Leopold Dintenfass
1921 – 1990
Dr Leopold Dintenfass was born in Poland, where he trained as a chemical engineer. He came to Australia in 1950, gaining a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of NSW. Most of his research career was spent at the Kanematsu Memorial Institute in Sydney, where he was director of haemorheology and bioheology.
His work was prolific, including several scientific books and hundreds of papers.
After retirement, Leo continued to work at his research projects by courtesy of the Rachel Foster Hospital, who provided space and secretarial assistance.
He specialised in the study of the properties of blood and was a world pioneer in blood viscosity. He was honoured for his work throughout the world, having innumerable honorary professorships and the like: but typically, was least recognised in his adopted country, Australia.
In 1977, Dr Dintenfass was named as a principal research investigator by NASA, and in 1985 was the first Australian invited to have an experiment conducted in space. Blood samples were flown on NASA’s space shuttle and processed automatically during the space flight. A second experiment won a coveted berth on another shuttle flight in 1988.
He was not funded by NH & MRC and consequently used a great deal of his time in raising funds privately for his research. He first applied to the Cooper Foundation in 1984, and received an annual grant until his untimely death in 1990.
In December 1990, the Directors of the Foundation resolved to perpetuate the memory of Leo Dintenfass by presenting an annual memorial plaque to the most interesting or innovative research grant recipient of the year.
The inaugural Dintenfass Memorial Plaque was awarded in 1991.
In 2009, the Board of Directors voted to incorporate a monetary sum to attach to the Leo Dintenfass Award, being for the time being equivalent to 25% of the maximum grant awarded. This awarded amount, to commence at the award presentations in March 2010, is to be used at the discretion of the recipient for the advancement of their career.
John (Jack) Frederick Haddon
Born on 28 December 1911, he died at the age of 92 years on 13 October 2004 after a brief illness. He served in the Regular Australian Army, joining in 1936 and during the Second World War in the 13th Heavy Battery, Royal Australian Artillery, being discharged in 1946. He was an active member of the local RSL.
Jack, as he was universally known, became a Freemason in 1944, being raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason. He belonged to the Merrylands Lodge until the time of his death. Both the RSL and the Lodge sent representatives who participated in Jack’s Funeral.
Jack was by profession a fitter and turner, and did almost all but the brickwork in the building of his home. He undertook some improvements in the house in his old age, but sadly was unable to complete them.
His connection with the Foundation came about through his membership of the South Sydney Junior Rugby League Camera Club, of which Al Rosenstrauss was President for many years. Jack and his wife Eileen participated in many of the activities of the Club, in particular the annual Easter photographic excursions. In 2001, Jack approached Al regarding the possibility of bequeathing his property to the Foundation. Jack had recently lost his wife Eileen from complications arising from leg ulcers.
At the Presentation Dinner in 2002, Jack was invited to present the grant cheque to Professor Zeinab Khalil, Head of the National Ageing Research Institute in Melbourne, who was researching the use of low frequency electrical stimulation to accelerate wound healing and improve sensory nerve function.
John made his Will bequeathing his entire Estate to the Foundation. He directed that the rents from the property, or the interest derived from any future sale of the property, be applied towards research grants into geriatric diseases (with particular interest in leg ulcers) to be known as the “John and Eileen Haddon Grant”. The Foundation presents an annual plaque to the recipient.
At the Board meeting of November 2009, the Board elected to award the recipient of the John and Eileen Haddon Memorial Plaque in Geriatric Research, with a $2,000 Travel Award, to be used to fund attendance at a meeting of relevance to the application.
The Cooper Medical Research Foundation Prize
The Leo Dintenfass Memorial Plaque
1991 - Ilja Hulinsky MD,PhD. of the Ray Williams Institute of Paediatric Endocrinology, for his project “Beta cell growth and regeneration in vitro.”
1992 - Brian John Mowry BA(Hons) FRANZCPsy of Wolston Park Hospital, Wacol Queensland. “A study of abnormalities in the genetic code that produce vulnerability to schizophrenia.”
1993 - John W K Yong Bsc(Hon) PhD PgradDipBus(Mgment) University of Queensland, “Development of a new non-invasive genetic diagnostic method for early detection of cancer in the prostate gland.”
1994 - David E James BSc, PhD University of Queensland Centre for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, “Targeting of the insulin-sensitive glucose transporter, GLUT-4”
1995 - Richard Bernard Silberstein BSc(Hons) PhD Centre for applied Neurosciences, Swinburne Institute of Technology, Hawthorn Victoria, “Brain electrical activity topography associated with the Wisconsin Card Sort Test in schizophrenia.”
1996 - Bernard Edward Tuch FRACP, PhD, University of New South Wales,
“Reversal of Diabetes with Fetal Pig Islets: Reduction of Immunogenicity.”
1997 - James O Pickles of the Vision, Touch & Hearing Centre, University of Queensland, “Application of genetic techniques to the repair and regeneration of hair cells in the ear in order to reverse deafness.”
1998 - Rakesh K Kumar of the School of Pathology, University of NSW, “Measurement of cellular function and enzymatic activity by fluorescence.”
