University of Queensland medical graduate Professor Jonathan Sprent has been elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London, an independent scientific academy founded in 1660 by Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle and Robert Moray.
Each year 40 new fellows who are citizens of Great Britain or the British Commonwealth are elected by merit to the Society.
Professor Jack Pettigrew of the University's Vision, Touch and Hearing Research Centre is the only University of Queensland staff member currently a fellow of the Royal Society.
The Royal Society began with the aim of promoting public understanding of science and that aim continues with a broad range of services such as meetings, exhibits and scientific exchanges. The Society motto "Nullius in Verba" reflects its philosophy that statements must be verified by facts.
Professor Sprent, who graduated MBBS from the University of Queensland in 1967, was awarded a PhD in 1972 while at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. He then worked at the Institute of Immunology in Basel, Switzerland and the University College Hospital London.
He is currently Professor in the Department of Immunology at the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, USA. Dr Sprent was awarded the J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine in 1995, and becomes president of the American Association of Immunologists in July 1998 (the first Australian to be elected to this position).
He will travel to London for his induction, part of which requires that he sign the Royal Society's membership book, which includes such famous names as Isaac Newton and Michael Faraday.
Sprent was elected for having 'contributed greatly to T cell immunobiology. In other studies he has defined the migratory properties and lifespan of B cells as well as making important contributions in the fields of immunobiological tolerance and memory', the citation read.
Professor Sprent's father Emeritus Professor John Sprent is a former University of Queensland Dean of Veterinary Science and former head of the Parasitology Department. His students included Nobel Prize winner Professor Peter Doherty.
More details on the Royal Society are found at the Web site: http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/
