Professor David Komander elected as Fellow of the Royal Society

David Komander, Professor in the Department of Medical Biology and Head of the Ubiquitin Signalling Division at WEHI, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of his outstanding research contributions.

Professor David Komander. Image credit: WEHI.

Professor Komander is a biochemist and structural biologist and is a leading researcher in the field of ubiquitination. He is also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, and a member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) and the Lister Institute.

His research focuses on how proteins within cells are modified to alter their function or trigger their demise. Detailed understanding of these processes allow researchers to enhance protein function or trigger the removal of disease-causing proteins in humans. A main focus of the past decade has been applying this knowledge to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease.

“I am immensely honoured and humbled to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and look forward to highlighting the abundant research excellence in Australia, form new international collaborations, and continue to advance research in this important field,” Professor Komander said.

Founded in 1660, the Royal Society is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence, and is made up of many of the world’s most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists. The Society recognises excellence and elects Fellows and Foreign Members from all over the world. Fellows and Foreign Members are elected for life through a peer-review process based on excellence in science.

You can view the full list of newly elected fellows on the Royal Society website.