Returning to Otago for new role
Prof Cook is coming back to Dunedin from Australia to take up the position at the end of the academic year.
He replaces Prof Richard Blaikie, who retired in May after 14 years in the role.
In a statement, the university said Prof Cook would be a familiar face to many at Otago, as he was an inaugural Sesquicentennial Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology from 2019 to 2024.
He left New Zealand last year to become the Queensland University of Technology's Biomedical Sciences Head of School and Translational Research Institute Principal Investigator.
Prof Cook said he was honoured and excited to return to Otago for the new position, which he felt compelled to apply for as an opportunity to build on the university's legacy of delivering world-leading research with a real-world impact.
'It is a privilege to lead Otago's outstanding research community as we shape the future of discovery, impact, and excellence together. I know that we have the people, the culture, and the commitment to research excellence needed to embrace the challenges and opportunities ahead," he said.
'I am particularly eager to engage with our Māori researchers and communities and to help advance Otago's growing international leadership at the interface of Indigenous and Western knowledge systems.'
He said his immediate focus would be on advancing applied and commercial research, with a stronger local and international emphasis on translating innovation and entrepreneurship into new ventures.
'Engaging more deeply with our alumni and the private sector will be essential in bridging the gap between research and commercial application.
'Developing robust commercialisation strategies in collaboration with these stakeholders will be a vital step towards this goal. I see this as crucial to driving the university's future success in research, innovation, and impact.'
Prof Cook also intended to build on the legacy of Otago's world-leading postgraduate research engine, while fostering a more entrepreneurial environment that equips graduates with real-world experience in commercialisation and innovation.
Vice-Chancellor Grant Robertson sad he was pleased to have someone of Prof Cook's calibre stepping into the role.
'Not only does he have a distinguished academic record, in both research and teaching, but he has played significant roles in Aotearoa's research ecosystem.
'He has international and commercial experience, having worked in a variety of world-leading academic institutions and for global pharmaceutical companies.' Distinguished career
Prof Cook is a microbiologist whose research is focused on bacterial physiology and energetics, antimicrobial resistance and drug discovery and development.
He was Director of the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, a Centre of Research Excellence for biomedical research in New Zealand, and Co-Director of the China-New Zealand Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Biomedicine and Health, a joint initiative between Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedical and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Maurice Wilkins Centre.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society New Zealand Te Apārangi (2013), and held positions as a James Cook Fellow, (2012-2014), 8th Sir William Dunn and Sidney Sussex College Fellow (Cambridge U.K., 2009) and held invited visiting Professor positions at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH-Zurich, Switzerland (2001 and 2005).
Prof Cook has received the University of Otago Distinguished Research Medal, the University of Otago's highest distinction (2014), University of Otago Early Career Award for Distinction in Research (2004) Commercialisation researcher award (2023), and his group received the University of Otago Research Group Award in 2017.
- APL
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