JOHN MACKENZIE, Emeritus Professor, Curtin University, Australia - formerly Professor of Tropical Infectious Diseases 

John Mackenzie has an outstanding international reputation in the field of virology and its impacts on public health. He was formerly Professor of Microbiology at The University of Queensland prior to his appointment to Curtin University. He has received a number of international awards for his research, including the inaugural Mahathir Science Award by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia for scientific excellence in recognition of his contributions and innovations towards solving problems in the tropics through science and technology, and the inaugural Premier’s Research Fellowship of the Science Council of Western Australia. He served as Secretary-General of the International Union of Microbiological Societies from 1999 to 2005, and as President of the Australian Society for Microbiology from 1992-1994. He was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and of the American Academy of Microbiology, and was awarded the decoration of Officer in the Order of Australia for service to microbiology research, particularly as a leading contributor to the understanding of the genetics, pathogenesis and public health implications of viruses, and to education. He led the World Health Organisation (WHO) mission into China seeking information on SARS in 2003 and in 2009-2010, he chaired the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Influenza H1N1, and is currently a member of the Emergency Committees on Polio and COVID-19. In 2021, he was appointed to membership of the quadripartite FAO-UNEP-WHO-WOAH One Health High Level Expert Panel. For many years Prof. Mackenzie was a member of the Steering Committee of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network and the Asia-Pacific Strategy for Emerging Diseases. With regional colleagues, he co-founded the Asia Pacific Society for Medical Virology. He has published widely on various viruses, especially vector-borne viruses and emerging zoonotic viruses, and has a Google Scholar ’h’ index of 73 from 21,130 citations.