A Curious Life

Description

From the slums and religious indoctrination of northern England to front-line research institutions worldwide, stem cell pioneer Robert Tindle's relentless curiosity led him to a remarkable career in fields as disparate as evolutionary biology and immunotherapy for cancer. From years of field work on the Galapagos Islands to pioneering breakthroughs in biomedical research in Australia and the United Kingdom, this book, conveys the excitement of scientific discovery and chronicles how his own discoveries were used to save the life of his daughter. A testament to the relentless expansion of scientific knowledge, and what this means for humankind's perception of its identity in the cosmos, this book captures an incredible journey of discovery and the deeply personal implications of progress.

Author description

Robert Tindle was born in Northumberland (UK). He studied natural sciences at Reading University (UK), and obtained a PhD(University of London) and a research fellowship in immunology at the Institute of Cancer Research (Royal Marsden Hospital)in 1969.Shortly after, he spent five years in the Galapagos Islands, first as a naturalist guide, and later as resident scientist at the Charles Darwin Research Station, supported by the World Wildlife Fund.Returning to medical research at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research (Glasgow) in the late 1970s, he used novelmonoclonal antibody technology to define the human blood stem cell and classify some leukaemias. After three years asDirector of Research at a UK biotechnology company (SeraLab), he moved to a new research group at the Princess AlexandraHospital (Brisbane, Australia), investigating the immunology of human papillomavirus and its role in cervical cancer. Hewas appointed Deputy Director, later Director, of the Sir Albert Saksewski Virus Research Centre and the Centre for ClinicalMedical Virology at the Royal Children's Hospital (Brisbane) in 1996, from which he retired in 2010.He is presently Emeritus Professor (Immunology) in the Faculty of Science at The University of Queensland, and AdjunctProfessor at the Queensland University of Technology. He has 252 authored about 80 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals.He advises on research grant funding at various universities and hospitals, and has consulted for the biomedical industry. He is a governing member of the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands.He lives in Brisbane, Australia with his wife and colleague, psychologist Dr Elizabeth Tindle. They have two children.

Table of contents

Acknowledgements vPreface viiPart 1 Chapter 1 Formative Years In the beginning ... Tyneside and early doubts 3Chapter 2 The Chester Beatty ...the journey begins 15Part 2 Chapter 3 Galapagos The archipelago ... and Elizabeth 29Chapter 4 They can't go home again ... the flightless cormorant and Fernandina Island 41Chapter 5 Puerto Ayora and a new Galapageno 67Chapter 6 A journey into the night ... the Galapagos flamingo 79Part 3 Chapter 7 Glasgow and Glasnost What you achieve may not be what you set out to achieve 105Chapter 8 Congressus Internationalis Ornithologicus 125Part 4 Chapter 9 Viruses and Vaccines You've got a virus 139 Chapter 10 Human papillomavirus and cervical cancer 149Chapter 11 A next-generation vaccines lab 167Chapter 12 The intangible rewards 181Part 5 Chapter 13 Pragmatically Speaking... Whither religion? 195Part 6 Chapter 14 Making a Difference Stem cells to the rescue 219Glossary 225 Endnotes 229Bibliography 239Index 245About the Author 251