SMITH, Kenneth George Campbell

Professor Ken Smith (OGC 1980) is an internationally recognised researcher and clinician whose career has helped shape the understanding of immune-mediated diseases. Appointed seventh Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in 2024, Smith returned to Australia after a distinguished tenure as Head of the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge from 2010 to 2024. (Another OGC, Sir Macfarlane Burnet, was WEHI’s third Director.)

Smith earned his Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery and later completed a PhD in immunology at WEHI through the University of Melbourne. His early clinical training included roles at Victorian hospitals and research in transplantation at Oxford. In 1996, he joined the University of Cambridge as a lecturer and consultant physician, becoming a Fellow of Pembroke College in 1999.

At Cambridge, Smith’s laboratory performed experimental medicine and translational research focused on immunology and immune-mediated disease. He also established and served as first Director of the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Diseases. His work has been widely published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at global scientific forums.

Smith’s contributions have been recognised with numerous honours, including election as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK) in 2006, the Lister Institute Research Prize in 2007, and membership in the Association of American Physicians in 2020.

His leadership in immunology and translational medicine continues to influence clinical practice and research worldwide. He has been key in forming connections between industry and academia.

At The Geelong College, Smith studied from 1973 to 1980 and was Dux and a House Prefect in his final year. His early interest in science fostered at the College laid the foundation for a career of global impact in medicine and research.

Smith was inducted into the OGCA Notables Gallery in 2025.