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BARDWELL Park resident Warwick Britton has been made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to medical research as an academic and immunologist, and to humanitarian and public health improvements for the people of Nepal, and to the community.
Professor Britton, 65, is a clinical immunologist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and head of the Mycobacterial Research Program at the Centenary Institute.
He is the Bosch Professor of Medicine and Professor of Immunology at the University of Sydney and head of Medicine, Central Clinical School at the Sydney Medical School.
The driving interest of the 65-year-old father of four has been in improving healthcare in developing countries.
Professor Britton grew up in Earlwood and studied medicine at the University of Sydney.
After graduating he and his wife, Annette, also a doctor, went to Nepal to work in the Tansen Hospital, about 300 kilometres outside Kathmandu as part of the United Mission in Nepal, from 1978 to 1981.
There he became interested in the study of tuberculosis and leprosy.
He came back to Australia after three years and completed his PhD in the immunology of leprosy.
"There are still 250,000 new leprosy patients diagnosed in the world every year," he said.
"Back then, it was 15 million a year, so great inroads have been made.
"Leprosy is a disease caused by the mycobacterium, the same bacterium that causes tuberculosis."
In 1986, Mr Britton returned to Nepal and worked in hospital run by the Leprosy Mission and the Anandaban Leprosy Research Laboratory, still the main leprosy hospital in Nepal, where he studied how the human immune system responds to leprosy.
He came back to Australia in 1990 and settled in Bardwell Park with his family.
‘‘We are interested in trying to control global disease by using modern technology.
‘‘Australia has great resources in terms of universities and research.
‘‘About nine million people a year are diagnosed with tuberculosis and there are about one-and-a-half million deaths.
‘‘Tuberculosis is prevalent in countries north of Australia. We want to help control tuberculosis in our neighbours.
‘‘Because as long as TB is there it will be here. You just have to get on a plane.
‘‘TB research is not as fashionable as cancer research but it is extremely important for our region.’’
As well as his work as an immunologist Professor Britton is now in a research team at the hospital's Centenary Institute.
