Two Indian-origin men in Queen Elizabeth's annual birthday honours list

Two Indian-origin men are among 900 Australians who have been recognised by British Queen Elizabeth II in her annual birthday honours list for their contributions to the community.

The Queensland-based Professor Rajiv Khanna was honoured with Order of the Companion of Australia for distinguished service to medicine in the field of immunology, through contributions to the development of cellular immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, infectious complications and chronic diseases.

Unnikrishnan Velayudhan Pilla from Queensland was awarded the medal of the Order of Australia in the general division (OAM) for service to the Malayalee community in the state. The list for this year recognised a diverse range of people including scientists, entertainers, lawyers, designers, community workers, performers and a psephologist. "To all recipients, I offer my deepest congratulations, admiration and respect for your contribution to our nation," Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove said.

Khanna is the founding director and group leader at the Centre for Immunotherapy and Vaccine Development at Brisbane based QMIR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and also the senior principal research fellow at National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.