Elizabeth Finkel

Elizabeth Finkel
Other nameElla Finkel
CitizenshipAustralian
EducationMonash University
University of Melbourne
OccupationsAuthor, journalist
SpouseAlan Finkel

Elizabeth "Ella" Finkel AM (née Sher) is an Australian science journalist, author and communicator. A former biochemist, she has been broadcast on ABC Radio National, and written for publications such as Science, The Lancet, Nature Medicine, The Bulletin, New Scientist, The Age and The Monthly. In 2005, Finkel co-founded the popular science magazine COSMOS, served as Editor in Chief from 2013 to 2018 and she remains its Editor at Large. In 2016, she was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her science communication work and philanthropy. In 2019, Finkel was awarded a Doctor of Laws honoris causa from Monash University and the Medal of the Australian Society for Medical Research. She now serves as a Vice Chancellor's Fellow at La Trobe University and on advisory committees for La Trobe University Press, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH) and the Melbourne Zoo.

Education

Born in 1956 in Warsaw, Poland, Finkel migrated to Melbourne with her family in 1957. She attended Princess Hill Primary School in North Carlton; St Kilda Park Primary School, Caulfield Central; and Mac.Robertson Girls' High School.

In 1978, she completed a Bachelor of Science with Honours at Monash University, with a thesis on ‘Regulation of the mitochondrial genome’. Finkel then started a PhD in biochemistry at University of Melbourne's Department of Medicine titled "Studies of the 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor".

In post-doctoral research, she spent one year in John Baxter's laboratory at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), working on the regulation of the human growth hormone gene. This was followed by four years in Patrick H. O'Farrell's laboratory at UCSF, investigating the genes that sculpt a fruit fly egg into an embryo – work that was published in Nature.

Personal life

Finkel has been married to neuroscientist, entrepreneur and former Chief Scientist of Australia Alan Finkel since 1982. They have two sons and live in Melbourne. Through the A & E Finkel Foundation the Finkels support diverse projects centred around education, research and quality journalism.

Selected awards

Selected publications

Books

Articles

References

  1. ↑ "Cosmos editor-in-chief receives Queen's Birthday honour". Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  2. ↑ "ASMR 1The Australian Society for MedicalResearch2019QUEENSLAND HEALTH & MEDICAL RESEARCH AWARDS" (PDF). Australian Society for Medical Research. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  3. ↑ "La Trobe welcomes Dr Elizabeth Finkel". La Trobe University. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  4. ↑ Wilmoth, Peter (23 March 2019). "Two of us: Inside the marriage of top scientists Alan and Elizabeth Finkel". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  5. ↑ "The Trustee For The A & E Finkel Foundation Trust". CharityGuide. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "Journalism Awards". National Press Club of Australia. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  7. ↑ Finkel, Elizabeth (1 April 2005). Stem Cells: Controversy at the Frontiers of Science. ABC Books. p. 192. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  8. ↑ Finkel, Elizabeth (2012). The Genome Generation. Melbourne University Press. p. 274. ISBN 9780522856477.
  9. ↑ Finkel, Elizabeth, ed. (2012). The Best Australian Science Writing 2012. NewSouth. p. 256. ISBN 9781742233482. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  10. ↑ Finkel, Elizabeth (2025). Prove It: A Scientific Guide for the Post-Truth Era. Melbourne: La Trobe University Press. ISBN 9781760642716.
  11. ↑ Finkel, Elizabeth (1 June 2021). "Countdown to iBlastoids". The Monthly. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  12. ↑ Finkel, Elizabeth (March 2019). "Chasing the miracle of gene therapy". The Monthly. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  13. ↑ Finkel, Elizabeth (20 March 2018). "Lines in the sand: Coming to terms with Patricia Piccinini". Queensland Art Gallery. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  14. ↑ DiNardo, S; Sher, Elizabeth; Heemskerk-Jongens, J; Kassis, JA; O'Farrell, PH (14 April 1988). "Two-tiered regulation of spatially patterned engrailed gene expression during Drosophila embryogenesis". Nature. 332 (6165): 604–609. Bibcode:1988Natur.332..604D. doi:10.1038/332604a0. PMC 2753417. PMID 3282172.