Alan Mackay-Sim (16 May 1951 – 4 January 2023) was an Australian

biomedical scientist A biomedical scientist is a scientist trained in biology, particularly in the context of medical laboratory sciences or laboratory medicine. These scientists work to gain knowledge on the main principles of how the human body works and to find new w ...

specialising in

adult stem cell Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells, found throughout the body after development, that multiply by cell division to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic stem cells (from Greek σωματικóς, ...

research, and winner of the 2017

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...

. Some of his research focused on

olfactory ensheathing cells Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), also known as olfactory ensheathing glia or olfactory ensheathing glial cells, are a type of macroglia (radial glia) found in the nervous system. They are also known as olfactory Schwann cells, because they ens ...

, which are cells in the human nose that interact with the

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes th ...

to cause a sense of smell. His research into

stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...

s contributed to the treatment of

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the spi ...

injuries. The restoration of mobility to

Darek Fidyka Dariusz "Darek" Fidyka (born ) is a Polish firefighter and recovering paraplegic who became the first person in history to verifiably recover sensory and motor function after the complete severing of his spinal cord. Having been paralysed fro ...

, a Polish

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

man, used research by Mackay-Sim.

Academic and professional life

Mackay-Sim received his PhD from

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of S ...

in 1980, then subsequently studied at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

. Mackay-Sim was the director of the National Centre for Adult Stem Cell Research at

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asian s ...

before his retirement in 2015.

Personal life

Mackay-Sim was born on 16 May 1951. He grew up in

Roseville, New South Wales Roseville is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Ku-ring-gai and Willoughby. Roseville Chase is a separate ...

, the third of four brothers. He attended

North Sydney Boys High School North Sydney Boys High School (abbreviated as NSBHS) is a government-funded, single-sex, academically selective secondary day school for boys, located at Crows Nest, on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. In 2022, Nor ...

. Mackay-Sim was married, with two children. In 2015, he was diagnosed with

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, an ...

, and was treated with

stem cell transplant Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood in order to replicate inside of a patient and to produc ...

. Mackay-Sim retired in 2015, and lived in

Currimundi, Queensland Currimundi is a coastal suburb of Caloundra in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Currimundi had a population of 6,786 people. The area is noted for its diverse environment and is one of Queensland's top five ecotourism ...

. He died on 4 January 2023, at the age of 71.

Awards

* Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

, for "significant service to tertiary education, and to biomedical science", in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours. *

, 2017 * Queenslander of the Year, 2003

References

External links

Professor Alan Mackay-Sim
at

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackay-Sim, Alan 1951 births 2023 deaths People with multiple myeloma Stem cell researchers Australian medical researchers Australian of the Year Award winners Academic staff of Griffith University Macquarie University alumni Members of the Order of Australia University of Pennsylvania alumni University of Wyoming alumni People educated at North Sydney Boys High School Australian republicans