
Career position - CSIRO Postdoctoral Fellowship with Dr Peter Colman, CSIRO Division of Protein Chemistry
1984 - 1990
Career position - Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Biomolecular Engineering
1987
Award - CSIRO Medal for Research Achievement (with colleagues)
1990 - 2000
Career position - Chief Research Scientist, Biomolecular Research Institute, Parkville
2001 - 2005
Career position - Head, Structural Biology Program CSIRO Health Sciences and Nutrition

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Rebecca rigby

Created: 13 June 2012, Last modified: 23 April 2024

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