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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-10-29 Daily Xml
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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SCIENTIST OF THE YEAR

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (15:30): Let us now revert back to reality. I rise to speak about the South Australian Scientist of the Year and to offer my congratulations to Professor John Hopwood, who has been named the 2008 South Australian Scientist of the Year, and to pay credit to the professor's distinguished career. Professor Hopwood leads the Lysosomal Diseases Research Unit at Pathology SA, and in August this year he became only the second South Australian Scientist of the Year.

The award was created last year by the Rann Labor government and recognises individual achievements in scientific research. A prize of $50,000 is awarded towards future research. Under all selection criteria for the award, Professor Hopwood has excelled. It is estimated that his research has led to work producing more than $100 million of income for our state.

Lysosomal storage disorders are inherited, and some 50 babies are born every year in Australia with such a disorder. The disorders impact on both quality and length of life. They arise from a deficiency or absence in the functional activity of a certain enzyme which is important in the removal of waste from cells. When the waste builds up, cells are no longer able to function as they should. In extreme cases, a child may die within their first five or 10 years of life.

The Lysosomal Diseases Research Unit is supported by a team of about 40, and it operates under a competitively-won research budget of about $1.5 million. The goal of the unit's work is early diagnosis and effective therapy. The unit has become world-renowned under Professor Hopwood's leadership, and his team has discovered the genes responsible for some lysosomal storage disorders. Human clinical trials are currently being undertaken.

Professor Hopwood has had a long and distinguished career that has included positions around the world. John Hopwood was awarded a PhD in biochemistry at Monash University. He followed this with a Fulbright Scholarship in 1972, which saw him travel to the United States to conduct research in the Department of Paediatrics at Wyler's Children's Hospital at the University of Chicago.

He followed the Fulbright with the John F. Kennedy Fellowship in Neuroscience at the University of Chicago, before moving to Sweden in 1976 to act as a visiting scientist in the University of Uppsala. Later in 1976, Professor Hopwood returned to Australia and joined the Department of Chemical Pathology at the Adelaide Children's Hospital. He has been working in this state ever since.

That such an experienced and talented scientist chose to live and work in South Australia is testament to this state's appeal to leading researchers. We have a climate that fosters intellectual exploration. Just last week, the Premier opened the BioSA Incubator, a $12.9 million centre, where the bioscience industry can thrive in our state. The current tenants are all early-stage local bioscience companies, and it is initiatives like this that will make South Australia a leader in its support of research and the sciences.

At the recent opening of the Stem Cell Research Centre, I spoke with another researcher based in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health at Adelaide University. Dr Vicki Clifton has recently moved to South Australia from New South Wales, excited by the research possibilities that she can pursue in our state—and she was being tempted with offers elsewhere, I understand.

Stories like this are not isolated. Many talented researchers are keen to work in South Australia and reap the benefits of the supportive and stimulating environment of our research institutions. As a society, we must continue to support and recognise the work of our scientists and researchers, whose work can reap such awards but who are often overlooked when we are seeking role models or heroes.

By setting up the annual Scientist of the Year Award, the Labor government has demonstrated our commitment to such recognition. Once again, I congratulate Professor John Hopwood on being named 2008's South Australian Scientist of the Year, and I hope his example goes on to inspire another generation of young scientists.

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