Our Scientists
Professor Boris Martinac
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Professor Boris Martinac majored in physics from the RWTH Aachen University in Germany where he received his PhD degree in biophysics as well. After three years of postdoctoral studies of electrophysiology of ciliates at the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, he moved to the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin in the United States where he studied microbial ion channels by patch clamp.
In 1993 he became Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Australia, in Perth, Australia where he rose to the rank of Associate Professor in 1999 and Full Professor in 2004. From 2005 to 2009 he was a Foundation Chair of Biophysics at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.
As an ARC Australian Professorial Fellow, in 2009 he moved to the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney, to dedicate all his time to research. Prod Martinac is the Head of the Institute's Mechanobiology Laboratory.
Prof Martinac was elected as an Australian Academy of Science Fellow in 2013, and in 2021, the Nobel Prize Assembly highlighted Prof Martinac for his groundbreaking work 30 years prior proving the existence of mechanosensitive channels. This breakthrough led the way to the year’s Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine being jointly awarded to Ardem Patapoutian for his discovery into how our bodies sense touch.
Learn more about Prof Boris Martinac and his work
Acknowledgement of Country
The Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute acknowledges Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.
