Suzanne Cory facts for kids

Suzanne Cory (born March 11, 1942) is a famous Australian scientist who studies tiny parts of living things, like genes. She has done important work on how our bodies fight off sickness (the immune system) and how cancer develops. She also encourages Australia to spend more money on science. Suzanne Cory is married to another scientist, Jerry Adams, who also works at the WEHI Institute.

Early Life and Learning

Suzanne Cory grew up in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. She went to Canterbury Girls' Secondary College and University High School, Melbourne.

She studied at the University of Melbourne, where she earned her first science degrees in biochemistry. In 1966, she moved to Cambridge, England, to study at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. There, she earned her PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Cambridge in 1968. A PhD is a very high degree that shows you are an expert in your field.

Amazing Science Discoveries

After finishing her PhD, Suzanne Cory traveled to the University of Geneva for more research. In Geneva, she focused on studying the RNA of a tiny virus called R17 bacteriophage. She used it as a model to understand how genetic information is stored and used.

Studying the Immune System

In 1971, Suzanne Cory and her husband, Jerry Adams, started their research at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne, Australia. They brought new science tools and ways of working that they learned in Geneva and Cambridge. This helped improve molecular biology research in Australia.

They first decided to study the genes involved in our body's defense system, called the immune system. They found that the genes that make antibodies (special proteins that fight off germs) are like building blocks. These blocks can be put together in many different ways. This discovery helped explain why our immune system is so good at fighting off many different kinds of harmful invaders.

Researching Cancer and Genes

After ten years of studying the immune system, Cory's lab started focusing on cancer. They looked at the genetic changes that lead to different types of cancer. Her lab found the specific gene changes that cause Burkitt's lymphoma and Follicular lymphoma, which are types of blood cancer.

A big part of their cancer research is about how cells grow and how they die. They are very interested in two proteins: Myc and the Bcl-2 protein family. ..... Bcl-2, along with other helpers, stops certain enzymes (called caspases) from becoming active. These caspases stay inactive until they get a signal to break down the proteins that make up a cell.

Cory's lab has developed new medicines called BH3 mimetics. These medicines block Bcl-2. When used with small amounts of chemotherapy, these medicines have shown good results in treating certain types of aggressive lymphomas.

Leading in Science

Suzanne Cory was the President of the Australian Academy of Science. She was the first woman ever elected to this important role. She started her four-year term on May 7, 2010.

From 1996 until June 30, 2009, Cory was the Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI). She is still a faculty member there, working in the Molecular Genetics of Cancer Division. Her current research looks at genetic changes in blood cancers and how chemotherapy drugs affect cancer cells. Her work has been published in many well-known science journals like Blood, The EMBO Journal, Nature, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Honoring Her Work

The Suzanne Cory High School opened in 2011, named in her honor. This public high school teaches 800 students from grades 9 to 12. The school is close to Victoria University, which lets students use the university's facilities and staff.

In 2021, the Australian Academy of Science created the Suzanne Cory Medal for Biomedical Sciences. This medal is given for outstanding research in all areas of biological sciences.

Awards and Recognitions

Suzanne Cory has received many awards and honors for her amazing work:

• 1986 — Became a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
• 1992 — Became a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)
• 1995 — Awarded the Lemberg Medal
• 1997 — Awarded the Macfarlane Burnet Medal and Lecture by the Australian Academy of Science
• 1997 — Became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Victoria (FRSV)
• 1998 — Received the Charles S. Mott Prize (shared with others)
• 1999 — Named a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), a very high honor in Australia
• 2001 — Received a L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science
• 2001 — Added to the Victorian Honour Roll of Women
• 2002 — Awarded the Royal Medal by the Royal Society
• 2004 — Elected an Academician of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences
• 2009 — Named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by France
• 2011 — Awarded the Association for International Cancer Research Colin Thomson Medal
• 2012 — Won the CSIRO Eureka Prize for Leadership in Science
• 2013 — Elected as a Fellow of the first group of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy
• 2014 — Gave the annual ABC Boyer Lectures
• 2021 — Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences

Personal Life

While working at the LMB in England, Suzanne Cory met Jerry Adams, a scientist from the United States. They later got married and have two daughters.

See also

In Spanish: Suzanne Cory para niños