Garth James Smith Cooper is a New Zealand academic biochemist, and as of 2021 is a full professor at the
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
.
Early life
Cooper is of
Pākehā
''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...
(European) and
Ngāti Māhanga Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
descent. He speaks English, but not
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
, as his Māori grandmother thought he should learn English. He received schooling in New Zealand.
[ He studied at the ]University of Auckland
The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
starting in 1969, and gained a BSc in Chemistry and Biochemistry (1971), a BSc in Human Biology (1975) and medical degrees (MB ChB, 1978).
Career
Cooper worked as a medical officer in Rotorua in 1979 and 1980, then in Auckland from 1981 to 1985, including several years based in Middlemore Hospital
Middlemore Hospital is a major public hospital in the suburb of Ōtāhuhu, Auckland, New Zealand. The hospital has approximately 800 beds. There are 24 operating theatres across two sites.
History
In 1943, during World War II, construction com ...
in South Auckland. He and David Scott pioneered a programme for a new approach to health care delivery in Ōtara
Ōtara is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand (formerly Manukau City), situated 18 kilometres to the southeast of the Auckland CBD, Auckland City Centre. Ōtara lies near the head of the Tāmaki River. The area is traditionally part of t ...
from 1983 to 1985. He wrote and delivered the first course in New Zealand for lay community health workers, which was recognised by the Mayor of South Auckland (1985). The programme was developed at the Whaiora Marae in Ōtara, where Cooper worked part-time.[
He did doctoral studies at the ]University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
from 1986 to 1989 and was awarded a PhD
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
for his thesis titled ''The characterisation of amylin and analysis of its role in diabetes mellitus''.[
Cooper was a founder and the chief technical officer of ]Amylin Pharmaceuticals
Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical founded in 1987 that was based in San Diego, California. The company was engaged in the discovery, development, and commercialization of drug candidates for the treatment of diabetes, obesity, a ...
Inc. in California until 1992. He returned to New Zealand and the University of Auckland
The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
in 1993,[ rising to full professor.] In his role as Professor in Biochemistry and Medicine (1995–present), he has developed courses for young Māori and Pasifika students as part of the University of Auckland's Māori and Pacific Admission Scheme programmes.[ He has been a member of the Maori Health Committee and the Research Policy Advisory Committee of the ]Health Research Council of New Zealand
The Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) is a Crown agency of the New Zealand Government.
It is responsible for managing the government's investment in health research for the public good.
The HRC was established under the Health Rese ...
.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand
A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...
in 1998[ and a ]Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences
Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) is an award for medical scientists who are judged by the UK Academy of Medical Sciences for the "excellence of their science, their contribution to medicine and society and the range of the ...
in 2013. He was awarded a Doctor of Science degree by the University of Oxford in 2017, based on his more than 200 publications, mainly in the field of diabetes
Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
and metabolic disease
A metabolic disorder is a disorder that negatively alters the body's processing and distribution of macronutrients, such as proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Metabolic disorders can happen when abnormal chemical reactions in the body alter the ...
.
Cooper was involved in the ''Listener'' letter on science controversy in 2021, as one of the signatories to the initial letter. He and two other signatories, who were Royal Society fellows, were subject to an investigation by the Royal Society. In response, the New Zealand Free Speech Union
The New Zealand Free Speech Union (FSU) is an organisation that advocates for freedom of speech. It was formed as the Free Speech Coalition in 2018, and relaunched as the Free Speech Union in May 2021.
Organisation and goals
The Free Speech U ...
started an academic freedom fund to support Cooper and another one of the fellows.
Selected works
* Xu, A., Wang, Y., Keshaw, H., Xu, L.Y., Lam, K.S. and Cooper, G.J., 2003. The fat-derived hormone adiponectin alleviates alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases in mice. The Journal of clinical investigation, 112(1), pp. 91–100.
* Cooper, G.J., Willis, A.C., Clark, A., Turner, R.C., Sim, R.B. and Reid, K.B., 1987. Purification and characterization of a peptide from amyloid-rich pancreases of type 2 diabetic patients. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 84(23), pp. 8628–8632.
* Clark, A., Wells, C.A., Buley, I.D., Cruickshank, J.K., Vanhegan, R.I., Matthews, D.R., Cooper, G.J., Holman, R.R. and Turner, R.C., 1988. Islet amyloid, increased A-cells, reduced B-cells and exocrine fibrosis: quantitative changes in the pancreas in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes research (Edinburgh, Scotland), 9(4), pp. 151–159.
* Leighton, B. and Cooper, G.J., 1988. Pancreatic amylin and calcitonin gene-related peptide cause resistance to insulin in skeletal muscle in vitro. Nature, 335(6191), pp. 632–635.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Garth
Living people
Alumni of the University of Oxford
Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom)
Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand
New Zealand biochemists
Academic staff of the University of Auckland
Year of birth missing (living people)
Ngāti Māhanga people