Forty Years On A History of the Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists (1961-2001) Forty Years On A History of the Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists (1961-2001) Contents CONTENTS 1 PREFACE 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 4 1. INTRODUCTION 5 2. AN AUSTRALASIAN ASSOCIATION: The Merger with New Zealand 6 3. THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE - THE IFCC 9 4. FOCUS ON ASIA - The Asian Pacific Federation of Clinical Biochemistry 14 5. PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION 16 6. EDUCATION 22 7. PUBLICATIONS 27 8. THE AACB AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - INFORMATICS 33 9. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 35 10. LABORATORY ACCREDITATION - NATA 45 11. THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PATHOLOGISTS OF AUSTRALIA 48 12. PRIZES, AWARDS, LECTURESHIPS 52 13. A COMMERCIAL VENTURE - AACB SERVICES PTY LTD 57 14. INDUSTRY 58 APPENDICES 1- 11 (Index of Appendices on Page 2) 62 GLOSSARY 104 FOOTNOTES 105 INDEX 107 1 List of Appendices APPENDIX 1 - History of the Association’s First 21 years (1961-1982) D Curnow, W Riley and R Bowyer 62 APPENDIX 2 - Council 1961-2005 80 APPENDIX 3 - AACB Annual Scientific Conferences 90 APPENDIX 4 - Chronology of Events 91 APPENDIX 5 - AACB Membership Numbers 92 APPENDIX 6 - AACB Membership by Year 93 APPENDIX 7 - Workshop and Scientific Education Seminars 94 APPENDIX 8 - Current Concepts Conferences 96 APPENDIX 9 - Life Fellows and Medallion Recipients 97 APPENDIX 10 - David Curnow Plenary Lecturers and Roman Travelling Lecturers 98 APPENDIX 11 - Board of Examiners 99 2 PREFACE “Scientific societies and associations have played Clinical Biochemistry is a human endeavour, which combines the rigours of key roles in the development of science and its experimental science with the vagaries of clinical medicine, and is a field shared applications since the seventeenth century. They by many in medical and laboratory practice. The fact that the pioneers described have stimulated scientific research and disseminated in the pages of this monograph were able to attain pre-eminence in this field as its results. Where a body of scientific principles has well as build the Association warrants the respect of all those of us who seek to had a direct application in, and impact on, daily life, follow their example. professional associations have codified its practice and provided standards of training and competence for its I am proud to be President of the organisation, which was built by so many practitioners, to the public benefit”. (Professor Donald remarkable people. I congratulate Peter Dennis for the time and effort he has W Moss Preface to The First Forty Years Broughton P, expended on the behalf of all those who have continued to make the AACB what Lines J. ACB Venture Publications, London. 1996). it is today. Just as with the genesis of the Association of Clinical Biochemists above, the AACB was founded forty years ago with the same lofty ideals to follow the finest intellectual traditions of science. Thus the journey began which is detailed in this book. Our forefathers had the problems of distance, small population and difficulty with communications. These Tony Badrick difficulties were overcome with typical Australian ingenuity and good humour. AACB President ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author is grateful to many present and past members of the Association for their helpful suggestions and criticisms: Nick Balazs Ron Bowyer Bob Conyers Laurie Coulston David Curnow Ian Farrance John Mackenzie Sandor Nagy Frank Neale David Rothfield Ken Sikaris The author is especially indebted to Drs Meg Breidahl and William Riley for reviewing the original manuscript. For providing advice, documents and reference material, the author is indebted to the following:- Basil Dunn, Lloyd Penberthy, Andrew St John, Les Watkinson, Andrew Wootton and John Galligan. I am also indebted to Tony Prior, Executive Officer, AACB, and Ceri Alder, as well as the AACB office staff for their willing support. I am especially indebted to Nicole and Michael Godfrey for wordprocessing and technical assistance. 4 1 INTRODUCTION The Australian Association of Clinical Biochemists ( AACB) was founded in May 1961 during an ANZAAS Congress in Brisbane. Following amalgamation between the Australian and New Zealand Associations in 1991, the new body was renamed Australasian. The formation of the Australian Association had been the product of a long series of discussions and informal meetings across Australia in the 1950s. The New Zealand Association formed later (1968) and did not unite with its Australian cousin for twenty-three years following intermittent discussions. The fi rst 21 years in the History of the Australian Association have been previously documented by Professor David Curnow, Dr Bill Riley and Dr. Ron Bowyer, and published by the Association. Their account has been reproduced in full (Appendix 1, p62) with the authors’ willing agreement. It encapsulates the main events in that period as observed by three outstanding Fellows of the Council : 