Nobel Laureate for Medicine and 1997 Australian of the Year Professor Peter Doherty AC is one of the University's most distinguished alumni.

Professor Doherty has held the Michael F Tamer Chair of Biomedical Research at St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, since 1988. From July 2002, he has been Laureate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne.

He won the 1996 Nobel Prize (with Rolf Zinkernagel) for their discovery of how the immune system recognises virus-infected cells.

This research attracted many other prestigious awards, including West Germany's Paul Ehrlich Prize (1983); the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award USA (1995); and the 1986 Gairdner International Award for Medical Science, Canada.

Professor Doherty was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Veterinary Science by The University of Queensland and holds honorary doctorates from 15 other universities including Australian National University, Edinburgh, London (Imperial), Berne and Pennsylvania.

Declared a member of Australia's 100 Living National Treasures in 1997, his awards also include election to the Royal Society of London, the Australian Academy of Science and the US National Academy of Sciences.

Professor Doherty graduated Bachelor of Veterinary Science from UQ in 1962, Master of Veterinary Science four years later and PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 1970.

In 1972, he joined the John Curtin School of Medical Research Canberra, where he switched from animal to human-pathogen studies and carried out research on histocompatibility antigens with Rolf Zinkernagel.

Professor Doherty was The University of Queensland's 1993 Alumnus of the Year.

He is currently based at Melbourne University's Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

"The lab in Melbourne will be looking at immunity to viruses. Up until now, we've worked mostly with mouse experimental systems, but in Melbourne, we intend to get much more into the study of human virus infections. We're thinking about HIV, the AIDS virus and possibly the Hepatitis C virus," Professor Doherty said.

"Science is about finding out new things - seeing a new result, a new piece of data, finding out something surprising and interesting. That's enjoyable and satisfying and you feel you've achieved something. You've got a product, if you like.

"The future is not just a matter of training but a matter of being able to think and to think creatively and broadly."