Professor Ken Smith appointed Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Chair in Medical Biology

WEHI Director Professor Ken Smith has joined the University of Melbourne as one of three professorial chairs supported by the Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Medical Research Trust, which lead collaborative research programs across Melbourne’s biomedical precinct.

Professor Smith’s research focuses on immune deficiency and autoimmune disease.  He returns to Australia from the United Kingdom, where he was Head of the Department of Medicine at Cambridge University from 2010 to 2024.

“The research that we’re collaborating on with the University of Melbourne, Peter Mac Callum Cancer Centre and the Royal Children’s Hospital and Murdoch Children’s Reseach Institute is at the cutting-edge, and therefore can be perceived as high-risk for funding bodies. We are extremely grateful to the Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Medical Research Trust for its visionary philanthropic investment in the future of medical research,” Professor Smith said.

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Professor Jane Gunn AO said “ I’m thrilled to welcome Professor Ken Smith, a clinician and researcher of such a high calibre to continue the exceptional collaborative leadership that the Galli Chairs bring to our health and biomedical precinct.”