Professor Chris Goodnowof UNSW Sydney’s Cellular Genomics Futures Institute has been announced as a winner of the prestigious 2025 Max Cooper Prize in Immunology by Emory University, Atlanta.
The international award recognises his significant contributions to understanding how the immune system’s tolerance mechanisms fail, leading to autoimmune diseases.
Professor Goodnow’s research centres on immune tolerance, the process whereby the body distinguishes between its own tissues and harmful invaders. By applying genomic analysis to immune cells, his work has revealed genetic causes of chronic autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, providing insights into their treatment.
“For our work on B cell tolerance to be recognised by the Max Cooper Prize is incredibly special for two reasons,” said Prof Goodnow, who is also a Professor in the School of Biomedical Sciences at UNSW Medicine & Health.
“First, Max Cooper’s groundbreaking discoveries about B cells and their development and evolution have been an inspiration and a roadmap throughout my career. Second, I’ve often looked to Max as a role model for generosity of spirit in research and how to take the path less well trodden.”
Professor Goodnow is the former Executive Director at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and current lab leader at the Institute.
UNSW Acting Dean of Medicine & Health Professor David Simar congratulated Professor Goodnow on his achievement.
“Chris’ research has had a global impact in unlocking how immune tolerance works – a fundamental process in health and disease. This honour is a fitting recognition of the exceptional scientific leadership and innovation he has brought to the field of immunology over many years,” he said.
Garvan’s Executive Director Professor Benjamin Kile said: “Chris’s work has transformed our understanding of autoimmunity and laid the groundwork for new treatments that could change lives. This recognition is richly deserved and underscores the global impact of his research.”
Named after Max D Cooper, whose discoveries laid the foundation of modern immunology, the prize celebrates researchers whose work has reshaped the field by advancing both fundamental and practical understanding of the immune system.
Professor Goodnow shares the 2025 prize with Dr Jeffrey V Ravetch of The Rockefeller University. The $100,000 award will be shared equally between the two researchers. The awards will be presented at the Cooper Prize Symposium in September in Atlanta.
Professor Goodnow is The Bill and Patricia Ritchie Foundation Chair at the Garvan Institute. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2009 and is also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. His interdisciplinary work bridges immunology, genomics and clinical science.
