Wayne Hawthorne

Professor Wayne Hawthorne is Professor of Transplantation in the Department of Surgery at the University of Sydney. He holds degrees including FACBMS, PhD, MDSc, MHSc, Dip.HSc, and Ass.Dip.HSc. As Director of the National Pancreas and Islet Transplant Laboratories at Westmead Sydney Local Health District, he leads the clinical and experimental Islet and Organ Transplant Research Group at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research, focusing on developing preclinical studies and translating them into transplantation therapies. Appointed laboratory director in 2001 for Australia’s first clinical islet transplant program, his team performed the first allo- and auto-islet cell isolations and transplantations in Australia, including islet-after-kidney and combined islet/kidney transplants. A founding researcher of the Centre for Transplant and Renal Research, he was promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at Westmead in 2011.

Hawthorne’s research specializations include pancreatic islet cell transplantation for type 1 diabetes cure, xenotransplantation, xenograft rejection, machine perfusion, clinical translation, and addressing organ shortages. He has over 250 peer-reviewed international medical journal publications, 20 books and book chapters, and more than 650 published proceedings. Key publications include “Loss of ARNT/HIF1β mediates altered gene expression and pancreatic-islet dysfunction in human type 2 diabetes” (2005), “Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α regulates β cell function in mouse and human islets” (2010), and “Xenotransplantation of Genetically Modified Neonatal Pig Islets Cures Diabetes in Baboons.” His contributions have earned awards such as the 2022 Kidney Health Australia and TSANZ Best Research in Laboratory Xenotransplantation, 2018 Best Clinical Research for Islet Transplantation, 2015-16 Australia-Harvard Fellowship, 2014 Best Laboratory Research for Islet Cell Xenotransplantation, 2010 XENOME Award, 2007 Key Opinion Leader from The Transplant Society International, and 2003 inaugural McKenzie Fellowship. He serves as Immediate Past President of the International Xenotransplantation Association, President of the Australasian College of Biomedical Scientists, Chair of the Xenotransplantation Working Group of the Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand, and Chair of the Western Sydney Local Health District Animal Ethics Committee.

Professional Email: wayne.hawthorne@sydney.edu.au