Professor Steve Wilton AO FAHMS, Deputy Director at the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Innovative Therapeutics at Murdoch University and Perron Institute, has been elected to the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS).
The Academy welcomed 31 new Fellows in a ceremony at its Annual Meeting in Adelaide in late October.
Indigenous health leaders, an immunisation expert, a drug discoverer and a pioneering genomicist are among the new Fellows.
Professor Steve Wilton was an early pioneer in the use of antisense oligomers to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy. His team is currently exploring treatments for scores of diseases, aiming to develop new therapeutics for many inherited and acquired conditions.
Perron Institute’s Scientific Advisor and Clinic Co-Founder, Professor Frank Mastaglia AM, said Professor Wilton’s recognition was well-deserved.
“Professor Wilton’s election to the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences is a richly deserved and appropriate honour which recognises his pioneering contributions to advances in precision medicine and neurology over the past 25 years in developing novel antisense oligonucleotide exon-skipping therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy,” Professor Mastaglia said.
“His painstaking and visionary work has not only resulted in the first effective disease-modifying treatment for a crippling and lethal form of muscular dystrophy, but has been the forerunner for the development of antisense therapies for a variety of other genetic and acquired neurological disorders, traditionally considered to be untreatable.”
Academy President Professor Louise Baur said new Fellows were elected by their peers through a competitive process, which recognised their significant and continuing contributions to health and medical sciences.
“Our new Fellows have a truly exceptional body of work, with each of them considered international leaders in their respective fields,” she said.
“Our Fellowship represents the breadth and diversity of Australia’s health and medical expertise, allowing us to draw on independent, expert and evidence-based advice to drive change and improve health for all.”