Howard Florey -Biomedical Scientist

Howard Florey -Biomedical Scientist

1. 1. Identify the field(s) of science your chosen scientist works/worked in.

   • Howard Florey worked in the field of Pathology which is the study of diseases.
   • He researches what the diseases, what causes them and their nature.

2. 2. Describe their contribution to biomedical science.

   • Alexander Fleming was the first to discover in 1929, the mould that produced the antibacterial substance but he was unable to isolate it.
   • Howard Florey isolated penicillin, making possible its wide production and use in treating bacterial diseases.

3. 3. Did your chosen scientist collaborate with others in their work? Provide details.

   • Howard Florey worked with Ernst Chain.
   • Howard consulted chemist Frederick Gowland Hopkins beforehand regarding a suitable person to lead the biochemistry work at Oxford. Hopkins recommended Ernst Chain.
   • Beginning in 1938, Florey and Chain began to study antibacterial agents found in bacteria.
   • By 1941, the two had produced concentrated penicillin and shown that it could successfully treat bacterial infections in laboratory animals without toxic effects.

4. 4. Where and when they were born, their family and education. Was there someone or something that inspired them?

   • Howard Florey was born on September 24, 1898 in Adelaide, Australia.
   • Florey was interested in science at an early age. Instead of following his father's career path as a boot maker, he decided to pursue a degree in medicine
   • He started his education of medicine at St. Peter's Collegiate School and Adelaide University, which got him a Bachelor of Science degree in 1921
     • He then became an excellent student of physiology with the knowledge from his mentor Sir Charles Scott Sherrington
   • Howard was one of three children and the only son born to his father Joseph Florey, a boot maker, and Bertha Mary Wadham Florey, Joseph's second wife.

5. 5. Describe the influence of their early life on your chosen scientist’s career.

   • He did not want to continue in the path of his father in boot making, he wanted to help people and make a difference. And that is exactly what he did.
   • Howard was interested in the field of medicine from an early age.

6. 6. Identify the qualities/character traits that contributed to his/her success.

   • His natural academic genius was what inspired him to delve deeper in the field of medicine.
   • Howard Florey seems like a friendly and compassionate person who is a real team player.

7. 7. Describe how the work of your chosen scientist has benefited, or will benefit people. Provide examples.

   • The work of Howard Walter Florey and his team gave the world one of its most valuable disease-fighting drugs--penicillin.
   • Florey's team tested penicillin on eight mice injected with a lethal dose of streptococci bacteria.
     • (Explain)
   • In May, 1940 Howard and his team performed one of the most important medical experiments in history.
   • Knowing that penicillin worked on animals made Howard excited to give it a try on humans.
     • Patient Albert Alexander -(Explain)
   • In 1943 Florey travelled to North Africa to test the effects of penicillin on wounded soldiers. His trials were seen as a miracle.
     • He Saved Millions of lives

8. 8. Other Interesting information

   • Florey realised that science had reached a point where a team of specialists was needed, the job was too big for one person.
   • Individual members of the group concentrated their attention on areas in which they had the most knowledge, but they often met to exchange ideas.
     • (EXPLAIN)
   • One member of the team, Ernst Chain, found an article about Alexander Fleming's work while flicking through a medical journal, and this prompted them to begin looking at penicillin.