Warwick Anderson is Emeritus Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University and Chair of the Board of the Global Biodata Coalition.
He was Secretary General of the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization, supported by the 14 leading scientific research countries and the EU until July 2021.
He was previously the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (2006-2015) following its establishment as an independent statutory agency. He renewed NHMRC’s peer review processes, established funding vehicles to support newly developing research fields, reformed NHMRC’s health guidelines processes, established an Australian ethical framework for responsible conduct of research, introduced targeted research calls especially for research funding to improving Aboriginal health. He also greatly expanded NHMRC’s international research support including through the Global Alliance for Chronic Disease and the International Cancer Genome Consortium and established bilateral research funding agreements with the National Medical Research Council of Singapore, National Natural Science Foundation of China, the New Zealand Health Research Council, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Californian Institute of Regenerative Medicine. NHMRC funding doubled during his tenure.
Professor Anderson graduated B. Sc. (Hons) from the University of New England, after matriculating from Maclean High School, NSW. He obtained his Ph. D. from the University of Adelaide and held research positions at the Baker Medical Research Institute, University of Sydney and Harvard Medical School. His academic appointments included Head of the School of Biomedical Sciences and Professor of Physiology at Monash University. His research is on the renal causes of high blood pressure, including humoural, neural and vascular remodelling aspects, publishing over 170 peer reviewed articles. He has also published extensively on research policy issues.
Professor Anderson has been a member of numerous national and international scientific bodies including the Prime Minister’s Science Engineering and Innovation Council in Australia. He is Board Chair of the Global Biodata Coalition of international funding organisation. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science, He has honorary doctorates from the University of Adelaide, the University of Newcastle and Monash University. He is an Officer of the Order of Australia.