Rafael Laguens, WVA president, and Professor Peter C. Doherty, the only veterinarian to have received the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology, met on February 23 at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne.
The meeting was organised by Vets for Climate Action (VfCA), Professor Doherty being patron of this institution. Dr Jeannet Kessels, founder and chair of VfCA, and Steff Goldring, VfCA’s CEO, also participated in the meeting.
During the meeting, they discussed topics such as the application of the One Health strategy in the prevention, preparation, and response to future pandemics, as well as environmental challenges such as anthropogenic climate change.
Furthermore, there was discussion about the need to take an evidence-based view of the world and inform citizens appropriately, including on scientific issues, so that they can evaluate the facts that shape the challenges faced by today’s global society. Veterinarians, like doctors, are one of the few professionals with scientific knowledge in health and biology who have access to and direct communication with the population (pet owners, livestock farmers, food chain operators, etc.).
Professor Doherty maintains that “the veterinary profession is on the front line of climate change. “We have the ability to influence the general public and the community, as well as carry out our own actions.”
Professor Peter C. Doherty
He was and remains the first person with a veterinary qualification to win a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1996 with Swiss physician Rolf Zinkernagel for their discoveries concerning the specificity of the cell-mediated immune defence and the biological role of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC).
Still active in science and involved in large, grant-funded programs he commutes between St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis and the Doherty Institute where he now spends most of his time. His research over the past four decades has focused on T cell-mediated immunity in virus infections, particularly with respect to CD8+ “killer” T cell effector function and memory.
Apart from his published reviews and research papers that can be found on PubMed, he is the author of several “lay” books, including “A Light History of Hot Air”, “The Beginners Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize”, “Their Fate is Our Fate: How Birds Foretell Threats to our Health and our World”, “Pandemics: What Everyone Needs to Know”, “The Knowledge Wars” and “The Incidental Tourist”. His current focus is increasingly on the public communication of science and on defending an evidence-based view of the world.
Professor Peter Doherty is Patron and namesake of the Doherty Institute, a joint venture between The University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne Hospital. The Doherty Institute has a cross-disciplinary environment dedicated to identifying and addressing fundamental challenges in all aspects of infection and immunity. Through leadership, advocacy and education to shape research, policy, and practice to improve health for communities in Australia and internationally.
Professor Peter Doherty is also Patron of Vets for Climate Action.
