Ian Frazer
Encyclopedia
Professor Ian Frazer is the Director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...

 of the Diamantina Institute
The Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology and Metabolic Medicine
Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology and Metabolic Medicine was newly created in April 2008 for the University of Queensland, based at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia. The Institute focuses on translational research, which works to produce better outcomes for patient...

. He is a creator of the HPV vaccine
HPV vaccine
The human papilloma virus vaccine prevents infection with certain species of human papillomavirus associated with the development of cervical cancer, genital warts, and some less common cancers...

 against cervical cancer
Cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is malignant neoplasm of the cervix uteri or cervical area. One of the most common symptoms is abnormal vaginal bleeding, but in some cases there may be no obvious symptoms until the cancer is in its advanced stages...

; the second cancer preventing vaccine, and the first vaccine designed to prevent a cancer. (Two are marketed as Gardasil
Gardasil
Gardasil , also known as Gardisil or Silgard, is a vaccine for use in the prevention of certain types of human papillomavirus , specifically HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18. HPV types 16 and 18 cause an estimated 70% of cervical cancers, and are responsible for most HPV-induced anal, vulvar, vaginal,...

 and Cervarix
Cervarix
Cervarix is a vaccine against certain types of cancer-causing human papillomavirus .Cervarix is designed to prevent infection from HPV types 16 and 18, that cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases. These types also cause some other genital cancers and some oropharyngeal cancers...

).

Education

He was born in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Scotland. His parents were medical scientists, and he was drawn to science from a young age. He attended a Merchant Company
Merchant Company of Edinburgh
The Company of Merchants of the City of Edinburgh, also known as the Merchant Company of Edinburgh or just the Merchant Company, is a livery company of the City of Edinburgh, originally founded in order to protect trading rights in the City of Edinburgh, which also carries out a significant amount...

 school (the all boys George Watson's College
George Watson's College
George Watson's College, known informally as Watson's, is a co-educational independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a hospital school in 1741, became a day school in 1871 and was merged with its sister school...

) and was well educated in the sciences. He choose to pursue medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

 over an earlier interest in physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

 (because it held fewer research opportunities) receiving his Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

 (in '74 and '77). During this time he met and married (1976) his present wife, Caroline. His 1978–79 residency
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...

 was in the Edinburgh Eastern General Hospital, the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh or RIE, sometimes mistakenly referred to as Edinburgh Royal Infirmary or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on...

 and the Roodlands General Hospital in Haddington
Haddington, East Lothian
The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian, which was known officially as Haddingtonshire before 1921. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the 6th...

.

In 1980/81 the Frazers emigrated to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

. Dr Frazer came to research viral immunology
Immunology
Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...

 at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research is Australia's oldest medical research institute.In 2011, the institute is home to more than 650 researchers who are working to understand, prevent and treat diseases including blood, breast and ovarian cancers; inflammatory diseases such as...

, which had impressed him as the dominant publisher of scientific papers on immunology. In 1981, he discovered that immunodeficiency
Immunodeficiency
Immunodeficiency is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious disease is compromised or entirely absent. Immunodeficiency may also decrease cancer immunosurveillance. Most cases of immunodeficiency are acquired but some people are born with defects in their immune system,...

 afflicting homosexuals in San Francisco was also found in the gay men in his hepatitis B study, and (in 1984) helped to confirm that HIV was a cause. They also found that another sexually transmitted virus was having a surprising effect: human papilloma virus (HPV) infection seemed to be inducing precancerous cells.

In 1985 he moved to the University of Queensland (UQ)
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...

 (as a Senior Lecturer
Senior lecturer
Senior lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a faculty position at a university or similar institution. Especially in research-intensive universities, lecturers lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...

