Events

The Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet Annual Address.

In 2013 the Order of Australia Association Gippsland Regional Group organised a gala public function to be known as the Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet Annual Address. The purpose of the event was to recognise Australia’s most celebrated Nobel Prize for Medicine awardee and perpetuate his memory.

The event is held in Traralgon on a Wednesday evening on a date in October that is a close as possible to the 20th, being the anniversary date of the award of the Nobel Prize.

Macfarlane Burnet was born in Traralgon where he spent his important formative years developing an intense lifelong interest in all things biological. His lifetime work to bring a healthier life to the world’s populations led to the near eradication of some dreadful diseases including Polio and Tuberculosis.

The concept of the gala event is for the annual address to be given by a very distinguished leader in the health research sector, in a dinner setting and delivered in “layman’s terms”, so that the average person gains an in-depth understanding of what is being discussed.

Fortunately, due to the generous support of several Gippsland based companies, the cost of the event has been significantly reduced and remains within reach of a wide range of Gippsland residents.

Making new discoveries in science and medicine requires strong commitment, a ‘prepared’ and creative mind striving for excellence.  Sir Frank Macfarlane-Burnet arguably the greatest Australian Medical Scientist clearly excelled and was awarded the Nobel Prize for his outstanding work in Medicine in 1960. Sir Frank (or ‘Mac’) was also the inaugural ‘Australian of the Year’ in 1960.

Since the initial Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet address in 2013, there have been an array of eminent speakers who have come to Traralgon as guests of the Order of Australia Association, Gippsland Regional Group and delivered addresses on a wide range of medical research topics ranging from the development of the ‘bionic eye’ to harnessing the immune system to fight cancer.

2022 Address – Professor Nathan Lawrentschuk, MBBS, PhD, FRACS

“REDUCING THE IMPACT OF PROSTATE CANCER IN MEN“
Professor Nathan Lawrentschuk MBBS PhD FRACS is a trained Urologist specialising
in Urological Cancer Surgery. He is a clinical and research Professor at the University of
Melbourne, Department of Surgery and is Director of Urology at the Royal
Melbourne Hospital.
Nathan is the founding Director of the EJ Whitten Prostate Cancer Research Centre at
Epworth Healthcare; he also has an appointment as a consultant uro-oncologist at the
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
After medical school at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Nathan completed his basic
surgical training at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and then lectured as an Anatomy
Demonstrator at Monash University and Stanford University (USA). He then undertook
Urology training through the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons whilst also pursuing
a PhD investigating hypoxia in kidney cancer jointly through the University of Melbourne
and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. A formal two-year Society of Urologic
Oncology Fellowship was then completed through the University of Toronto, Princess
Margaret Hospital in Canada where he developed his expertise in prostate, kidney
bladder, testicular and penile cancer whilst also being trained in Robotic Surgery and laser
prostatectomy.
Nathan has a special interest in cancer high-risk surgery of the prostate,
kidney, bladder, and testis as well as being comfortable with active surveillance of many
cancers where appropriate.
Nathan is involved at many levels to progress cancer research. He is an Associate Editor of
the BJUI and Editor of the Australian and New Zealand Supplement for the BJUI and he
has over 500 peer-reviewed full journal article publications and nineteen book chapters
and reviews for over thirty scientific journals as well as serving on multiple Editorial Board
of international journals including Nature Reviews Urology.  In addition to his public
positions at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre he has a
private practice in Nth Melbourne and Epworth Freemasons, East Melbourne.
A. Prof Nathan LawrentschukProfessor Nathan Lawrentschuk, MBBS, PhD, FRACS

Links to download the Poster and Booking Form

Booking Form      (Word Document)

Booking Form      (PDF Document)

Poster_A4

Please RSVP by Wednesday 12th October 2022
Please forward this booking form to PO Box 906 Traralgon 3844 or email
secretary@orderofaustraliagippsland.org
For further information contact Helen Holley 0409 982 205

 

Previous speakers to date:

  • 2013 – Professor Jeffrey Rosenfeld AC OBE, CStJ
  • 2014 – Professor Ian Gust AO MD
  • 2015 – Professor Brendan Crabb AC
  • 2016 – Associate Professor Irina Caminschi PhD
  • 2017 – Professor Douglas Hilton AO
  • 2018 – Associate Professor Seth Masters BSC PhD
  • 2019 – Professor Margaret Hellard AM. MBBS, FRACP, PhD, FAFPHM
  • 2020 – Postponed
  • 2021 – Postponed
  • 2022 – Professor Nathan Lawrentschuk, MBBS, PhD, FRACS