Sir Graham Collingwood "Mont" Liggins (24 June 192624 August 2010) was a New Zealand

medical Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

. A specialist in obstetrical research, he is best known for his pioneering use of

hormone A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of cell signaling, signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs or tissues by complex biological processes to regulate physio ...

injections ( antenatal steroids) in 1972 to accelerate the lung growth of

premature babies Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is betwee ...

. This made it possible for many preterm babies with lung problems to survive. Liggins was educated at the University of Auckland obtaining a PhD in 1969. His doctoral thesis was titled ''The Role of the foetal adrenal glands in the mechanism of initiation of parturition in the ewe''. He carried out research into the reduction of death rates of premature babies at National Women's Hospital in Auckland. In the 1983 Queen's Birthday Honours, Liggins was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for services to medical research. He was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

, also for services to medical research, in the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours. The Liggins Institute was named in his honour. Liggins died on 24 August 2010, aged 84, following a long illness.Sir Graham Liggins FRS FRSNZ 1926 – 2010

References

1926 births 2010 deaths New Zealand fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand New Zealand Knights Bachelor New Zealand obstetricians Place of death missing People from Thames, New Zealand New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand medical researchers 20th-century New Zealand scientists {{NewZealand-med-bio-stub