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Burnet and Medicine
Author(s) -
Wood Ian J.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
australasian annals of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 0571-9283
DOI - 10.1111/imj.1969.18.4.301
Subject(s) - classics , virology , medicine , library science , history , computer science
Summary Sir Macfarlane Burnet had a progressive rise in the world of Medical Science, from a shy ward medical officer at the Melbourne Hospital to a scientist of world renown as Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. He won fame in the field of virology, making a special study of the influenza virus, which he began in London under Sir Henry Dale. In 1957 he switched his researches from virology to immunology and again achieved fame by his study of autoimmune disease. His contributions to clinical medicine were many and varied, including the isolation of C. burneti , the discovery of two strains of poliomyelitis virus, and the applications of his clonal selection theory to the autoimmune diseases in Man. Amongst his many honours and awards were the Order of Merit, and the Nobel Prize which he shared with Sir Peter Medawar of London. Congratulations on his achievements are extended to him on the occasion of his seventieth birthday.