Roland Stocker (born 5 October 1956 in Switzerland) is a

Swiss Australian The Swiss diaspora refers to Swiss people living abroad (german: Auslandsschweizer, french: Suisses de l’étranger, it, Svizzeri all’estero, rm, Svizzers a l’exteriur), also referred to as "fifth Switzerland" (german: Fünfte Schweiz, it, ...

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

who discovered the antioxidant activity of

bilirubin Bilirubin (BR) (Latin for "red bile") is a red-orange compound that occurs in the normal catabolic pathway that breaks down heme in vertebrates. This catabolism is a necessary process in the body's clearance of waste products that arise from the ...

. He is a former Olympic rower and has represented

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

Early life and education

Stocker was awarded a ''

Diplom A ''Diplom'' (, from grc, δίπλωμα ''diploma'') is an academic degree in the German-speaking countries Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and a similarly named degree in some other European countries including Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus ...

mNaturwissenschaften und Mathematik'' (Dipl. Natw.), or Diploma in/of Natural Science, from the

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

in 1981 and a Ph.D. from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

in 1985.

Career

Stocker has made significant contributions to the understanding of the molecular action of Alpha-Tocopherol (

vitamin E Vitamin E is a group of eight fat soluble compounds that include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Vitamin E deficiency, which is rare and usually due to an underlying problem with digesting dietary fat rather than from a diet low in vitami ...

) during the oxidation of lipoproteins, the antioxidant activities of ubiquinol-10 in lipoproteins, the contribution of oxidation of

low-density lipoprotein Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is one of the five major groups of lipoprotein that transport all fat molecules around the body in extracellular water. These groups, from least dense to most dense, are chylomicrons (aka ULDL by the overall densit ...

to atherosclerosis, the understanding of how antioxidants and

heme oxygenase-1 Heme oxygenase, or haem oxygenase, (HMOX, commonly abbreviated as HO) is an enzyme that catalyzes the degradation of heme to produce biliverdin, ferrous ion, and carbon monoxide. There are many heme degrading enzymes in nature. In general, only ...

protect against atherosclerosis, the role of myeloperoxidase to atherosclerotic plaque destabilization, and the contribution of tryptophan metabolism by indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase in the regulation of

vascular tone Vascular resistance is the resistance that must be overcome to push blood through the circulatory system and create flow. The resistance offered by the systemic circulation is known as the systemic vascular resistance (SVR) or may sometimes be ca ...

inflammation Inflammation (from la, wikt:en:inflammatio#Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or Irritation, irritants, and is a protective response involving im ...

. Stocker is recognized as a "

redox Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate (chemistry), substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of Electron, electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction ...

pioneer". He is a Fellow of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. Formerly, Stocker held an appointment as a professor at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, Australia. Currently, he is Group Leader at the

Heart Research Institute The Heart Research Institute (HRI) is a not-for-profit research facility, originally based in Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia and currently based in Newtown, New South Wales. Established in 1989 through a joint initiative of the National ...

Personal life

Stocker lives in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

with his wife, Maree Stenglin. Stocker's twin brother, Peter, was also an Olympic rower for Switzerland.

References

External links

Professor Roland Stocker – Sydney Medical School – The University of Sydney
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stocker, Roland 1956 births Australian biochemists Australian cardiovascular researchers Australian National University alumni ETH Zurich alumni Identical twins Living people Olympic rowers for Switzerland Rowers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Swiss emigrants to Australia Swiss biochemists Swiss twins Twin sportspeople Academic staff of the University of New South Wales Academic staff of the University of Sydney Swiss male rowers