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A public lecture series to allow the community to engage with Nobel Laureates from around the world has been named in honour of Professors Barry Marshall and Robin Warren, joint winners of the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 2005.

The University of Western Australia today announced the prestigious annual lectures, to be named The Marshall-Warren lecture series after its own Nobel Prize winners.

Professor Marshall's and Emeritus Professor Warren's work on the bacterial basis for stomach ulcers revolutionised the treatment of gastro-duodenal ulcers, by enabling an antibiotic cure, and has led to a significant reduction in the prevalence of gastric cancer.

UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robson said the series would honour the work and achievements of these internationally renowned and respected Nobel Laureates, who were Australia's ninth and tenth Nobel Prize winners.

"Our University is very proud of Professors Marshall and Warren and the difference their work has made to the lives of millions of people across the world," Professor Robson said.  "We would like to honour the dedication of these two medical pioneers and to expose the broader community to other leaders in different fields by bringing Nobel Laureates to UWA to share the excitement of their research."

Professor Marshall said that the series would enable the Australian community to engage with researchers who have made great discoveries and help to further the understanding of the role research plays in ordinary life.

Professor Warren said that the Nobel prize tradition had served to highlight the wonder of science and the creativity of research that led to discoveries for the advancement of humankind.

Professor Marshall and Emeritus Professor Warren were the first recipients of a Nobel Prize to be awarded for research undertaken in Western Australia.  In addition to the numerous scientific awards for their work on Helicobacter pylori they have received Australia's highest civilian honour, the Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).  They represent the Government of Western Australia as Ambassadors for Life Sciences.

The lecture series is being generously supported by Qantas Airways.

The 2009 Marshall-Warren lecture: How Advances in Science are Made will be delivered by Stanford University Professor in Physics Douglas Osheroff, one of the joint recipients for the 1996 Nobel Prize for Physics for discovery of superfluidity in helium-3.  This inaugural lecture, on 24 November from 6.00pm in Winthrop Hall, is free but tickets are essential and available through the UWA Octagon Theatre Box Office.

Media references

Professor Alan Robson (Vice-Chancellor)  (+61 8)  6488 2809
Janine MacDonald (UWA Public Affairs)  (+61 8)  6488 5563  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716