Person

Vaux, David Laurence (1959 - )

AO FAA FAHMS

Born
28 October 1959
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Molecular biologist and Science administrator
Website
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2703-1651

Summary

David Vaux was Deputy Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne from 2011. From the same date he was Joint Division Head and NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow of the WEHI Cell Signalling and Cell Death Division. He first joined WEHI in 1992 working in the molecular genetics of cancer and cellular immunology. From 2007 to 2010 he was a professor and Director of the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, Bundoora.

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Details

NOTE: His profile page at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research has been taken down - we guess that follows his retirement.

Citation from the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, 2015:

"David Vaux opened the molecular era of cell death research by identifying the first component of the mechanism cells use to kill themselves, showing that failure of cell death leads to the development of cancer, and demonstrating that the cell death mechanism is evolutionarily conserved. He helped identify and characterise two families of cell death inhibitors, which underpinned the development of new classes of cancer therapies that work by activating the cell death machinery in cancer cells."

Chronology

1984
Education - MB BS University of Melbourne
1985
Career position - Intern, Royal Melbourne Hospital
1986 - 1989
Career position - Postgraduate Scholar, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
1989
Education - PhD University of Melbourne - medical biology
1989 - 1993
Career position - Fellow, Stanford University, California, U.S.A.
1992 - 2004
Career position - Member, Editorial Board, Apoptosis
1993 - 2005
Career position - Laboratory Head, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
1995
Award - Burnet Prize, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
1996 -
Career position - Member, Australian Science Communicators
1996 -
Career position - Member, Editorial Board, Cell death and differentiation
1999 -
Career position - Member, Editorial Board, Journal of cell biology
2000
Award - Gottschalk Medal, Australian Academy of Science
2000
Award - Roche Molecular Biochemicals Medal, Australian Society for Biochemical and Molecular Biology
2000
Award - GlaxoSmithKline Australia Award for Research Excellence (jointly with Andreas Strasser)
2001 - 2005
Career position - Secretary, National Association of Research Fellows
2003
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
2003
Award - Victoria Prize for Science and Innovation, State of Victoria
2005
Award - ARC Federation Fellowship
2006
Award - President's Medal, Australia and New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology
2006 - 2007
Career position - Chairman, Victorian Division, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science
2006 - 2012
Career position - Member, Committee on Freedom and Responsibility in the Conduct of Science, International Council for Science
2007 -
Career position - Member, Federal Council, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science
2007 - 2011
Career position - National Health and Medical Research Council Australian Fellow, Department of Biochemistry, La Trobe University
2008 -
Career position - Honorary Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University
2008
Award - Lemberg Medal and Oration, Australian Society for Biochemical and Molecular Biology
2010
Award - Macfarlane Burnet Medal and Lectureship, Australian Academy of Science
2011 - 2021
Career position - Deputy Director and Head, Cell Signalling and Cell Death Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
2011 - 2021
Career position - Assistant Director, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
2012 -
Career position - Associate Member, European Molecular Biology Organization
2015 -
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (FAHMS)
2015 -
Career position - Member, Editorial Board, PLoS biology
2015 -
Career position - Board Member, Centre for Scientific Integrity, U.S.A.
26 Jan 2017
Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) - for distinguished service to medicine in the field of biomedical cancer research, to higher education as an academic and mentor, and to professional integrity and ethics
2019
Award - CSL Florey Medal (shared with Andreas Strasser), Australian Institute of Policy and Science
2021 -
Career position - Emeritus Professor, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

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See also

Gavan McCarthy

Created: 4 August 2025, Last modified: 7 August 2025

EOAS ID: biogs/P007807b.htm

This Edition: 2026 February - 1926 Centenaries
Kooyang - Gariwerd calendar - Late summer: late January to late March - season of eels
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