Ronald Penny (28 December 1936 – 21 December 2019) was an Australian immunologist who made the first diagnosis of

HIV/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 ...

in Australia in 1982.

Early life

Penny was born in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in 1936, and in 1938 his

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family settled in Australia as religious refugees.

Medical career

In 1960, Penny graduated with honours from

Sydney Medical School The University of Sydney School of Medicine, also known as Sydney Medical School (SMS) is the graduate medical school of the University of Sydney. Established in 1856, it is the first medical school in Australia. In 2018, Sydney Medical School j ...

, and undertook further study in

haematology Hematology ( spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the production ...

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's Etymology, etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγ ...

and immunology in Britain and the United States. In 1967, he returned to Australia and began work at Sydney's

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a large teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School at the ...

, where he set up the first clinical immunology unit in New South Wales. Two years later, the unit was transferred to St Vincent's Hospital. In October 1982, Penny and his team at St Vincent's made the first diagnosis of

in Australia, just over a year after the first clinical reporting of the disease in the United States. In 1983, Penny conducted a survey in New South Wales to better understand the connection between the spread of AIDS, sexual behaviour, and drug usage. He used anonymization methods to protect the respondents from legal jeopardy based on their responses. In addition to identifying sources of primary HIV infection, Penny also worked to address the community and public health aspects of the epidemic, from debunking misconceptions about the transmission of HIV and the resulting discrimination against

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

men, and adjusting community behaviour to better control transmission such as

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped Barrier contraception, barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both external condo ...

use and safer

intravenous drug Drug injection is a method of introducing a drug into the bloodstream via a hollow hypodermic needle, which is pierced through the skin into the body (usually intravenously, but also at an intramuscular or subcutaneous, location). Intravenous ...

use.

Awards and honours

In the

1993 Queen's Birthday Honours The 1993 Queen's Birthday honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's b ...

, Penny was made 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 ...

(AO) for "service to medical research and education particularly in the field of clinical immunology".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Penny, Ron 1936 births 2019 deaths Australian immunologists HIV/AIDS researchers Officers of the Order of Australia Sydney Medical School alumni University of New South Wales alumni Academic staff of the University of New South Wales Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Polish emigrants to Australia Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent Australian Jews