The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research

Dr Chantal Donovan’s head is still spinning after receiving the Ann Woolcock Memorial Award at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in San Francisco earlier this year.

The award honours the life of the late Ann Woolcock who founded the Institute of Respiratory Medicine (which was later renamed the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research) in 1984. Professor Woolcock was an international leader in the field of asthma in areas of epidemiology, physiology and medicine and the eligibility criteria for the award were designed to reflect her priorities during her long, prolific career. It is intended for all areas of research on obstructive airway disease and as recognition for overall accomplishment and future promise by a junior investigator.

While Dr Donovan wouldn’t be one to tell you as much, she’s been a bit of a rising star in the respiratory research world for a while and even she admits this award is a big deal.

“The international recognition is quite amazing. It’s not common for an Australian to be recognised by the American Thoracic Society – this award usually goes to a North American researcher – and it showcases the important work we are doing."

That work involves drug discovery and pharmacological testing of novel treatments for lung diseases, using novel pre-clinical models of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer, combined with cutting-edge techniques to measure lung physiology, pharmacology and immunological mechanisms (e.g. precision cut lung slices, flow cytometry and single cell RNA sequencing).

But it’s also recognition of Dr Donovan’s career to date and her promising future in the field of respiratory research and medicine. She completed her PhD in Pharmacology at The University of Melbourne in 2015 and postdoctoral training at Monash University and the University of Newcastle (Immunology & Microbiology). She was awarded a prestigious NHMRC Early Career Fellowship (2017-2020) and NHMRC New Investigator grants (2018-2021) and was recruited to UTS as a faculty member in 2019.

Dr Donovan has authored 69 publications in top-ranked respiratory and general interest journals, been the recipient of 30 awards/prizes, including the Alan Skyring Memorial Award (Australian Society of Medical Research) and Denis Wade Outstanding Young Investigator Award (British Pharmacological Society/ASCEPT) and is regularly invited to chair and lead symposia at national pharmacology and respiratory society meetings.

Dr Donovan was also recently appointed a Research Leader of the Woolcock’s Respiratory Cellular and Molecular Biology research group.

“I’ve been working with the Woolcock since 2021 and am honoured to now be a Research Leader at what is the best respiratory research institute in the world. In terms of our research, working with the Woolcock brings the translational component to what we do – getting access to samples, consulting with researcher-clinicians. It really takes our research to the next level.”

Find out more

• Our Respiratory Cellular and Molelcular Biology research group
• Dr Chantal Donovan