Virology Division News
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Obituary In Memoriam David Ogilvie White (1931–2004) rofessor Emeritus David Ogilvie White was one of Australia’s most distinguished medical virologists. P He was Professor of Microbiology, University of Melbourne, 1967–1994 and was Head of the Department of Microbiology for 14 of those years. He also filled other high-level appointments in the university, including Assistant Dean of Medicine (Preclinical), 1971–82; Dean of Research and Graduate Studies, 1974–75; Chairman, Academic Board, 1977–1978; and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, 1975–78. David graduated in medicine from the University of Sydney in 1954 and completed a PhD in virology at the Australian National University. For his PhD, he devised new ways to work with influenza virus in the laboratory, and influenza virus became the central focus of the research he did throughout his life. He made major contributions to elucidating the molecular biology and immunology of influenza virus. In one of several overseas appointments he was Damon Runyon Fellow in Cancer Research, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, 1965–66, where he published with MD Scharff and JV Maizel a series of papers characterizing the polypeptides of human adenovirus using the then novel method of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. With his students in Melbourne between 1969 and 1973 he published a series of papers characterizing the polypeptides of influenza virus. Between 1975 and 1995 the major focus of his group, that included postdoctoral fellows Margot Anders, David Jackson and Lorena Brown, turned to defining the nature and diversity of major histocompatibility complex, class II restricted T cell epitopes of the influenza virus hemagglutinin utilizing a range of technologies including T cell cloning and synthetic peptides and monoclonal antibodies. In addition, studies were undertaken using anti-idiotypic antibodies. There were also papers published on herpes simplex virus, papilloma virus, paramyxoviruses and Kunjin flavivirus. Antiviral chemotherapy was a major interest and the subject of a number of original and review publications. David’s role as a mentor for research students and staff was exemplary. He supervised 37 BSc Honours and 20 PhD students and attracted a series of outstanding postdoctoral fellows and visitors to his laboratory, and with them published more than 100 original research papers. Most of those students and all postdoctoral fellows independently continued to make important contributions to the discipline of virology. David was an outstanding teacher of undergraduate students, and this was recognized separately by the University of Melbourne and by the Australian Society for Microbiology, each of which named an annual excellence in teaching award in his honour.
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David co-authored six major books on virology including co-authorship with Frank Fenner of Medical Virology through four editions, each of which was widely used in medical schools around the world and was variously translated into Spanish, German, Japanese, Chinese and Russian. With Fran
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