Kiaran Kirk

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About
Kiaran carried out his PhD in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Sydney (1985-1988). From 1989 he was based at the Oxford University Laboratory of Physiology where he held an Oxford Nuffield Medical Fellowship and a Lister Institute Research Fellowship, as well as Research Fellowships at Wolfson and Exeter Colleges. He returned to Australia in 1996 to head the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the ANU Faculty of Science, holding this post until June 2009 when he took up the position of Director of the newly-created ANU Research School of Biology. From 2014 to 2017 Kiaran was the Dean of the ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment and from 2017 to 2024 he was the Dean of the ANU College of Science. In January 2025 Kiaran took up the role of Dean of the ANU College of Science and Medicine.
Kiaran was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (FAHMS) in 2017 and appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2023 Australia Day Honours.
Awards
- Member of the Order of Australia (AM), 2023
- Elected to the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, 2017
- The ANU 'Last Lecture', 2013
- Australian Awards for University Teaching, for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning, 2009
- Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Education - Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning, 2008
- Bancroft-Mackerras Medal of the Australian Society for Parasitology, 2008
- Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Excellence in Supervision, 2007
- Roche Medal of the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2002
Affiliations
- Kirk Group - Membrane transport in parasites, Group Leader
Research interests
Kiaran's major research interests are in the biology of the malaria parasite, with a particular focus on the mechanism of action of, and mechanisms of resistance to, antimalarial drugs.
Projects
Teaching information
Kiaran lectures in BIOL1004 (Molecular and Cell Biology) and BIOL2174 (Cell Physiology in Health and Disease).
Location
42 University Avenue, Peter Baume Building