PERTH, Australia, April 3 /PRNewswire/ -- 2005 Nobel Prize winner Professor Barry Marshall will be part of Western Australia’s biggest contingent of 22 life sciences companies visiting Chicago for the annual Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) conference this month (April).
Western Australia’s Premier, Alan Carpenter, is leading the delegation of 46 industry representatives, from companies and research centers in Western Australia, to the conference.
Barry J. Marshall, MBBS (born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia) is an Australian physician and Professor of Clinical Microbiology at the University of Western Australia. He is well-known for proving that the bacteria Helicobacter pylori is the cause of stomach ulcers, reversing decades of medical doctrine which held that ulcers were caused by stress, spicy foods, and too much acid. Professor Marshall received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Medicine with fellow Western Australian scientist Dr. Robin Warren for their ground-breaking research into Helicobacter pylori and stomach ulcers.
The BIO conference, from 9-12 April, will be Professor Marshall’s first visit to the US since winning the Nobel Prize. He will join Premier Carpenter in showcasing the State of Western Australia and its achievements in life sciences.
“There is considerable life-enhancing research under way in Western Australia, and it has enormous potential to contribute to future discoveries in the fields of human health, animal health and industrial biotechnology,” Professor Marshall said.
Premier Carpenter has made Western Australia’s life sciences sector a priority for the State by focusing on creating collaborative research environments between universities, hospitals and healthcare foundations and encouraging a culture of commercialization.
“We are immensely proud of Professor Marshall and Dr. Warren,” Premier Carpenter said. “They are among a growing number of Western Australians making outstanding achievements in their field.
“Last year Dr. Fiona Wood was made Australian of the Year for her work on tissue regeneration for burns victims, and Professor Harvey Millar won Australian Life Scientist of the Year for his research into plant energy biology, which will create plants with higher yields, environmental tolerance and greater biomass for future fuel production.
“Some of our other leading biotech companies and researchers are attending BIO in Chicago.”
Premier Carpenter said Western Australian industry and research was growing at a tremendous pace and there was a strong commitment from his Government to build upon the achievements.
“Western Australia will continue to invest in our very talented researchers and use the achievements of Professor Marshall and Dr. Warren to inspire them along the way,” he said.
The Premier recently announced the establishment of a new medical research centre, the Centre for Food and Genomic Medicine, which will focus on world-leading research into obesity and diabetes.
Plans are also being made to develop a structure to use data from the longitudinal health study started 40 years ago in the regional community of Busselton in the south-west of Western Australia for genomic research.
U.S. Media Contact: MacDougall Biomedical Communications Peter Steinerman (516) 374-3031 Kari Watson (508) 647-0209
Western Australian Trade and Investment Office
CONTACT: Peter Steinerman, +1-516-374-3031, or Kari Watson,+1-508-647-0209, both for the Western Australian Trade and InvestmentOffice
