Justin John Yerbury (3 May 1974 – 28 July 2023) was an Australian
molecular biologist who was spurred to follow a career in
biological
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary in ...
research when he discovered his family has the genetic form of
motor neurone disease (MND). He held the position of Professor in
Neurodegenerative Disease at the
University of Wollongong. He was diagnosed with MND himself in 2016, but continued to research until his death from the disease in 2023.
Education and career
Yerbury grew up in
Wollongong,
New South Wales, where he attended Oak Flats High School in the southern suburb of
Oak Flats. He graduated in 1991.
By his own admission, Yerbury "was not much of a scientist at school."
He studied for a Bachelor of Commerce and helped to run the family business.
In
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
, Yerbury played two games for the
Illawarra Hawks in the
National Basketball League (NBL).
In the late 1990s members of Yerbury's extended family were diagnosed and died from motor neurone disease, also known as
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...
(ALS) or
Lou Gehrig's disease. Ninety to ninety-five per cent of cases are considered sporadic, occurring randomly in the population. The remaining 5–10% of cases are familial (genetic) with one parent carrying the gene. Mutations of more than twelve genes have been found to cause the disease. Using genealogical information, Yerbury traced suspected cases of motor neuron disease in his family to at least 1920 and possibly further back.
[ He was prompted to return to university studies to further understand the disease.
In 2004 Yerbury obtained a BSc with 1st class honours from the University of Wollongong.]Australian Research Council
The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...
(ARC) International Linkage Fellow at the University of Cambridge, UK. Yerbury became a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award ( DECRA) Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Wollongong in 2012. He spent the rest of his life studying the disease which affects around 2000 Australians, alongside his team at the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), based at the University of Wollongong.
Personal life and death
Yerbury first knew of MND when his uncle was diagnosed in 1994. A cousin was diagnosed and died in 1997; he was 21 years old. During six-week period in 2002 his mother, grandmother and aunt died. Fifty per cent of Yerbury's family carry a faulty ''SOD1'' gene. His youngest sister died from MND at 26 years old. Yerbury and his sister, Naomi, were tested for the gene; Naomi was clear but Yerbury's test was positive.[
Yerbury was diagnosed with MND in 2016.][ His condition stabilised at first but he later required around-the-clock care and had a ventilator to allow him to breathe. He was initially denied a suitable wheelchair and house modifications under the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), sparking an online ]crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
campaign. After coming to the attention of Federal Labor MP Sharon Bird
Sharon Leah Bird (''née'' Reed, born 15 November 1962) is a former Australian politician. Sharon Bird served as an Australian Labor Party (ALP) member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Cunningham in New S ...
, he was provided with an appropriate wheelchair and some home modifications under the scheme.[ Yerbury highlighted the difficulties MND patients encounter with the NDIS in an article in The Conversation in November 2018.
In January 2018 Yerbury's condition deteriorated significantly and he underwent a tracheostomy necessitating mandatory ventilation. To further facilitate his life support he also had a laryngectomy which made him unable to speak. He then began to communicate by lip reading and using voice software coordinated by eye-gaze on his laptop computer.][ After this surgery Yerbury spent six months in hospital recovering with complications. In November 2018 he had returned home and began attending his office two days a week to continue his research.
In April 2017 Yerbury met Stephen Hawking, a world-famous physicist and cosmologist who had MND for over fifty years until his death in 2018. They discussed living with the disease and Yerbury's research.]
Research
Yerbury researched potential effective treatments for MND. His research interests included: protein misfolding, aggregation and neurodegenerative disease, protein aggregation and neuro-inflammation and the Propagation of protein misfolding, and protein homeostasis and Motor Neurone Disease.[ His team has studied single molecules of protein, grow cells. He was active in sharing his research not only with the academic community but also with those with MND and their families.
Yerbury had 55 research articles listed in PubMed and over 100 in Google Scholar in addition to many conference and other presentations.
]
Awards
* The Australian Society for Medical Research Young Investigator Award, 2004[
* Bill Gole Postdoctoral MND Research Fellowship, 2009][
* Vice Chancellor's Emerging Researcher of the Year award, 2011
* Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function Young Investigator Prize, 2012
* MND Australia Betty Laidlaw MND Research Prize for 2017]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yerbury, Justin
1974 births
2023 deaths
Australian men's basketball players
Australian biologists
Academic staff of the University of Wollongong
Illawarra Hawks players
Members of the Order of Australia
deaths from motor neuron disease
Neurological disease deaths in New South Wales
Scientists with disabilities
People from Wollongong