Jill Trewhella is a Professor in the School of Molecular Bioscience and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Sydney. As DVC Research (since 2009) she has overseen the development of major collaborative, cross-disciplinary research programs with supporting infrastructure; such as the newly established Charles Perkins Centre that focuses on solutions for individuals and communities for the problems arising from the increasing incidence of obesity.
She earned BSc and MSc degrees in Mathematics and Physics (UNSW) and a PhD in Chemistry (University of Sydney) before moving to the USA for 25 years where she held significant leadership positions while pursuing her research. She was the founding Leader of the multi-disciplinary Bioscience Division, with more than 300 researchers working on projects such as the Human Genome Project, Structural Genomics of TB, the international HIV AIDS Gene Data Base, and stewarding National Institutes of Health research resources for flow cytometry and stable isotopes.
She returned to Australia in 2005 as an Australian Research Council Federation Fellow having gained international recognition for her contributions to our understanding of the molecular communication underpinning healthy function, with a particular emphasis on heart muscle proteins.