Graham Liggins

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Sir Graham Collingwood "Mont" Liggins (born June 24, 1926 in Thames , † August 24, 2010 in Auckland ) was a New Zealand obstetrician and physiologist . Liggins' work contributed significantly to the understanding of the birth process and to improving the chances of survival in premature babies . Liggins is considered one of New Zealand's outstanding researchers.

Life

Liggins' father was a doctor. Graham Liggins received his education at Thames High School and the Auckland Grammar School . He graduated from the University of Otago with a degree in medicine in 1949 and graduated from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in London in 1950 with a diploma in obstetrics . Liggins first worked as a family doctor in Hamilton and earned an MD from the University of Otago in 1954 . Liggins completed the remainder of his training as a gynecologist and obstetrician in the UK . From 1959 Liggins worked as an obstetrician at the National Women's Hospital in Auckland , which later became part of the newly established Medical Faculty of the University of Auckland . In 1969 Liggins earned a Ph.D. at the University of Auckland , where he became Associate Professor and 1971 Full Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecological Endocrinology in the same year . In 1987 he retired and took over the management of the university research center for reproductive medicine . For health reasons Liggins withdrew from research in the mid-1990s.

Graham Liggins and his wife Celia († 2003) had two sons and two daughters.

Act

Liggins carried out most of his experiments on domestic sheep , some of them at the Ruakura agricultural research station . He was able to prove that the beginning of the birth process is initiated by the unborn lamb - more precisely, the effect of its pituitary gland on the production of cortisol - and not by the maternal organism. However, it was not possible to demonstrate a similar mechanism in humans. Liggins was also able to show that unborn lambs are already breathing .

The human medical procedure goes back to Liggins and the British pediatrician Ross Howie of administering corticosteroids to the mother in the event of a premature birth in order to accelerate the lung maturation of the unborn child and to prevent the newborn from breathing distress syndrome as far as possible. The chances of survival of premature babies could be dramatically improved by this method. Many of the successes of the young specialty of neonatology would not be possible without this treatment.

Liggins' other work dealt with the physiology of diving in Weddell seals . Here, too, he was particularly interested in pregnant animals and the role of cortisol.

Awards (selection)

The University of Auckland is home to the Liggins Institute , which opened in 2002 as a leading institution in biomedical and clinical research .

Fonts (selection)

literature

  • Peter D. Gluckman, Tatjana Buklijas: Sir Graham Collingwood (Mont) Liggins. June 24, 1926 - August 24, 2010. In: Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 2013 doi: 10.1098 / rsbm.2012.0039 .
  • Nic Fleming: Graham Liggins: lambs 'lungs and babies' lives. English biography in: Celebrating 75 extraordinary years. Wellcome Trust, London 2011, OCLC 748559042 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sir Graham Liggins FRS FRSNZ 1926-2010 ( Memento of May 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) at the Royal Society of New Zealand (royalsociety.org.nz); Retrieved July 8, 2013
personal data
SURNAME Liggins, Graham
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Liggins, Graham C .; Liggins, Sir Graham Collingwood; Liggins, Mont
BRIEF DESCRIPTION New Zealand obstetrician and physiologist
DATE OF BIRTH June 24, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Thames (New Zealand)
DATE OF DEATH August 24, 2010
Place of death Auckland