5 August 2024
Professor John Holloway is a Professor of Allergy and Respiratory Genetics at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. He worked at the Malaghan Institute from 1994–97, completing his PhD on the genetics of asthma. John fondly recalls how his time at the institute taught him to be curious and not be afraid to ask why.
Then and now: Professor John Holloway as a Malaghan PhD student in 1994 (left) and today (right)
1. Where did you grow up?
I spent my early years in Dunedin and, after a year in Scotland, returned to Wellington where I attended Roseneath Primary School and Wellington College.
2. Where were you before your time at the Malaghan Institute?
I was a studying Biochemistry at Otago University followed by a short research placement in the Wellington School of Medicine while I figured out what I wanted to do with my life. I had been awarded a PhD scholarship and decided to do a project studying the genetics of asthma with Professor Richard Beasley. The first 18 months of my PhD were spent at the University of Southampton in the UK with Prof Beasley’s collaborators, and when I returned I joined the Malaghan Institute (then located at the Wellington School of Medicine) and acquired another supervisor – one Professor Le Gros.
3. What are some memorable experiences of your time at the Malaghan?
I have so many enduring memories of the two and a half years I spent at the Malaghan and this time shaped me as a scientist in so many ways. I remember the buzz about the place, the fact you could be presenting a paper in journal club one week and being encouraged to design an experiment to test a crazy idea the next. People felt free to get involved in things that interested them. I spent at least six months working on a project testing the effect of BCG vaccination on allergic airway responses that came about because of one of those discussions at the famous journal clubs, and which had nothing to do with my PhD project, yet for many years was my most highly cited paper.
Clockwise from the left: Professor Franca Ronchese, Professor Graham Le Gros, Professor John Holloway and Professor Rod Dunbar
4. What's been your career path since the Malaghan?
I returned to the UK after submitting my PhD as in my first spell in Southampton, I had got engaged to Judith who was still finishing her PhD. Luckily I had a postdoc opportunity in Southampton to continue my PhD studies. Many years later, I am still at the University of Southampton though now as Professor of Allergy and Respiratory Genetics and also Associate Vice-President (Interdisciplinary Research) for the university.
5. How has your time at the Malaghan Institute influenced your career?
The most important skill I learnt at the Malaghan was to ask questions and be curious. Don’t be afraid to ask why? I still tell my students today that in my group there are no stupid questions, just stupid people who don’t ask questions.
6. Where are you working now and what's the focus of your research or role?
In the Faculty of Medicine in Southampton I lead a research group that is seeking to understand the early life origins of allergic and respiratory disease, exploring the mechanisms of prenatal programming of respiratory disease and epigenetic mechanisms underlying atopy and asthma susceptibility.
In my role as Associate Vice-President Interdisciplinary Research at the university I co-lead a range of initiatives including sandpit events, a pump-priming grant scheme and supporting interdisciplinary research institutes to encourage and support researchers from different disciplines to work together to solve societal challenges. I also have roles across the institution in sustainability, both in how we do research and how we can use our research to address sustainability issues in society.
7. What's your advice to young New Zealand scientists today?
Be bold, be curious, don’t be afraid to ask the big questions. Don’t think that you can’t have an impact on the world because you come from a small country a long way from anywhere.
Clockwise from the left: Professor John Holloway, Professor Franca Ronchese, Michael McDonald and Professor Graham Le Gros
Malaghan staff photo from 1997