Tony Weiss is the McCaughey Chair in Biochemistry, NHMRC Leadership Fellow, and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Sydney. He leads Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine in the Charles Perkins Centre. His research is on the biochemistry, molecular and cell biology of the elastic extracellular matrix.

Tropoelastin is the protein building-block that provides human tissue with its elasticity. Tony’s work has established tropoelastin as a vital field of research in work that underpins novel applications and clinical translation in wound repair. His lab discovered how to modulate tropoelastin self-assembly and then articulated the rules governing this assembly process to give elastin. He then created intricate elastin architectures tailored to elastic tissue including skin and blood vessels, where it coordinates cell growth and organised tissue repair. In addition to his work on elastin assembly, his scientific leadership has defined tropoelastin’s shape, and elucidated how cells respond to tropoelastin through specific integrins and their binding mechanisms.

Tony’s awards include the Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation, NSW Premier’s Prize for Science and Engineering Leadership in Innovation, Eureka Prize for Innovation in Medical Research, Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering’s Clunies Ross Award, Australasian Society for Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Award for Research Excellence, ASBMB’s AMRAD Pharmacia-Biotech Medal, MBSANZ Barry Preston Award, FAOBMB Entrepreneurship Award, and two medals from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute: the Applied Research Medal and Weickhardt Medal. He is a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).

Tony is President of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS), was elected Chair of TERMIS Asia Pacific, and President of MBSANZ, and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, Royal Society of NSW, Royal Australian Chemical Institute, Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), Royal Society of Biology (UK), American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (USA), National Academy of Inventors (USA), Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, and Biomaterials Science and Engineering. He was a NIH Fogarty International Fellow, and Fulbright Scholar at Stanford University, and has served as the NSW State Representative for ASBMB.

Tony continues to be inspired by his former PhD supervisor, Gerry Wake, and other mentors, many of whom were previous recipients of the Lemberg Medal. Tony is deeply appreciative of his extraordinary lab members and scientific collaborators who have enriched and continue to nurture his scientific journey.