Doug Hilton
Douglas "Doug" James Hilton (born 13 June 1964 in England) is an Australian molecular biologist. He is the Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Australia and Head of the Department of Medical Biology at the University of Melbourne. His research has focused on cytokines, signal transduction pathways and the regulation of blood cell formation (hematopoiesis). Since 2014, Hilton has been the President of the Association of the Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI). Early life. Hilton migrated to Australia with his family in 1970 and grew up in the Melbourne suburb of  Warrandyte. He was educated at Warrandyte Primary School and East Doncaster High School, where he recalls being inspired by “a wonderful biology teacher”. Scientific career. Education. Hilton received a Bachelor of Science from Monash University. He spent summer holidays as an undergraduate researcher in the laboratory of Ian Young at the John Curtin School of Medical Research. His Honours and PhD research projects were conducted with Professors Don Metcalf and Nicos Nicola at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, and resulted in the cloning of the cytokine Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF). Cytokine Signalling and Blood Cell Formation. Hilton spent two  years as a postdoctoral fellow studying the erythropoietin (EPO) receptor with Professor Harvey Lodish at the Whitehead Institute, MIT, USA. In 1993 Hilton returned to the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute where he continued his research into cytokine signalling, with discoveries including the interleukin-11 receptor, the interleukin-13 receptor, and the Suppressors of Cytokine Signalling (SOCS) proteins. In recent years, together with Professor Warren Alexander and Dr Benjamin Kile, Hilton has established a new program using large-scale mouse genetics and genomics to identify regulators of blood cell formation, with a view to determining targets for the development of new medicines . He has been the head of the Institute's Division of Molecular Medicine since it began in 2006, and is a professor in the University of Melbourne Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science. Other positions. From 1997 to 2001, Hilton served as Director of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Cellular Growth Factors, during which he initiated the Australian Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP). He is also a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of the biotechnology company MuriGen Therapeutics. He currently serves on the Board of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, the Australian Cancer Research Foundation Medical Research  Advisory Committee, the Victorian Cancer Agency Plan Implementation Committee, the Victorian Life Sciences Computational Initiative Steering Committee, the Board of the Bio21 Cluster, and the Board of the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Thailand. Directorship of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. On 1 July 2009, Hilton became the sixth Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. At the time of appointment, Hilton believed that the Institute's success requires: