Lecture by veterinary Nobel Laureate Professor Peter Doherty.

Doherty begins the lecture by giving an overview of his current work at University of Melbourne and St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He moves on to distinguish veterinary science within the veterinary profession, and expounds the importance of the role of animals to food security and the developing world. Doherty discusses the benefits of a career in veterinary science, including increased training in certain areas, such as Classical Genetics and Pathology. He explains the importance of The One Health Initiative, which aims to unify scientific-health related disciplines, particularly veterinary medicine. Doherty discusses veterinary medicine’s role in the investigation into increased transmission of infectious disease, using West Nile Virus and other infectious diseases as examples. He discusses why many veterinarians go into the field of biomedical research and lists the work of some leading contemporary veterinary scientists. Doherty explains the origins of various influenza viruses, including H2N2 and H5N1. He then spends a long while recounting his veterinary education and training. Doherty argues the benefits of switching from one scientific discipline to another at key points in one’s education and early career. He talks about his work on the virus-specific CD8+ “killer T” cells. He then relays the story of C. C. Little’s development of Mouse Transplantation Genetics as an example of the tenet that science is an evolutionary discipline. Doherty recounts his personal experiences receiving the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1996, and other key Nobel Prizes awarded to veterinary scientists. He closes by advising his audience to continue to be mindful of their strong scientific training throughout their career, and forecasts the paths veterinary science might take in the coming years. Another lecturer makes some closing comments in response to Doherty’s lecture.