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The University of Western Australia's Winthrop Professor Kadambot Siddique, Clinical Professor Jack Goldblatt and Honorary Doctor Alex Campbell have been named Members of the Order of Australia (AM) in this year's Queen's Birthday honours.

The Director of UWA's Institute of Agriculture, Winthrop Professor Siddique, is an international leader in crop science. He is credited with the establishment and development of the pulse industry in Australia.

Professor Siddique has nearly 30 years experience in crop physiology. He came to UWA to do his PhD with a first class Honours degree in Agriculture and a Masters in Crop Physiology from prestigious Indian universities. He has recently expanded his academic role to helping build capacity in agricultural science in southern Asia.

"I am humbled and honoured to be recognised," he said of his AM. "I would like to acknowledge the support and encouragement of my family, my colleagues and the farming community over the past 30 years (including my PhD years at UWA) of my career in agriculture in Australia."

Professor Goldblatt, from the School of Paediatrics and Child Health, runs the state's only clinical genetics and familial cancer service. He has been working in the area of human genetics for about 40 years.

"Some people tend to think of genetics as just an area of research, something a bit futuristic, but while it is a rapidly evolving field, we actually do deliver practical assistance to thousands of people every year."

Professor Goldblatt has co-authored 197 papers, many of them with the Head of School, Winthrop Professor Peter Le Souëf. "This award to me is symbolic of all the great work done by Peter Le Souëf and the whole team. It's a great hard-working group of people and this award is as much theirs as it is mine," he said.

The Chair of the UWA Albany Foundation and South Coast Natural Resource Management, Dr Alex Campbell, was named a Member of the Order of Australia for his executive role in many conservation and agriculture organisations.

Dr Campbell, who has been farming sheep and cattle in Narrikup for 35 years, helped UWA to set up a research centre for salinity and was granted an Honorary Doctor of Agriculture Science.

Media references

Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs) (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716