The Mectizan Donation Program is pleased to announce that Professor Hugh Taylor has been selected as the recipient of the 2006 Merck Mectizan Award. Professor Taylor was nominated for the award by his peers in recognition of his numerous important contributions and sustained dedication to the fight against onchocerciasis.
He was involved early on in the research for chemotherapy to control onchocerciasis. Soon after ivermectin was developed, Professor Taylor published a number of studies including a comparison of diethylcarbamazine (DEC) and ivermectin for the treatment of onchocerciasis, the effects of ivermectin on onchocerciasis transmission, the safety of community-based treatment, early adverse reactions and others.
Professor Taylor is internationally recognized as a leader in blindness prevention and research. He is currently the Ringland Anderson Professor and Head of the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Melbourne, and Managing Director of the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA).
He has published 10 books and more than 500 papers based on his research interests, which include blindness prevention strategies, infectious causes of blindness, the delivery of eye care to developing countries, and the adverse effects of UV light on the eye.
In addition to the Merck Mectizan Award, he has received a number of prestigious awards around the world. During the 2001 Queen’s Birthday Honours in Australia, Professor Taylor was made a Companion in the Order of Australia, the country’s highest civic honor, in recognition “for service to medicine in the field of ophthalmology, particularly through renowned work in the prevention of river blindness in the third world, to academia through research and education related to the prevention of eye disease, and to the development of policy on eye health in indigenous communities.” He also received the Paul Harris Award from Rotary International, the International Blindness Prevention Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Mildred Weisenfeld Award made by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology in recognition of his contribution to visual science and ophthalmology, and the Gold Medal from the International Organization against Trachoma.
Though Professor Taylor was unable to attend the 36th Mectizan Expert Committee/Albendazole Coordination (MEC/AC) meeting, where the award was announced, he is planning to accept the award at the next MEC/AC meeting.