The candidate has made major contributions to tropical medicine through studies carried out from a base in the national research institution of a tropical disease-endemic country. He designed and carried out these studies in the course of building up the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR) from a dying institution to one of world renown. His major scientific achievements include seminal studies on the natural history and epidemiology of kuru; work which led to the first successful transmission of kuru to chimpanzees; and pivotal studies on pneumonia and malaria using the facilities of the PNGIMR for direct field investigations.