Arthur McComb's work centres upon the control of plant growth by the environment. Beginning as a plant physiologist with interests in gibberellins, he now studies the detailed functioning of aquatic systems using field, laboratory and modelling techniques to examine the inter-relationships of benthic, epiphytic and planktonic plant components under conditions of increasing eutrophication. Much of the work concerns solving applied problems for government agencies, including the demise of seagrass meadows and algal nuisances in marine embayments or estuaries. As well as an extensive range of research papers and chapters for books, McComb has edited/co-authored major treatises on seagrass biology and Australian wetlands.

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Caughley' s major contributions have been to theoretical population dynamics and the methodology of studying and analysing communities of large vertebrates, particularly wild ungulates and kangaroos. Within this field he is best known for his contributions to the understanding of herbivore-vegetation dynamics in the New Zealand high country, Nepal Himalaya, southern Africa and the semi-arid rangelands of Australia. Through his seminal book the "Analysis of Vertebrate Populations" and his other publications he has had, and continues to have, a major influence on the thinking and practice in this field throughout the World. In 1990 he was appointed a Commissioner on the Resources Assessment Commission.

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He was the first to use the radioactive inert gas technique for the measurement of organ blood flow in the kidney, skin, myocardium and testes. This work became a Citation Classic. He originated chronic fetal catheterization for studying the fetus in utero allowing for the first time, assessment of the physiological, hormonal and biochemical status of the undisturbed fetus and growth-retarded fetus. Using innovative surgical techniques, he was the first to examine the control of the secretion of growth hormones in the ovine fetus, providing the framework of present knowledge on fetal endocrinology. He and his group documented the link between the development of the fetal pituitary-adrenal axis, maturation of fetal organ systems and initiation of labour. His work has led to a new, unified concept of parturition in mammals, where prostaglandins released from the placenta form the final common pathway.

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Marcello Costa has produced a great deal of imaginative work over a period of over 20 years on the autonomic innervation of the gastrointestinal system. He has pioneered numerous histochemical methods and their application to define the neuronal architecture of the enteric nervous system. His studies of the neuronal reflexes underlying the patterns of motility of the intestine and his studies of the nature of the neurotransmitters involved has led to the discovery that not only acetylcholine but also the peptide substance P are excitatory neurotransmitters in the intestine and that there are at least two inhibitory transmitters. The combination of new methods applied in an imaginative and systematic way has greatly increased our knowledge of the enteric nervous system, making it one of the best understood parts of the mammalian nervous system. Some of the interrelationships observed in this system have provided clues of the function of central nervous system neurons.

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Professor Furness is distinguished for his elucidation of the different neuronal types that control the gastro-intestinal tract. He has introduced elegant immunohistochemical techniques which have allowed for the chemical coding of virtually all the enteric neurons. In addition, he is a leading authority on the functional role of these neurons through his many contributions to the physiology of motor control in both smooth muscle as well as in mucosal secretion.

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Professor Young is one of the world's leading scientists in the field of glandular physiology and renal amino acid transport. He was the first to succeed in demonstrating, directly, the loci for electrolyte secretion in salivary glands, and in elucidating the nervous control of the secretion, work which has been of great importance in clarifying basic secretory processes in exocrine glands. He made the first micropuncture analysis of the secretory processes of the seminiferous tubules and was the first to detect the inhomogeneity of the proximal renal tubule in regard to amino acid transport. Professor Young has followed a broad approach towards epithelial transport processes investigating other glands, such as the thyroid follicle and the pancreas, and making important contributions to all of them.

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Short made outstanding contributions to knowledge of the comparative endocrinology of reproduction in domestic, laboratory and wild animals, and in humans. Initially he was concerned with development of methods for the isolation and measurement of steroid hormones in blood and tissues in different reproductive states. That led to study of control of testicular activity in seasonally breeding animals and the influence of hormones on behaviour. More recently he has investigated human reproduction with particular emphasis on the way in which lactation regulates fertility in women, and the ways in which this could be exploited in developing countries to check population growth.

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Distinguished for his many contributions to eye and brain research, particularly towards showing that the retina comprises not a single sense organ but several, each with its own class of retinal ganglion cells and distinct patterns of connections with the visual centres in the brain. In addition to his discovery and elucidation of the properties of a major new class of retinal ganglion cells, consisting of the smallest cells with the finest axons, Stone has made outstanding contributions to our understanding of the other ganglion cell classes. His work on coding in the visual pathways has completely redirected the study of the problem to a 'parallel-processing' model of information coding. More recently he has established an international reputation in the field of retinal development.

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Derek Ashworth Denton has made outstanding contributions to the physiology of body fluid homeostasis, particularly the mechanisms involved in the regulation of body sodium. His experiments have provided many new insights on sodium homeostasis, secretory processes and endocrine influences in environmental adaptation. He pioneered in the method of adrenal auto­transplantation in the sheep. Through this he was the first to elucidate in vivo the role of ionic and hormonal mechanisms (particularly the role of ACTH, angiotensin II and III) on aldosterone secretion. He was the first to show that the salt appetite of wild animals often arose in response to marked sodium deficiency and this has stimulated him to analyse the behavioural and interrelationships determining salt intake and salt appetite. He has shown that particular hormone combinations can produce strong salt appetite in pregnancy even in the presence of sodium repletion. The development of this type of behaviour pattern may be relevant to the pathogenesis of hypertension. Denton is one of the world's leading workers and thinkers in the field of body sodium control. He has provided much leadership to medical research in Australia in this important area of integrative physiology and experimental medicine.

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Professor Gunning has made distinguished contributions to the elucidation of relationships between plant structure and function. His researches on membranes, organelles, microtubules and cell walls are key contributions in the fields of cell biology and morphogenesis. With Professor J. S. Pate, he discovered transfer cells and demonstrated their function. His papers and book on intercellular communication, have yielded new understanding of nutrient transport within plants. His use of electron microscopy has itself been imaginative and innovative. His book on plant cells has provided an ordered basis for future studies. His work on how organelles, cells and whole plants are organised to perform their vital functions is an outstanding contribution to biology.

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