Congratulations to Professor Mark Cooper AO!

Professor Mark Cooper AO was awarded
an Order of Australia on 26 January 2017

Congratulations to Professor Mark Cooper AO, who has been made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his distinguished service to biomedical research in the field of diabetes, as well as for his service to medical education.

Mark's research interests are in diabetes and its three major complications: kidney disease, heart disease and blindness. He is the inaugural head of the new Department of Diabetes at Central Clinical School and maintains an active clinical practice at the Alfred as a senior endocrinologist. Mark was the Chief Scientific Officer of the Baker Institute.

Professor Paul Zimmet AO, one of the field's pioneer researchers in diabetes epidemiology, Professor of Diabetes at Monash University and former Director Emeritus, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, commended Mark on his award. He said, "This is wonderful national recognition for Mark, already recognised as one of the international leaders in diabetes research. Mark and his team are indisputably one of the peer groups in diabetes research in the world and are a great acquisition for Monash."

Diabetes is a serious public health issue and the dramatic rise of diabetes in the community is a major concern. Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and the most common cause of kidney failure in the western world. Mark's research uses state of the art techniques to address the medical problems of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Mark has received many awards and is an eminent researcher in the field of diabetes and its complications. His work has improved our understanding of this disease and has been of direct benefit to millions of sufferers around the world. His distinguished body of research, with over 500 peer reviewed publications, has led to new treatments for sufferers of diabetes that are today considered standard. He has played a key role in translating discoveries in the laboratory to clinical care with seminal studies defining various treatment strategies to reduce the burden of diabetic complications.

Mark's group derives funding from multiple national and international sources including the New York-based Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation as well as from the NHMRC.