1999 - Earl Ronald Owen AO, MBBS(Syd) MD(Lyon) DSc(MacqUni) PICS, FRCS(Lond) FRCS(Edin) FRACS for his work in “Limb Allotransplantation.”
2000 - Grant William Montgomery B.Agr.Sci.(First Class Hons) PhD and
Nicholas Gordon Martin B.Sc(First Class Hons) PhD. Both of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Herston, for “Fine scale mapping of genes for complex human traits.”
2001 - Michael Horowitz M.B.B.S. Ph.D. F.R.A.C.P. of the University of Adelaide, for “Evaluation of autonomic nerve function in diabetes mellitus.”
2002 - Philip Michael Hansbro B.Sc. (Hons), Ph.D. Of the University of Newcastle, for “Development of new and improved pneumococcal vaccines.”
2003 - Dennis Yue MBBS PhD FRACP of the University of Sydney, for “Type 1 Diabetes in Baboons: The effects of inhibiting advanced glycation on diabetic complications.”
2004 - Gerard Gibbs B.Asc. Ph.D. Of the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development, for “Identification of genes essential for male fertility.”
2005 - Nicholas H Hunt BSc (Hons) PhD
Of the Institute of Biomedical Research, University of Sydney, for “Nucleic acid and protein analysis in genetic/molecular biological research.”
2006 - Michael Horowitz MBBS PhD FRACP Of the Adelaide University, South Australia for “Measurement of stomach and small intestine motility in diabetes.”
2007 - Justin Paul Rubio BSc.Hons. PhD Of the Howard Florey Institute, Victoria for “A cutting edge diagnostic tool for Parkinson’s Disease.”
2008 - Ronald John Anthony Trent B Sc, MBBS, PhD, FRACP, FRCPA, FHGSA Of the Univerity of Sydney, for “Gene and Environment Interactions in Motor Neuron Disease.”
2009 - Claire Goldsbury, Michael Kassiou, Michael Lovelace, Emily Mathey and Padraig Strappe all of the Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, for “Pathogenic mechanisms of neuronal dysfunction and drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases.”
2010 - Charles (Chuck) Bailey BSc, PhD, University of Sydney, Centenary Institute for “Aberrant Amino Acid Physiology in Brain Disease.”
The John & Elaine Haddon Memorial Plaque
For Geriatric Research
2005 - Christopher Raymond Murphy BSc (Hons 1st Class) PhD DSc of The School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, for “Human Prostate Disease: New markers for disease in the ageing prostate.”
2006 - Christopher Raymond Murphy BSc (Hons 1st Class) PhD DSc of The School of Medical Sciences, The University of Sydney, for “Human Prostate Disease: continued search for new markers of disease in the ageing prostate.”
2007 - Charles Michael Allan B.Sc.Hons, PhD of the ANZAC Research Institute, Concord, for
“Understanding the role of reproductive hormones in male ageing.”
2008 - Michael Clifford Woodward MBBS, FRACP of Austin Health, University of Melbourne for
“Measurement of tissue oxygen to assess healing potential in older persons with chronic wounds.”
2009 - Ramin Rohanizadeh B.S. M.S PhD of The University of Sydney for “Drug-delivery coating for a new generation of orthopaedic implants.”
2010 - Gilles Guillemin PhD, University of New South Wales for ‘Tryptophan metabolism in neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.’
The Rebecca L. Cooper Medical Research Foundation Medal
The Prize is awarded to the chief author of the best publication during the preceding 12 months by a postdoctoral researcher working in a laboratory within the Institute of Biomedical Research University of Sydney.
The Inaugural Award for 2004 - Dr Janette Burgess, Department of Pharmacology, for her paper: “Detection and characterisation of OX40 ligand expression in human airway smooth muscle cells: A possible role in asthma?” This paper showed that some cells involved in breathing, that in some people can act abnormally and cause asthma, unexpectedly have on their surface a protein that could be important in changing the way these cells act. This established a new way of thinking about one aspect of asthma, a disease that affects around 25% of children in Australia.
Janette has followed up her studies in this area and has found out more about the significance of this protein, called “OX40” in lung tissue from asthmatics.
2005 - Dr Orthon Gervasio received the prize in 2005 for his paper “Increased ratio of rapsyn to Ach receptor stabilises postsynaptic receptors at the mouse neuromuscular synapse.” Journal Physiology, 562, 673-685, 2005
This paper is an important one because it told us something very new about the way nerves communicate with muscles. This is a process that goes wrong in several diseases.
2006 - Dr Andrea Markus received the prize in 2006 for her paper about a gene that is involved in kidney development and sexual development. She has found another gene that might interact with the first one in causing a type of kidney cancer, Wlim’s tumour.
2007 - Dr Renae Ryan received the prize for 2007.
Renae Ryan receiving Cooper Medal
2008 - Dr Rita Macaalani received the award for 2008 for her paper titled “Neuronal Cell Death in the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Brainstem and Associations with Risk Factors”. This is about how babies die from “cot death”.
2009 - Dr Aaron Camp received the 2009 medal for his paper entitled ‘Adaptable mechanisms that regulate the contrast response of neurons in the primate lateral geniculate nucleus.’ Aaron has documented some of the ways that the brain fine tunes vision in order to optimise the way we see.