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0ETER $OHERTY
7ITH OPINIONS ON NEARLY EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN .OBEL ,AUREATE HAS LECTURED AND WRITTEN ABOUT AMONG OTHER THINGS FUNDING FOR RESEARCH
0ETER $OHERTY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY OFFENDER "UT HE HAS ALWAYS THE WELFARE SYSTEM GLOBAL WARMING AND WOMENS HEALTH
SAVED HIS BEST IDEAS FOR SCIENCE (IS FIRST BOOK 4HE "EGINNERS 'UIDE TO 7INNING THE .OBEL 0RIZE HAS
SOME AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ELEMENTS INTERSPERSED WITH HIS IRREVERENT HUMOR
(IS SECOND EXPECTED TO BE OUT IN !USTRALIA IN /CTOBER IS TENTATIVELY TITLED
)TS TRUE THAT 0ETER $OHERTY WON THE  .OBEL 0RIZE IN 0HYSIOLOGY ! ,IGHT (ISTORY OF (OT !IR !ND ITS SCOPE IS TYPICAL OF $OHERTYhEVERYTHING
© 2007 Nature Publishing Group http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine

OR -EDICINE FOR HIS WORK DISCOVERING HOW KILLER 4 CELLS RECOGNIZE CELLS FROM HOT AIR BALLOONS TO POLITICAL HOT AIR TO CENTRAL HEATING TO FLYING ON THE
INFECTED WITH A VIRUS #ONCORDE TO LIGHTHOUSES TO THE CONFLAGRATION OF WARv
"UT TALK TO HIM FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS AND CHANCES ARE YOU WONT HEAR !LTHOUGH NEITHER BOOK HAS MUCH TO DO WITH IMMUNOLOGY $OHERTY SEES
A WORD ABOUT THAT AN ENORMOUS NEED FOR ONE THAT WOULD EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT THE IMMUNE
)NSTEAD $OHERTY WILL PROBABLY HOLD FORTH ENGAGINGLY ON ANY NUMBER OF SYSTEM (IS OWN GREATEST SUCCESS AT EXPLAINING THE CONCEPTS HE SAYS WAS ON
TOPICSˆFROM ABORTION AND THE BEAUTY OF %RNEST (EMINGWAYS SPARE PROSE AN !USTRALIAN NATIONAL TELEVISION PROGRAM USING A BANANA TO REPRESENT AN
TO #HINESE FOLK MUSIC AND THE CHARMS OF THE ACTRESS -ARLO 4HOMAS -OST INFECTED CELL GRAPES AS KILLER 4 CELLS AND ORANGES AS MACROPHAGES
LIKELY HELL ALSO MANAGE TO INSULT A FEW DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS PROFESSIONAL h0EOPLE ARE TURNING BACK MORE AND MORE TO ANGELS AND FAIRIES AND
AND ETHNIC GROUPS RESERVING HIS MOST VITRIOLIC STATEMENTS FOR ANYONE HE CRYSTALS AND RAPTUREv HE SAYS h) THINK UNLESS SOME PEOPLE FROM THE
CONSIDERS A HYPOCRITE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY ENGAGE IN THE BROADER WORLD YOUVE GOT A REAL
h0ETER HE QUESTIONS EVERYTHING ) THINK HE DOES IT ACROSS THE WHOLE PROBLEMv
OF HIS LIFE FROM SOCIETY TO RELIGION AND SCIENCEv SAYS BIRD FLU EXPERT $ESPITE HIS WIDE RANGING INTERESTS HOWEVER $OHERTY HAS ALWAYS BEEN
2OBERT 7EBSTER WHO HAS KNOWN $OHERTY FOR DECADESh4HATS PART OF HIS HAPPIEST WHEN HES WORKING ON A SCIENTIFIC PROBLEM SCANNING THE DATA
INQUISITIVE MIND DONT ACCEPT WHATS WRITTEN QUESTION IT CHALLENGE IT AND FOR PATTERNS AND DISCUSSING EXPERIMENTS WITH YOUNGER COLLEAGUES %VEN AT
MAKE FUN OF IT IF NECESSARYv THE HEIGHT OF HIS CAREER WHEN HE WAS ENORMOUSLY BUSY HE WAS hENDLESSLY
$OHERTYS BROAD INTERESTS BEGAN AS A CHILD WHEN CHASED INDOORS BY AVAILABLEvAND RAN A LIVELY AND STIMULATING LAB BRIMMING WITH IDEAS RECALLS
THE HARSH !USTRALIAN SUN BECAUSE OF HIS SENSITIVE )RISH SKIN HE TURNED TO *UDY /WEN PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY AT (AVERFORD #OLLEGE IN 0ENNSYLVANIA
BOOKS (E WAS ALSO INTENSELY RELIGIOUSˆSOMETHING THAT DID NOT FALL AWAY !S A POSTDOC IN $OHERTYS LAB BETWEEN  AND  /WEN WAS
