Solomon Faine (17 August 1926 – 4 February 2021) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

-born microbiologist known for his research on

leptospirosis Leptospirosis is a blood infection caused by the bacteria ''Leptospira''. Signs and symptoms can range from none to mild (headaches, muscle pains, and fevers) to severe ( bleeding in the lungs or meningitis). Weil's disease, the acute, severe ...

. With Dr.

Leopold Kirschner Leopold Kirschner (born 12 May 1889, died 23 November 1970) was an Austro-Hungarian, Dutch, and New Zealand bacteriologist specializing in leptospirosis. He is known for his work on the survival of ''Leptospira'' spp in the environment, research on ...

, Faine made early epidemiologic descriptions of leptospirosis as an occupational disease of dairy farmers in New Zealand. The intermediate ''

Leptospira ''Leptospira'' ( grc, leptos, italics=yes, 'fine, thin' and la, spira, links=no, 'coil') is a genus of spirochaete bacteria, including a small number of pathogenic and saprophytic species. ''Leptospira'' was first observed in 1907 in kidney t ...

'' species '' Leptospira fainei'' is named in his honor.

Early life and education

Faine was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 17 August 1926. He graduated BMedSci in 1946 and MB ChB in 1949 from

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

. He obtained his DPhil from

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1955 on the virulence of ''Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae''. He received his MD on virulence in ''

'' from the

Medical School in 1958 in the Microbiology Unit with Dr.

. He was a Fellow of the

Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia, more commonly known by its acronym RCPA is a medical organization that promotes the science and practice of pathology. The RCPA is a leading organisation representing pathologists and other sen ...

(FRCPA).

Career and research

Faine's academic career at the

started as Assistant Lecturer in Bacteriology, a position that he held from 1950-52. In 1953 he was promoted to Lecturer and then to Lecturer in Microbiology, remaining at the

until 1958. In 1959 he was appointed Senior Lecturer in Bacteriology,

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, and in 1963 was promoted to Associate Professor of Clinical Bacteriology,

, a position that he held until 1967. In 1968 he was appointed Professor of Microbiology and Chair, Department of Microbiology,

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

, Melbourne, Australia. He held this position until 1991, and in 1992 was made Emeritus Professor,

until his death in 2021.

Awards and honors

Faine was awarded the Peter Bancroft Prize for Research, University of Sydney, 1965. In 1998 Perolat and colleagues named the intermediate ''

'' species '' Leptospira fainei'' for Dr. Faine.

Publications

Solomon Faine
publications indexed by

PubMed PubMed is a free search engine accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health maintain the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faine, Solomon University of Otago faculty University of Otago alumni Monash University faculty University of Sydney faculty 1926 births New Zealand microbiologists New Zealand bacteriologists Alumni of the University of Oxford New Zealand expatriates in the United Kingdom 2021 deaths