Ian David Gust (born 15 January 1941) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

medical researcher Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as health research, refers to the process of using scientific methods with the aim to produce knowledge about human diseases, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the promotion of ...

virologist Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, the ...

, and former science administrator. Gust's area of work is in the development of drugs and

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...

s against viral diseases and he is best known for the development of vaccines against the

Hepatitis A Hepatitis A is an infectious liver disease caused by Hepatitis A virus (HAV); it is a type of viral hepatitis. Many cases have few or no symptoms, especially in the young. The time between infection and symptoms, in those who develop them, is ...

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

. He currently serves as a non–executive company director and consultant. Gust is the son of Itzhak Gust, a prominent Jewish socialist who migrated to Australia from Poland, via Palestine, in the 1930s. His sister is the writer Amirah Inglis.

Career

After an initial

residency Residency may refer to: * Artist-in-residence, a program to sponsor the residence and work of visual artists, writers, musicians, etc. * Concert residency, a series of concerts performed at one venue * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or m ...

The Alfred Hospital The Alfred Hospital, (also known as The Alfred or Alfred Hospital) is a leading tertiary hospital in Melbourne, Victoria. It is the second oldest hospital in Victoria after Melbourne Hospital which is still operating on its original site. The ...

, Gust was appointed as a

pathology Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

registrar at the Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia; then spending two years in the United Kingdom at the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public university, public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London that specialises in public hea ...

and the

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

Regional Virus Laboratory in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Gust returned to Fairfield in 1970 and was appointed a medical virologist at the Infectious Diseases Hospital, a position he held for over twenty years. During this period, Fairfield gained a worldwide reputation for

virology Virology is the Scientific method, scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host (biology), ...

education, research and treatment. In collaboration with Allan Ferris and Stephen Locarnini at Monash University these laboratories were the first to isolate hepatitis A virus in patients. The virus laboratory was one of the first to isolate strains of the respiratory syncytial virus (the A2 strain, now a reference A group virus). In 1985, Gust was appointed as the inaugural director of the Macfarlane Burnet Centre for Medical Research, Fairfield Hospital, now commonly known as the

Burnet Institute The Burnet Institute is an Australian medical institute that combines medical research in the laboratory and the field, with public health action to address major health issues affecting disadvantaged communities in Australia, and internationall ...

, holding this position until 1991. Between 1991 and 2008, Gust served as director of research and development for the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, now listed as

CSL Limited CSL Limited is an Australian multinational specialty biotechnology company that researches, develops, manufactures, and markets products to treat and prevent serious human medical conditions. CSL's product areas include blood plasma derivative ...

, where he was closely involved in the company's successful expansion in Australia and internationally. Since his retirement, he has been a Professorial Fellow in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology in the University of Melbourne, and as a consultant to the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be List of wealthiest charitable foundations, the third largest char ...

; to

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

and the World Health Organization. A non–executive director of

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

company, Biota Holdings Limited, since 2001, Gust is also a director of Promics Pty Ltd. Gust served variously as a member of WHO expert committees on viral hepatitis (1974, 1979, 1982), biological standardisation (1992), and virus diseases (1975, 1985–1991). He has been a Director of the National Hepatitis Reference Centre (1979-1990) and between 1989 and 1992 served as the Commonwealth Chief Medical and Scientific Adviser on

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

Achievements

Gust's

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

work at the Burnet Institute is known for "...the development of vaccines against Hepatitis A and membership of the International Task Force for Hepatitis B Immunization. He established the National HIV reference laboratory and directed the National Health and Medical Research Council's special unit for AIDS virology. Since he retired in 2000, he has been director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Influenza and a member of the National Influenza Pandemic Planning Committee."

Honours and awards

In 1992, Gust was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

for service to public health, particularly in the prevention of hepatitis and AIDS.

Publications

Books

Journal articles

Gust has published 205 peer-reviewed articles listed in Scopus. The most cited are: *Gust, I.D. "Epidemiological patterns of hepatitis A in different parts of the world" (1992) ''Vaccine'', 10 (SUPPL. 1), pp. S56-S58. Cited 119 times. *Gust, I.D."Epidemiology of hepatitis B infection in the Western Pacific and South East Asia" (1996) ''Gut'', 38 (SUPPL. 2), pp. S18-S23. Cited 85 times. *Doidge, C., Gust, I., Lee, A., Buck, F., Hazell, S., Manne, U. "Therapeutic immunisation against helicobacter infection (1994) ''Lancet'', 343 (8902), pp. 914–915. Cited 80 times. *Russell, C.A., Jones, T.C., Barr, I.G., Cox, N.J., Garten, R.J., Gregory, V., Gust, I.D., Hampson, A.W., Hay, A.J., Hurt, A.C., De Jong, J.C., Kelso, A., Klimov, A.I., Kageyama, T., Komadina, N., Lapedes, A.S., Lin, Y.P., Mosterin, A., Obuchi, M., Odagiri, T., Osterhaus, A.D.M.E., Rimmelzwaan, G.F., Shaw, M.W., Skepner, E., Stohr, K., Tashiro, M., Fouchier, R.A.M., Smith, D.J. "The global circulation of seasonal influenza A (H3N2) viruses" (2008) ''Science'', 320 (5874), pp. 340–346. Cited 78 times. *Fairley, C.K., Mijch, A., Gust, I.D., Nichilson, S., Dimitrakakis, M., Lucas, C.R. "The increased risk of fatal liver disease in renal transplant patients who are hepatitis Be antigen and/or HBV DNA positive" (1991) ''Transplantation'', 52 (3), pp. 497–500. Cited 46 times.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gust, Ian 1941 births Living people People educated at Melbourne High School Alumni of the University of London Melbourne Medical School alumni Academic staff of the University of Melbourne Australian virologists Australian medical researchers Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Scientists from Melbourne Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent