The Department of Biochemistry will have a few less academic staff members after this month, with both Dr Sarah Diermeier and Emeritus Professor Warren Tate leaving in pursuit of new research adventures.
Emeritus Professor Warren Tate has been with the Department of Biochemistry for 57 years, having worked here ever since he started his PhD research, except for a few years as a postdoctoral researcher at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.
He is undoubtedly one of the most successful researchers that has worked in the Department. His pioneering research into how the protein-building machinery in cells (ribosomes) work has been recognised by many prestigious awards. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, he won the Rutherford Medal "for his outstanding achievements in molecular biology and molecular neuroscience", he was made an International Research Scholar of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the USA, and he was named as a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to science.
Warren took on the mantle of Emeritus Professor in 2020, but instead of fully retiring from academic life, he chose to keep his focus on research, in particular his more recent passion of investigating the mechanisms underlying chronic fatigue syndrome and long COVID. Warren now has the opportunity to extend his research by collaborating with Associate Professor Aniruddha Chatterjee from the Department of Pathology, so he is relocating his research base there.
Although she is one of our more recent academic recruits, Dr Sarah Diermeier has also achieved phenomenal research success during her relatively short time in the Department. After joining us in 2018, she has not only set up a very successful research team with a focus on long noncoding RNAs in cancer, she has also started two biotech companies, of particular note Amaroq Therapeutics, which has raised NZ$14M in recent years to investigate RNA therapeutics for cancer.
In a significant shift from her original career plan, she has accepted the opportunity of a lifetime to lead RNA therapeutics research and partnering at BioNTech in Melbourne. This is the same global biotech company that was so successful in launching the mRNA vaccine for COVID-19.
The Department will also be saying good-bye to Sarah’s husband Dr Rowan Herridge, who is not only an alumnus of the Department, but has been a valued postdoctoral researcher in genetic crop development and more recently part of the teaching staff.
Farewells were given at an emotional dinner at the Otago Golf Club recently, attended by many current and former Department of Biochemistry students and staff. Speakers included Professor Julia Horsfield, the Head of Department at the Department of Pathology, and Associate Professor Chris Brown of the Department of Biochemistry, who are two former Tate Lab students. Warren has supervised over 100 postgraduate students to date, a large number of which have gone on to lead their own research groups across the world.
Farewell Warren, Sarah and Rowan, we will miss you all, and best of luck for your future research adventures.
Haere rā e hoa mā! Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa (let us keep close together, not far apart).
You can see Warren’s recent talk about his research history on the Department of Biochemistry's YouTube channel:
Emeritus Professor Warren Tate gives a speech to the dinner attendees.
Head of the Department of Biochemistry Professor Peter Dearden gives a farewell present to Dr Sarah Diermeier.
Former students of the Tate research group recall stories about Warren: Professor Julia Horsfield (left) and Associate Professor Chris Brown.
Some of the friends of the Department of Biochemistry who attended the farewell dinner.