Peter Doherty, originally from Brisbane in 1940, studied veterinary medicine at the University of Queensland, but soon turned to scientific research. He earned his doctorate in pathology from the University of Edinburgh, specializing in the immune system. His discovery, in collaboration with Rolf Zinkernagel, of the mechanism by which cells infected by a harmful virus can be identified and thus combated, earned him the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1996. This discovery has led to the development of vaccines and drugs against infectious or inflammatory diseases, and cancer. In 1995, he received the Albert Lasker Award for his research in basic medical sciences. He is the author of A Light History of Hot Air (2008), Sentinel Chickens (2012), The Knowledge Wars (2015), The Incidental Tourist (2018), and Pandemics: Everything You Need to Know (Autoria Editorial, 2019). He is currently a researcher at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the United States and at the University of Melbourne in his native Australia.