) for the opportunity to establish his own research laboratory: In the Lions Human Immunology Laboratories he continued to research HPV in men, and contributed to HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

 research. His other tasks were teaching, and running diagnostic tests for Princess Alexandra Hospital
Princess Alexandra Hospital
The Princess Alexandra Hospital , is located on Ipswich Road in Woolloongabba, Australia. It is one of the major hospitals in Brisbane and is a teaching hospital of the University of Queensland. It is a tertiary level teaching hospital with all major medical and surgical specialities onsite except...

; he received the Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 qualification in 1988.

Breakthrough

On a 1989 sabbatical he met virologist Dr Jian Zhou, and the two considered the problem of developing a vaccine for HPV – a virus that cannot be cultured
Cell culture
Cell culture is the complex process by which cells are grown under controlled conditions. In practice, the term "cell culture" has come to refer to the culturing of cells derived from singlecellular eukaryotes, especially animal cells. However, there are also cultures of plants, fungi and microbes,...

 without living tissue. Frazer convinced Zhou to join him, and in 1990 they began to use molecular biology
Molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...

 to synthesize particles in vitro
In vitro
In vitro refers to studies in experimental biology that are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from their usual biological context in order to permit a more detailed or more convenient analysis than can be done with whole organisms. Colloquially, these experiments...

 that could mimic the virus. In March 1991 Zhou's wife, Dr Xiao-Yi Sun, combined two proteins
L1 family
The L1 family is a family of cell adhesion molecules that includes four different L1-like proteins. They are members of the immunoglobulin superfamily . The members of the L1-family in humans are called L1 or L1cam, CHL1 , Neurofascin and NrCAM . L1 family members are found on neurons, ...

 into a virus-like particle (VLP), resembling the HPV shell, from which HPV vaccine
HPV vaccine
The human papilloma virus vaccine prevents infection with certain species of human papillomavirus associated with the development of cervical cancer, genital warts, and some less common cancers...

 would ultimately be made. (The vaccine completely protects unexposed women against four HPV strains responsible for
Oncovirus
An oncovirus is a virus that can cause cancer. This term originated from studies of acutely-transforming retroviruses in the 1950–60s, often called oncornaviruses to denote their RNA virus origin. It now refers to any virus with a DNA or RNA genome causing cancer and is synonymous with "tumor...

 70% of cervical
Cervix
The cervix is the lower, narrow portion of the uterus where it joins with the top end of the vagina. It is cylindrical or conical in shape and protrudes through the upper anterior vaginal wall...

 cancers, which kill about 250,000 women annually.) Frazer and Zhou filed a provisional patent in June 1991 and began work on developing the vaccine within UQ. To finance clinical trials, Australian medical company CSL
CSL Limited
CSL Limited is a global specialty biopharmaceutical company that researches, develops, manufactures and markets products to treat and prevent serious human medical conditions...

 and later Merck
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...

 were sold partial patents. (CSL has the exclusive license to sell Gardasil in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 and Australia, Merck the license elsewhere.) GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline plc is a global pharmaceutical, biologics, vaccines and consumer healthcare company headquartered in London, United Kingdom...

 independently used the same VLP-approach to develop Cervarix, under a later US patent, licensing Frazer's intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...

 in 2005.

Later in 1991 the research was presented at a US scientific meeting, and Frazer became Director of the Centre for Immunology and Cancer Research at the University of Queensland (which he remains- at the renamed Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology and Metabolic Medicine
The Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology and Metabolic Medicine
Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology and Metabolic Medicine was newly created in April 2008 for the University of Queensland, based at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Australia. The Institute focuses on translational research, which works to produce better outcomes for patient...

). After three years in design, Gardasil went into testing, and Frazer became a Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 in the University's Department of Medicine. In 1998 Professor Frazer completed the first human trials for Gardasil, and became an Australian.

