Draft:Mark Rowland Hutchinson

Mark Rowland Hutchinson (born 1978) is an Australian scientist and academic who is recognised for his significant contributions to the field of neuroimmunology, particularly in the areas of pain, stress, and drug dependence. He is currently a Professor in the School of Biomedicine at the University of Adelaide and the Interim Director of the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing. . He was formally the Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics. He leads the Neuroimmunopharmacology laboratory and is the Lead of the Human Integrated Sensory System Program for the Defence Science Technology Group. He is currently the President of Science and Technology Australia, member of the Australian Research Council CEO Advisory committee, founding member of the Defence Science Technology Group Advisory Council responsible for overseeing the CBRN STaR Shot, co-chair of the SABRE (Safeguarding Australia through Biotechnology Response and Engagement) Alliance, founding executive member of The Animal Welfare Collaborative (TAWC), chair of the Australian Pain Solutions Alliance steering committee, and chair of the Davies Livestock Research Centre Advisory Board.

He was also one of three eminent academics reviewing the ARC Federal Legislation. He was recently appointed to the National Science and Technology Council and serves on the Australia's Economic Accelerator Advisory Board.

Education
Hutchinson received a Bachelor of Science degree with majors in Immunology, Microbiology, and Pharmacology from the University of Adelaide. This was followed by a first class Honours in Pharmacology. He then pursued a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Medicine with a focus on Pharmacology from the same university in 2004. His is passionate about life long learning and has recently received training in not-for-profits board of directors from the Australian Institute for Company Directors.

Career and research
Hutchinson's research career began in 2004 as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder with Distinguished Professors Linda Watkins and Steven Maier. Here we was supported by an American Australian Association Merck Company Foundation Fellowship and an NHMRC CJ Martin Fellowship. In 2009 he returned to the University of Adelaide in the Faculty of Health and Medical Research and established the Neuroimmunopharmacology Laboratory. He was awarded an Australian Research Council Australian Research Fellowship in 2011, and an ARC Future Fellowship in 2018. In 2014 he became the Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics.

The Neuroimmunopharmacology Laboratory he leads is a world-leading research team, whose main focus is to develop innovative technologies that allow for the early diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases. Their innovation centre focuses on translational science, developing biomarkers and wearables for real-time monitoring and precision medicine in humans and animals.

Publications
Hutchinson has published over 240 papers including refereed journal articles and conference papers. These have led to over 13000 citations in journals and refereed conference proceedings.

Research
Hutchinson's research program focuses on the neuroimmune contributions to chronic pain, stress, and depression, with the aim of developing biomarker tools and novel neuroimmune targeted therapies. He has made significant contributions to the field, particularly in the areas of opioids and central immune signaling, TLR4-dependent neuropathic pain, and objective biomarkers of exaggerated pain.

Hutchinson was the first to demonstrate that opioid-induced immune signaling within the brain and spinal cord modifies the analgesic effects of opioids and contributes to atypical pain-producing actions, tolerance, respiratory depression, and withdrawal. He also discovered Toll-Like Receptor 4 (TLR4) as the non-opioid receptor through which this immune signaling occurs, paving the way for the development of novel neuroimmune targeted therapies.

Furthermore, Hutchinson's work on TLR4-dependent neuropathic pain revealed that pharmacological TLR4 blockade could reverse pain behaviors and that female neurosteroids have TLR4 activity, leading to enhanced TLR4 proinflammatory signaling and heightened pain responses in females. He has also created the first clinical model of neuroimmune pain in healthy individuals, allowing for the development of objective biomarkers of persistent pain.

Funding and awards
Hutchinson's research program has been consistently funded, with over $71.3 million in career funding, including over $54 million from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Australian Research Council (ARC). He has received numerous awards, including the Inaugural Coppoc ONE Health Lecture at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, the 2019 Vice-Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Achievement, and the 2015 James McWha Award of Excellence

Personal life
Hutchinson was raised in the Sydney suburb of North Ryde and moved to Adelaide in the mid 1980's. He married Amanda in 2000. Amanda is an Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of South Australia. They have two daughters.