UNSW Conjoint Professor Boris Martinac has been elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to science.

Head of the Mechanobiology Laboratory at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Professor Martinac has been elected as one of the Academy's 20 new Fellows for 2013.

Professor Martinac is a leading membrane biophysicist and is internationally renowned for his pioneering studies of ion channels in microbes, in particular the discovery, cloning and structural and functional characterisation of mechanosensitive ion channels in bacteria.

“I was overjoyed and humbled at the same time when I heard that I was one of the new elected Fellows," says Professor Martinac.

"It is for me the greatest honour I could have ever expected to receive in Australia, which is my family’s new home. I am very grateful for all the support I have received throughout the years from my family, colleagues, friends and agencies," he says.

For further information about Professor Martinac’s work, go to the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.

The 20 Fellows will be admitted to the Academy on 29 May.

Media Contact: Susi Hamilton, UNSW Media Office, 9385 8920