Celebrity

In 1999 he received the Australian Biotechnology Award, and has since received more than twenty awards for science. In 2006, results from the four-year Phase III trials led to Australian and US regulatory
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research is a division of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that monitors most drugs as defined in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Some biological products are also legally considered drugs, but they are covered by the Center for Biologics Evaluation and...

 approval. Frazer's studies showed 100% efficacious protective immunity in HPV naïve women, but could not directly test protective immunity (against HPV exposure) in adolescent girls. As a surrogate test, antibody titer
Antibody titer
An antibody titer is a measurement of how much antibody an organism has produced that recognizes a particular epitope, expressed as the greatest dilution that still gives a positive result. ELISA is a common means of determining antibody titers....

 levels in vaccinated 9- to 15-year-old girls was shown high enough to give them the same level of immunity as vaccinated women. It has been suggested that one way to bring cheaper equivalent vaccines to market is to mandate a similar induced immune response.

Professor Frazer administered the first official HPV-vaccination, and was made 2006 Queenslander of the Year and Australian of the Year
Australian of the Year
Since 1960 the Australian of the Year Award has been part of the celebrations surrounding Australia Day , during which time the award has grown steadily in significance to become Australia’s pre-eminent award. The Australian of the Year announcement has become a very prominent part of the annual...

.

In the 2007 resolution of his US patent lawsuit Professor Frazer's world-wide rights to the fundamental VLP science were established. He won the 2007 Howard Florey Medal for Medical Research
Howard Florey Institute
The Howard Florey Institute, previously known as the Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiologyand applied research into treatments to combat brain and mind disorders and the cardiovascular system...

, the 2008 Prime Minister's Prize for Science, the 2008 Balzan Prize for Preventive Medicine
Preventive medicine
Preventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases, rather than curing them or treating their symptoms...

, and the 2009 Australian Medical Association Gold Medal
Australian Medical Association
The Australian Medical Association is a professional association for Australian doctors and medical students.The AMA uses a representative structure involving state branches and committees to work with members to promote and protect the interests of doctors.The mechanisms that allow this include:*...

. Other awards include the 2006 William B. Coley Award
William B. Coley Award
The William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic and Tumor Immunology is presented annually by the Cancer Research Institute, Inc., to scientists who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of basic and tumor immunology and whose work has deepened our understanding of the...

 (with Harald zur Hausen
Harald zur Hausen
Harald zur Hausen is a German virologist and professor emeritus. He has done research on cancer of the cervix, where he discovered the role of papilloma viruses, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2008.-Biography:Zur Hausen was born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, went to...

), the 2005 CSIRO Eureka Prize for Leadership in Science, and the 2003 Centenary Medal for services to cancer research.
After 2009 reports of adverse Gardasil reactions, Professor Frazer said "Apart from a very, very rare instance where you get an allergic reaction from the vaccine, which is about one in a million, there is nothing else that can be directly attributable to the vaccine." Ian Frazer is one of the "most trusted" Australians, and some critics have accused Gardasil's advocates of exploiting patriotism
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...

 to promote its rapid Australian release. (Australia's government had the world's most generous coverage for the drug, though it is the nation with the lowest cervical cancer mortality.)

He lives in Brisbane, Australia. Two of his sons, Andrew and Callum, are medical students and the third, Jaimie, is a veterinary scientist.

Research

Professor Frazer now holds a personal chair as head of the Diamantina Institute. He is researching immunoregulation
Immunomodulator
An immunomodulator, also known as an immunotherapy is a substance which has an effect on the immune system.- Immunosuppressants :Inhibits immune response in organ transplantation and autoimmune diseases.- Immunostimulants :...

 and immunotherapeutic vaccines, supported by several US and Australian research funding
Research funding
Research funding is a term generally covering any funding for scientific research, in the areas of both "hard" science and technology and social science. The term often connotes funding obtained through a competitive process, in which potential research projects are evaluated and only the most...

 bodies. He is working on a VLP-based vaccine against hepatitis C
Hepatitis C virus
Hepatitis C virus is a small , enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae...

