Happy birthday, Gus Nossal th birthday today. Gus Nossal in 1988. Credit: Impressions / Getty Images Sir Gustav Nossal (born 4 June 1931) is an internationally renowned immunologist. Nossal directed the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for 31 years, from 1965 to 1996. He is also an Emeritus Professor at the University of Melbourne, and he served as President of the Australian Academy of Science from 1994 to 1998. His research focussed on how the immune system makes antibodies to ward off infectious diseases. He also did significant work on immunological tolerance, showing how the immune system can distinguish between foreign agents and the body – noting how it can break down in autoimmune diseases.