Struan Sutherland

Struan Keith Sutherland AO (17 June 193611 January 2002) was an Australian medical researcher who developed effective antivenoms and other treatments for people bitten or stung by venomous Australian wildlife.

Early life Sutherland was born in Sydney and grew up in Bendigo, Victoria. He studied medicine at the University of Melbourne, graduating in 1960, and served in the Royal Australian Navy from 1962 to 1965. Sutherland earned a Doctor of Science doctorate. replacing treatments such as tourniquets that were often harmful to the patient.

The death in January 1979 of 31/32-year-old Christine Sturges from a Sydney funnel-web spider bite prompted Sutherland to look for funnel-web spider antivenom. Many previous researchers had failed to develop such an antivenom, but Sutherland persevered. In January 1980, two-year-old James Cully was bitten by a Sydney funnel-web spider and died three days later. This was the 13th recorded victim of Sydney funnel-web spider bites. Later that year, Sutherland's team produced an effective antivenom; The antivenom had its first success when it was used to treat a 49-year-old Sydney man, Gordon Wheatley, who was bitten by a Sydney funnel-web spider on 31 January 1981. He completely recovered after 2 days in hospital.

Dr Sutherland also led research into snakebite treatment, working on antivenoms and developing venom detection kits to help hospital staff determine appropriate treatment for a bite.

Later years In 1994, CSL was privatised and the antivenom research program was closed, prompting Sutherland to leave the organisation for the University of Melbourne. Here he founded the Australian Venom Research Unit, where he worked until 1999 when striatonigral degeneration, a condition similar to Parkinson's disease, forced him to retire. Even in retirement he continued to work, co-authoring three books,

Honours

In the Australia Day honours of 2002, two weeks after his death, Sutherland was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), effective from 7 February 2000, for "service to science as a leading contributor to research in clinical toxicology and the biology of Australia's venomous creatures, and for the development of the funnel web spider antivenom".