, and is researching extensions to the VLP production technology for dengue fever
Dengue fever
Dengue fever , also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles...

 and Japanese encephalitis
Japanese Encephalitis
Japanese encephalitis —previously known as Japanese B encephalitis to distinguish it from von Economo's A encephalitis—is a disease caused by the mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis virus. The Japanese encephalitis virus is a virus from the family Flaviviridae. Domestic pigs and wild birds are...

 vaccines. Professor Frazer expects (50% effective) HIV vaccine
HIV vaccine
An HIV vaccine that protects vaccinated individuals from HIV infection is the goal of many HIV research programmes. Currently, there is no effective vaccine against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS...

s to be available by 2028. He is already overseeing trials of the first vaccine for skin cancer
Skin cancer
Skin neoplasms are skin growths with differing causes and varying degrees of malignancy. The three most common malignant skin cancers are basal cell cancer, squamous cell cancer, and melanoma, each of which is named after the type of skin cell from which it arises...

 (the Squamous cancer
Squamous cell carcinoma
Squamous cell carcinoma , occasionally rendered as "squamous-cell carcinoma", is a histologically distinct form of cancer. It arises from the uncontrolled multiplication of malignant cells deriving from epithelium, or showing particular cytological or tissue architectural characteristics of...

, caused by HPV) which might be ready before 2020.

Professor Frazer is the inaugural holder of the Queensland Government Smart State premier’s fellowship, worth $2.5 million over 5 years. He has held continuous research funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council
National Health and Medical Research Council
The National Health and Medical Research Council is Australia's peak funding body for medical research, with a budget of roughly 700 million dollars a year...

 (NHMRC)] since 1985, mostly relating to papilloma viruses or tumor immunology. He is currently a joint Chief Investigator on an NHMRC program grant and a NHMRC/Wellcome
Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust was established in 1936 as an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. With an endowment of around £13.9 billion, it is the United Kingdom's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research...

 program grant, together worth more than $2 million a year.

Teaching and industry

He teaches immunology to undergraduates and graduate students at the University of Queensland, is Cancer Council Australia
Cancer Council Australia
Cancer Council Australia is a national, not for profit organisation which aims to promote cancer-control policies and to reduce the illness caused by cancer in Australia...

 president, Chairman of the ACRF
Australian Cancer Research Foundation
The Australian Cancer Research Foundation is an Australian not-for-profit organisation which awards grants to cancer research organisations, specifically for high-end equipment purchases and infrastructure development.-History and structure:...

's Medical Research Advisory Committee, and advises the WHO and the Gates Foundation on papillomavirus vaccine
Vaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...

s.

Professor Frazer consults for many pharmaceutical companies on Immunomodulatory drugs
Immunomodulator
An immunomodulator, also known as an immunotherapy is a substance which has an effect on the immune system.- Immunosuppressants :Inhibits immune response in organ transplantation and autoimmune diseases.- Immunostimulants :...

, prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines. He sits on the board of three for-profit small biotech companies and a number of not for profit organisations. He is a director of a biotechnology start up company, Coridon, with an interest in optimising and targeting polynucleotide vaccine protein expression.

Fellowships

  • Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
    Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
    The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh was established in the 17th century. While the RCPE is based in Edinburgh, it is by no means just a Scottish professional body - more than half of its 7,700 Fellows, Members, Associates and Affiliates live and practice medicine outside Scotland, in 86...

    , since 1988
  • Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia
    Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia
    The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia is a medical organization that promotes the science and practice of pathology. It has members in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia....

    , since 1989
  • Australian Institute of Company Directors
    Australian Institute of Company Directors
    The Australian Institute of Company Directors is Australia's leading membership body for directors in Australia and the leading Australian not-for-profit corporate governance organisation....

    , since 2002
  • Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
    Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
    The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering is an independent non-government organization dedicated to the promotion in Australia of scientific and engineering knowledge to practical purposes. Professor Robin Batterham is the current President of ATSE....

    , since 2003
  • Australian Academy of Science
    Australian Academy of Science
    The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The Academy is modelled after the Royal Society and operates under a Royal Charter; as such it is...

    , since 2004

Links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK