Who is Ian Frazer?
Ian Frazer is a Scottish-born Australian immunologist who co-developed the vaccine against human papillomavirus, or HPV, which helps prevent cervical cancer. He was named Australian of the Year in 2006.
Frazer was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1953 and moved to Australia in the early 1980s. He worked at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, where he researched viruses and the immune system.
Working with Chinese virologist Jian Zhou, Frazer developed a way to create virus-like particles that mimic the outer shell of HPV. These particles trigger the immune system without causing infection.
Gardasil and Cervarix
The technology was licensed to pharmaceutical companies and became the basis for the HPV vaccines Gardasil and Cervarix, approved from 2006. Australia was one of the first countries to introduce a national HPV vaccination program for schoolgirls in 2007, later extended to boys.
Since the vaccine's introduction, rates of HPV infection and cervical precancers have fallen dramatically in Australia. Experts predict that Australia could become one of the first countries to effectively eliminate cervical cancer.
Jian Zhou died in 1999, before the vaccine was released. Frazer has continued researching vaccines for other diseases, including skin cancer, and has received many international awards for his work.
Did You Know?
Frazer's research was carried out at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and University of Queensland.