James Douglas Watson (1943 – 13 February 2017) was a New Zealand biotechnologist and entrepreneur.

Biography

After growing up in

Te Teko Te Teko is a small inland town along the banks of the Rangitaiki River in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The township includes a racecourse, golf course, police station, and a primary school. The primary school was estab ...

in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaw ...

, Watson completed a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

degree and then a PhD at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. He then moved to California, working at the Syntex Corporation,

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

, and then to Department of Microbiology at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

. He returned to the University of Auckland as professor of microbiology. Notable students of Watson's include immunologist

Graham Le Gros Graham Stephen Le Gros (born 1955/56) is a New Zealand immunologist. He is currently Director (chief executive) of the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in Wellington, New Zealand and leads its Allergic and Parasitic Diseases Programme. He ...

. In 1994, Watson established Genesis Research and Development, an NZX-listed, now defunct, biotechnology company based in Auckland. After a being diagnosed with prostate cancer, he founded Caldera Health with Richard Forster (who was also diagnosed with the cancer) to focus specifically on the disease. Watson served as president of the

Royal Society of New Zealand Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

between 2004 and 2006; he was preceded in that role by

Gil Simpson Sir Gilbert Simpson (born 5 April 1948) is a New Zealand businessman and computer programmer. Early life Simpson was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 5 April 1948, and raised in the Waikato. He was educated at Christchurch Boys' High Schoo ...

and followed by

Neville Jordan Sir Neville Jordan (born 15 May 1943) is a New Zealand electrical engineer and businessman. Biography Born in Petone on 15 May 1943, Jordan was the third child of Hercules Jordan, a welder, and only child of Lydia Marie Jordan (née Ashman), a ...

. In the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours, Watson was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to scientific and medical research. Watson died on 13 February 2017 from prostate cancer, aged 73.

References

External links

Obiturary in the NZ Herald
University of Auckland alumni Academic staff of the University of Auckland 1943 births 2017 deaths Deaths from prostate cancer New Zealand medical researchers New Zealand businesspeople People from the Bay of Plenty Region Presidents of the Royal Society of New Zealand Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit {{NewZealand-academic-bio-stub