Vignette 38: Medical advancements in penicillin production

Penicillin, a life-changing antibiotic, owes much of its development to Lord Florey OM MB FRCP FRS (1898–1968) a distinguished alumnus of the University.

Howard Walter Florey graduated from the University in 1921 and then pursued his studies as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1945, along with Sir Alexander Fleming and Sir Ernst Chain, ‘for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases’. 

Lord Florey and his team of scientists at the University of Oxford, changed the course of history when they developed penicillin into a life-saving antibiotic treatment. Florey’s role in developing the world’s first antibiotic is estimated to have saved 80 million lives. 

His legacy lives on in the Florey Medical Research Foundation which bears his name and is based within the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. Through the Foundation, which raises funds for postgraduate research scholarships and early-career postdoctoral research fellowships within the medical degree, Florey’s lifetime of achievement continues to inspire University students and researchers alike.

The University of Adelaide: 150 Years of Making History.  Nurturing excellence. p.58