Rate My Professor James Whisstock

Professor James Whisstock FAHMS is Vice-Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Monash University and a member of the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute. He completed his PhD in bioinformatics and structural biology at the University of Cambridge before moving to Australia in 1997 to establish his research group at Monash University. In January 2022 he was appointed Deputy Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. His prior leadership roles include Scientific Head of EMBL Australia from 2017 to 2024 and Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging from 2014 to 2021. He has held an ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship, an ARC Federation Fellowship and an Honorary NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellowship.

Professor Whisstock’s research centres on the atomic structures of complex protein molecules, with particular focus on membrane attack complex/perforin-like proteins that function in immunity and developmental biology, as well as proteases and their inhibitors that regulate blood coagulation and wound remodelling. He has contributed to the development of key Monash technology platforms, including the establishment of the Monash Ramaciotti Cryo-Electron Microscopy platform. In 2024 he was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. Earlier honours include the Science Minister’s Prize in Life Sciences in 2006, the Commonwealth Health Minister’s Award in 2008 and the Australian Academy of Science Gottschalk Medal in 2010.