Australia’s scientific communities are recognised internationally for their research. The foundation for their success was set in the first half of the twentieth century with the ground breaking discoveries made by Howard Florey and Frank Macfarlane Burnet.
Although these five Australian’s names may not be familiar, to be proud to honour the work of five medical scientists, each of whom has a lifetime record of achievement in their individual fields, the Australian Legends Award given to Sir Gustav Nossal AC CBE, Nancy Millis AC MBE,Peter Doherty AC,Fiona Stanley AC, and Donald Metcalf AC.
The stamps series feature above medical scientists issued on January 23, 2002 and designed by Symone Lambert from Australia Post Design Studio
Sir Gustav Nossal AC CBE has increased our understanding of the immune system by demonstrating that a single lymphocyte makes only a single type of antibody.
His classic work confirming Burnet’s theory of antibody formation was a watershed in understanding the immune system. He is currently chair of the major advisory committees guiding global immunisation.
Nancy Millis AC MBE is based in the Microbiology Department at the University of Melbourne. Millis has enjoyed an illustrious public career in science and education.
She is a pioneer of biotechnology in Australia and a key figure in industrial microbiology and fermentation technology. She has long been involved with the ethical and safety issues concerning genetic manipulation of living organisms.
Peter Doherty AC was co-recipient (with Rolf Zinkernagel) of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1996. Doherty showed how the immune system recognises virus-infected cells and targets them for destruction.This scientific breakthrough is one of the most profound immunological discoveries of the last 50 years.
His discovery is fundamental to understanding organ rejection after transplants, genetic susceptibility to disease, and new approaches for vaccines .
Fiona Stanley AC is a perinatal and paediatric epidemiologist, a public health researcher, and founding director of the TVW Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Western Australia.
The institute conducts multidisciplinary research which aims to improve the health of families and children. The institute also has a major commitment to Indigenous maternal and child health.
Stanley and her colleagues have shown that maternal diets rich in folic acid can prevent spina bifida in babies. She has also studied developmental disorders in children such as the cerebral palsies.
Donald Metcalf AC has been hailed as the founder of modern haematology and is one of Australia’s most influential scientists.
Clinical application of his work isolating natural colony stimulating factors or CSFs – natural hormones that increase resistance to infections and aid recovery from cancer treatment by stimulating the body to produce white blood cells – has been used in the treatment of more than three million people worldwide.
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