Rate My Professor Gilles J. Guillemin

Professor Gilles J. Guillemin is Professor of Neuroscience in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Macquarie University, where he joined in 2012 and served as Head of Department from November 2012 to February 2017. He previously held positions as Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales from 2003 to 2012 and Senior Researcher at St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research from 1997. Guillemin obtained his PhD in Neurovirology from the University of Burgundy between 1993 and 1997. His academic career has focused on advancing understanding of neuroimmunology and the role of tryptophan metabolism, particularly the kynurenine pathway, in neurodegenerative diseases including motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and others such as depression, autism, and cancers.

Guillemin's research investigates neuroinflammation, neurotoxicity mechanisms like quinolinic acid uptake in human neurons, and the development of diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic biomarkers. He co-founded the Macquarie University Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Research, serving as co-director from 2011 to 2016, and the Australian Motor Neurone Disease Biobank in 2012. Notable achievements include identifying the first blood biomarker for multiple sclerosis subtypes with 85-90% accuracy in 2017. His prolific publication record features highly cited works such as 'An endogenous tumour-promoting ligand of the human aryl hydrocarbon receptor' (Nature, 2011), 'Kynurenine pathway metabolites in humans: disease and healthy states' (2009), and 'Quinolinic acid, the inescapable neurotoxin' (2012), contributing to over 35,000 citations. Guillemin has been honored with the Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Mérite (France, 2019), Member of the Order of Australia (AM, 2021), and Fellowship of the Royal Society of New South Wales (2020) for his contributions to medical research, science education, and motor neurone disease studies.