Born in Adelaide and educated at the University of Melbourne, John Funder was president of the Australian Society for Medical Research (1979)  and the Endocrine Society of Australia (1984), and (1996–2000) chairman of the International Society for Endocrinology . In 1990 he resigned as a senior research fellow of the National Health and Medical Research Council to become director of the Baker Medical Research Institute (1990–2001).
John Funder, a native of Adelaide, was educated at the University of Melbourne. He served as president of the Australian Society for Medical Research (1979), the Endocrine Society of Australia (1984), and chairman of the International Society for Endocrinology (1996–2000).  He resigned from his position as a senior research fellow with the National Health and Medical Research Council in 1990 to become director of the Baker Medical Research Institute (1990–2001).