ProfessorWayne Hawthorne

Professor Wayne Hawthorne is Professor of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, University of Sydney and Director of the National Pancreas and Islet Transplant Laboratories at Westmead Hospital and Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR).

Professor Hawthorne’s career spans more than 30 years of innovation in translating organ and cell transplantation from research to clinical practice. He established Australia’s first clinical islet isolation program, performing the nation’s first clinical allo‑ and auto‑islet cell isolations and transplants, and subsequently performing Australia’s first islet‑after‑kidney and combined islet–kidney transplants.

Internationally, Professor Hawthorne is recognised as a world‑leading authority in islet xenotransplantation, having driven many of the scientific and translational advances that now shape global progress in the field. This expertice and standing resulting in his election as the President of the International Xenotransplantation Association (IXA).

His expertise encompasses the full continuum of xenogeneic islet research, including genetically engineered donor systems, advanced immunomodulation strategies, cutting‑edge isolation technologies, and pre‑clinical transplantation models. His leadership has been instrumental in positioning islet xenotransplantation as a realistic therapeutic pathway for addressing the critical shortage of human donor tissues worldwide. 

In parallel, he is widely acknowledged for his pioneering contributions to clinical islet cell transplantation and for his substantial role in developing international guidance documents, consensus statements, and white papers in partnership with major global organisations including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Transplantation Society (TTS), the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), and the International Xenotransplantation Association (IXA).

Professor Hawthorne’s work continues to shape the future of transplantation through leadership in development of translational clinical therapies, international guideline development, cross‑disciplinary research partnerships, and the training and mentoring of the next generation of scientific, clinical, and academic transplant specialists.