1962-1963. Front row from left: Dr Frank Neale, Dr J O’ Hagan, Dr E Newfi eld, Dr D Watson. Rear: Dr S Alexander, Mr K Steele, Dr D Curnow, Association who were “there” and who have all played a major role throughout and Dr V Roman (Centre) this time. The foundation and subsequent rapid growth of the Association occurred certifi cation of laboratory personnel are all transforming the practice of clinical in parallel with the development of clinical biochemistry across Australia biochemistry. and globally. This phenomenon was largely due to the introduction of rapid, automated methods of microanalysis and the emergence of clinical biochemistry A major restructuring of the AACB announced in 2002, has been designed as a major discipline in clinical pathology. to invigorate Council, improve the effectiveness of the Association in all its activities, particularly in continuing professional development, scientifi c projects In the latter part of the twentieth century, advances in immunochemistry, and plans for the registration of medical scientists. The Association now is a information technology and molecular biology have added new dimensions to very different organisation from that formed in 1961 but over the last forty years clinical biochemistry. Commercial and legislative factors such as laboratory it has endeavoured to uphold the ideals and aims laid down by its visionary accreditation, privatisation of public hospital laboratories, mergers of many founders. The next forty years will undoubtedly present the AACB with even small laboratories, the requirement for continuing education and imminently, the greater and more complex challenges. 5 2 AN AUSTRALASIAN ASSOCIATION: The Merger with New Zealand “Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments.” from Sonnet 116, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Foundation and early years The New Zealand Association ( NZACB) was formed at a meeting in Wellington “not to recommend the inclusion on 25 October 1968 convened by Dr Frank Sims ( Auckland). This association of New Zealand in the title of the originated partly as a splinter group from the NZ Association of Medical Laboratory Association (Australian) particularly Technology which had been created primarily to improve salary and conditions with regard to possible future for hospital scientists working in medical laboratories. From the outset, the approaches to the Australian membership included several medical graduates, clinical pathologists or medical Commonwealth Government for trainees working in this fi eld. fi nancial support.” Possibly as an afterthought it was recommended The fi rst offi ce bearers elected were: “that a New Zealand member be coopted to Council”. Dr Frank Sims President Mr John Dunkley (NZ) declined to accept this invitation Secretary Mr Max Abernethy on the grounds of costs and travel Treasurer Miss M. Robbins among other factors. The inclusion Councillors Dr Frank Sims, Miss J. Mattingley, Mrs. D. Hinton of a representative on Council would have to wait until 1993, when All of these offi ce bearers were also members of the AACB. The anticipated Dr Charles Small, from Auckland total membership (60) was slightly exceeded by the actual membership of 70. was appointed to the reconstituted Drs Charles Small, and Lindsay Wyndham Australasian body. Soon after this event, in 1968, Dr Sims wrote to Dr Robert Edwards, Federal Secretary of the AACB indicating that “in NZ it was hoped that every member of It was reported in the AACB Newsletter that “the NZ Association in its second year the New Zealand Group of Clinical Biochemists would become a member of the had a membership of 60”, and that the NZACB was “accepted by the Department AACB”, an aim not realised until 1993. of Health.” The principal of leave with pay and travel grants within, but not beyond NZ had been established. The NZACB and NZIMLT joint negotiating committee Membership of the NZACB was open to “all persons with an interest in clinical would be meeting with the Health Department on conditions of employment. biochemistry”, ie. not restricted to graduates. Prior to these events at the fi rst meeting of the AACB Council (25.02.62) it had been resolved 6 Early Cooperation Tentative Moves In January 1968, the New Zealand Association organised a joint meeting with the Later in 1977 Joan Mattingley, President of the NZACB attended the Council Australian Association in Christchurch in conjunction also with the 40th Congress meeting and reported that the NZ Department of Health favoured the acquisition of ANZAAS (the Australian and New Zealand Association for the advancement of Australian qualifications and would support a number of scientists to visit of Science). This successful event was the first national meeting of the NZACB, Australia for this purpose. The Chairman of the Board of Examiners suggested at which 23 scientific papers were presented, many in the field of endocrinology that it would be preferable for candidates to come to the ASM and the examinations reflecting the fact that this meeting also included the New Zealand Endocrine in Australia rather than examiners travelling to New Zealand. Society.