UNTIL HE ATTENDED UNIVERSITY AND BEGAN VALUING EVIDENCEˆAND BENT ON MARRIED WITH TWO CHILDRENh(E WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME IN BEING SUPPORTIVE
SAVING THE WORLD OF WOMEN SCIENTISTSvSHE SAYSh(ES UNSENTIMENTAL BUT HES ALSO EXTREMELY
!T THE TENDER AGE OF  HE DECIDED THAT BY BECOMING A VETERINARIAN HE MORALv
WOULD INCREASE FOOD PRODUCTION h) WAS GOING TO CREATE MORE ANIMALS SO %VEN DECADES LATER $OHERTY FREQUENTLY CALLS TO INQUIRE ABOUT THE HEALTH
WE COULD KILL THEM 4HATS NOT VERY FASHIONABLE AT THE MOMENTv HE SAYS OF /WENS HUSBAND WHO WAS DIAGNOSED WITH GLIOBLASTOMA h(E DOESNT
LAUGHINGh-Y FEELING ABOUT ANIMALS IS BREED EM FEED EM EAT EMv HAVE TO DO THAT ) WORKED FOR HIM  YEARS AGOv SHE SAYSh!ND ITS NOT JUST
"ORED TO TEARS BY THE WORK HE BEGAN READING BOOKS ON IMMUNOLOGY ME HE KEEPS IN TOUCH WITH ALL HIS FORMER LAB PEOPLEv
AND PATHOGENESIS ! .ATURE AD IN  THEN BECKONED HIM TO THE 3TILL $OHERTYS ONE STINT AS AN ADMINISTRATOR IN #ANBERRA DID NOT END
-OREDUN 2ESEARCH )NSTITUTE IN %DINBURGH WHERE HE HELPED TO RUN THE WELLh4HE LESS SAID ABOUT THIS TIME   THE BETTERv$OHERTY WRITES
NEUROPATHOLOGY DIVISION AND ENROLLED PART TIME AS A GRADUATE STUDENT AT IN HIS .OBEL ESSAY hAS ) AM STILL TRYING TO GET THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE IN
THE 5NIVERSITY OF %DINBURGH PERSPECTIVEv
)T WAS THERE THAT HE MET THE ONLY PERSON HE CREDITS AS A MENTOR 2ICHARD &OR YEARS $OHERTY AND HIS WIFE 0ENNY HAVE BALANCED THEIR LIVES BETWEEN
"ARLOW WHOM $OHERTY SAYS TAUGHT HIM TO WRITE CONCISELY7HEN $OHERTY THE 53 AND !USTRALIA WITH A LAB AND A CHILD ON EACH CONTINENT .OW 
RETURNED TO !USTRALIAN .ATIONAL 5NIVERSITY IN #ANBERRA IN  2OLF HE HAS DUAL APPOINTMENTS AT 3T *UDE #HILDRENS 2ESEARCH (OSPITAL IN
:INKERNAGEL WAS PLACED IN THE LAB WITH HIM BECAUSE OF SPACE CONSTRAINTS -EMPHIS 4ENNESSEE AND 4HE 5NIVERSITY OF -ELBOURNE
h!ND BECAUSE 2OLF SANG OPERAv PARTICULARLY #HERUBINOS SONG FROM "UT ALTHOUGH HE OCCASIONALLY SEES THINGS HIS YOUNGER COLLEAGUES MISS
-OZARTS -ARRIAGE OF &IGARO $OHERTY SAYS h.OBODY ELSE COULD STAND AND WRITES hA HELL OF A LOT BETTER THAN MOST OF THEMv $OHERTY SAYS HES
ITv GEARING UP TO RETIRE IN ABOUT FIVE
"Y THE TIME $OHERTY WAS IN YEARSh) THINK IF YOU GO ON WITH IT
HIS EARLY S HE AND :INKERNAGEL TOO LONG YOU BECOME A PROBLEMv
HAD ALREADY DONE THE WORK THAT HE SAYS h! LOT OF SCIENTISTS DO IT
WOULD EARN THEM THE .OBEL !PART THEY CANT LET GO BECAUSE ) THINK
FROM SOME MURMURING THAT THEIR THEYRE SORT OF PATHETICv
ADVISOR "OB "LANDEN SHOULD HAVE (E SAYS HE LOOKS FORWARD TO
SHARED IN THE PRIZE THEIR WIN WAS STEPPING BACK FROM SCIENCE AND
UNCONTROVERSIAL h4HIS WAS SUCH A TAKING ON SCIENCE AND SOCIETYˆ
UNIQUE OBSERVATION THAT EVERYONE AND HES GOT THE POPULARITY TO
WAS DELIGHTEDv SAYS 7EBSTER PULL IT OFF h)M VERY WELL KNOWN
$OHERTY TOOK FULL ADVANTAGE OF IN !USTRALIA FOR A SCIENTIST YOU
HIS STATUS AS A LAUREATE TO TAKE ON KNOWvHE SAYSh)VE GOT ABOUT THE
SCIENTIFIC AND ETHICAL ISSUES 4HE FIRST h)VE GOT ABOUT THE SAME CELEBRITY STATUS AS A SAME CELEBRITY STATUS AS A MINOR
YEAR AFTER HIS WIN HE EXTOLLED THE FIGURE IN A COFFEE COMMERCIALv
VIRTUES OF VACCINATION 3INCE THEN HE
MINOR FIGURE IN A COFFEE COMMERCIALv !POORVA -ANDAVILLI .EW 9ORK

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