Nobel Laureate Barry Marshall awarded China’s highest scientific honour for a non-national individual

The University of Western Australia’s Nobel Laureate Prof. Barry Marshall has been honoured with one of China’s most prestigious awards, in recognition of his work promoting scientific and technological cooperation between China and Australia.

The China International Science and Technology Cooperation Award is the nation’s highest scientific honour for non-national individuals and institutions.

Prof. Barry Marshall outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing after receiving his award.

Recognised globally for his groundbreaking discovery of the Helicobacter pylori bacterium and its association with peptic ulcer diseases, Prof. Marshall’s innovative research has revolutionised the understanding and treatment of stomach ulcers and related conditions.

After successfully reducing H. pylori prevalence to less than 15% in Australia, he shifted his focus to China, which accounts for half of the world’s gastric cancer cases, leading significant projects like the semi-automatic Helicobacter pylori culturing system and large-scale clinical trials.

His efforts have played a crucial role in enhancing medical diagnostics and treatment methods in China, including the establishment of key research centres and partnerships, such as the Marshall Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering at Shenzhen University and collaborations with top medical institutions.

Since 2017, Prof. Marshall has hosted visiting doctors, technicians and scholars from China at the Marshall Centre for Infectious Diseases Research and Training at The University of Western Australia to learn about H. pylori research.

[This article has been extracted from UWA’s Impact media release in June 2024: https://www.uwa.edu.au/news/article/2024/june/nobel-laureate-recognised-for-his-contributions-to-science-in-china.]