Professor Michael Alpers during his field work (Image: UNSW Kirby Institute)

Gregory Leech & Kylee Andersen, WA

On a bright sunny morning, a memorial service took place in the spacious West Chapel at Fremantle Cemetery, Western Australia, for a truly pioneering scientist and compassionate humanitarian, Professor Michael Alpers AO, CSM, FRS, FAA. The chapel was filled with friends, esteemed colleagues and loving family members. Tributes intertwined with anecdotes sparked reflection, gestures of agreement and much laughter.

Professor Alpers was recognised not only as a world-leading medical researcher but also as a talented anthropologist, as well as an enthusiast and patron of literature, poetry, music, graphic arts, and more. His life was truly well lived, leaving behind a significant legacy.

Among the approximately 100 attendees were a dozen individuals from Papua New Guinea, including Dame Meg Taylor, a PNG diplomat known for breaking glass ceilings, and Dr Igitava Yoviga, a mentee of Professor Alpers and the current Director of the PNG Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR). Professor Fiona Stanley, whose family has had deep ties to medical services in PNG, since the early 1900s, also shared a few words:

Professor Alpers, Emeritus Professor of International Health at Curtin University where he had been since 1999, was one of the best among us. He was Director of the PNGIMR from 1977 to 2000, making him their second and longest-serving Director.

Whilst at the PNGIMR, Professor Alpers established major research programs on the four major health problems, viz Pneumonia, Malaria, Malnutrition and Enteric Diseases.

He is renowned for his groundbreaking research on Kuru, a disease that affected only people in the Okapa District of Eastern Highlands Province. He was deeply committed to the communities with whom he worked, immersing himself in the lives of the Fore people and earning their trust and respect while unravelling the mysteries of Kuru.

Professor Alpers was a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, the Australian Academy of Science and the Third World Academy of Science. He was appointed an Officer of Order of Australia (AO) in 2005 and in 2008 was awarded Companion of the Papua New Guinean Star of Melanesia (CSM)—an award of which he was immensely proud.

In 2020 Professor Alpers received the Australian & New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science medal for his extraordinary impact on medical research.

At The Kids Research Institute Australia, which has had a longstanding collaborative relationship with the PNGIMR, Professor Alpers again mentored and inspired researchers and teachers alike. 

In 2020 Professor Alpers and his partner, Honorary Emeritus Fellow at The Kids, Associate Professor Deborah Lehmann AO, initiated the STARS program (Supporting Training of Aboriginal Researchers & Staff) to build on the strengths and lived experiences of Aboriginal staff, students and researchers across The Kids.

Both highly regarded for their extensive work with PNG communities, Professors Alpers and Lehmann recognised the transformative power that a strong Aboriginal research community has on engaging the community and sustaining health outcomes.

As the founding donors, their inspirational and generous gift launched this important campaign which continues to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers and staff at The Kids.

Our deepest condolences to Professor Alpers’ family.