Saving Lives
Saving Lives Through Science: Australian medical findings that have changed the world
Today, more than ever, we are acutely aware of the importance of advancements in medical research and technology to enhance the health of all Australians. It is Australia’s abundance of world-leading health and medical researchers that has helped us to be one of the leading nations in finding solutions to those health issues that continue to challenge countries around the world. The quality of Australian research and researchers is highlighted by the Nobel Prize laureates in ‘physiology or medicine’ and other internationally recognised scientific awards. While some of these outstanding scientists made their discoveries outside of Australia, all received their education here and the majority returned home to continue their work.
Australian scientists and medical researchers are also being increasingly recognised in Australia. Over the last decade, half of the selected Australians of the Year were scientists. This, coupled with our increasing reputation for excellence in research from the junior level to our most senior and prominent researchers, shows that Australian research can change the world.
The following provides a snapshot of some key Australian health and medical discoveries that have changed the world.
1945 -Pencillin
In 1945 Adelaide-born pharmacologist Sir Howard Florey (1898-1968) was part of a team that won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases. The discovery of penicillin, the first antibiotic, saved millions of lives and was recognised as being a substance that had immediate value to humankind.
1960 - Immunology
Sir Frank MacFarlane Burnet (1899–1985) was awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1960 for the discovery of acquired immunological tolerance. Born in Traralgon, Victoria, he spent the majority of his career at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne. His work helped to discover that while still in the womb, animals are able to distinguish between foreign agents that should be attacked and ‘essential’ agents that needed to be left alone for self preservation.
1963 - Nerve cell communication
Melbourne-born neurophysiologist Sir John Carew Eccles (1903–97), along with two prominent British neurophysiologists Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley, was awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1963. Through their work on nerve cell communication (chemical or electrical was the question) they identified ionic mechanisms involved in excitation and inhibition in the peripheral and central portions of the nerve cell membrane.
1988 - Small pox
In 1988, Australian National University Professor Frank Fenner, one of Australia’s outstanding microbiology and virology scientists, was jointly awarded the Japan Prize for his work in eradicating small pox. Small pox, one of the world’s most infectious diseases, killed millions of people and left those that survived with disfiguring scars. The eradication of this disease was regarded by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the greatest achievements of all time.
1996 - T-Cells
Professor Peter Doherty was awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1996 with a Swiss colleague Rolf Zinkernagel, for discoveries concerning the specificity of the cell-mediated immune defence. They discovered how T-cells, one of the critical components of the immune system, recognise and destroy viruses. This finding has led to a better understanding of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and the underlying problems of tissue rejection following transplantation.
2000 – Immunology
Sir Gustav Nossal from the University of Melbourne was named Australian of the Year in 2000 for his work in building the foundations of modern immunology (by confirming Nobel winner Burnet’s theory of antibody formation) while working to improve global health as the chairman of the Global Programme for Vaccines and Immunizations for WHO. He has also been an integral part of shaping and forming government policies surrounding scientific affairs in Australia through his term as president of the Australian Academy of Science. He has been an inspiration to current and future scientists through his lectures, radio and television appearances.
2003 - Child Health
Vocal advocate for children and their families, epidemiologist Professor Fiona Stanley, was named Australian of the Year in 2003. Professor Stanley is the founding director of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, a multi-disciplinary research institute focused on the prevention of major childhood illnesses such as cancer and asthma and disabilities such as cerebral palsy. It is also focused on research to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal children. Under the guiding light of Professor Stanley, the Institute was the first to instigate a worldwide public health campaign promoting the advantages of folate supplements during pregnancy.
2005 – Stomach ulcers
In 2005, Professor Barry Marshall and Dr Robin Warren were awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for the discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. This discovery, made in 1982 at the University of Western Australia, paved the way for appropriate antibiotic treatment for this bacterium in people with duodenal and peptic ulcers. Prior to this discovery, stress was considered to be the primary cause of these ulcers. This discovery has led to a significant reduction in the prevalence of gastric cancer worldwide.
2005 – Spray-on skin
In 2005, Dr Fiona Wood was named Australian of the Year for her work on saving the lives of those injured or burned in the Bali bombings at the Royal Perth Hospital. She was also recognised for pioneering the development of a patented revolutionary spray-on skin for burn victims, thereby reducing the time required to culture enough cells to cover the burn area and consequently reducing the potential for infection.
2006 – Cervical cancer vaccine
University of Queensland clinical immunologist Professor Ian Frazer was named Australian of the Year in 2006 for his development of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. He has also been awarded the Balzan Prize, a major international award recognising his “outstanding scientific achievement and lasting contribution to preventive medicine”.
This article was originally published in Australian Health and Medical Research – Working to Build a Healthy Australia.