It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Professor Michael Alpers, long-term director of the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, emeritus Professor of International Health at Curtin University in Western Australia, and former member of the External Review Board of Swiss TPH.
Michael Alpers, an Australian medical researcher, dedicated his life to the people of Papua New Guinea with whom he worked relentlessly and passionately over more than 60 years to improve their lives by advancing local medical research.
After arriving in Papua New Guinea in 1961 as a young and curious medical doctor, Michael Alpers investigated the fatal degenerative brain disease ‘kuru’ in the Fore people in the Papua New Guinea Highlands. His sensitive understanding of local cultural practices, combined with experimental work in the lab, was key to solving the mystery around the transmission of ‘kuru’. His seminal studies culminated in the discovery of prions as infectious agents, providing essential insights to the understanding of diseases such as BSE and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease.
In the 23 years he served as the director of the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Michael Alpers also conducted pivotal studies on pneumonia and malaria and built up the institute into one of world renown.
Working closely with members of affected communities, fostering them to become researchers themselves, he practiced transdisciplinarity long before the term was coined. He established the Buttressing Coalition as a network of scientists and institutions, including Swiss TPH to strengthen the institute in Papua New Guinea. In the same way, he supported the careers of numerous young local scientists, like a rainforest tree with its buttress roots that help the tree to stand and breathe.
As a long-serving member of the External Review Board of Swiss TPH which collaborated within the frame of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, Michael Alpers provided thoughtful inputs to our research activities, contributing to how we work as an institute today. His wisdom, his humble, warm and welcoming personality, and his honest care for the people and their rights were an inspiration to many current and former colleagues at the Swiss TPH. He truly was a great teacher and mentor for many Swiss TPH staff members who – thanks to his deep knowledge and generous mind – could later have a strong impact on global public health development.
Michael Alpers died on 3rd of December, aged 90 years, after a long and fulfilling life. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. His legacy will live on in our memories, and in the way we work in partnership with communities in Papua New Guinea and elsewhere.
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