Louis Landau interview, 20 September 2012

Louis Landau interview, 20 September 2012

Medicine

In 1984 Louis Landau became Professor of Paediatrics at UWA and from 1996 he was Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University. During the interview he speaks of the growth at the university in the department of medicine that he helped to develop during his 20 year involvement at the university. He looks at the important people associated with the development of the department and includes his impressions of Bill Madonald and Fiona Stanley among others.
Louis was also helped to establish two of Perth’s most significant medical research institutes – the Telethon Institute of Child Health Research (TICHR) and WA Institute of Medical Research (WAIMR).
A specialist in the field of paediatrics, he is the founding chair of the Institute for Child Health Research. Louis talks of his work and research in the department of paediatrics at the Princess Margaret Hospital.
Landau is a champion of research and teaching and has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his work in paediatrics and respiratory medicine.

Landau, Louis

University of Western Australia Historical Society

Copyright holder University of Western Australia

MP3 files

Oral History

John Bannister

Louis Landau

Interview 1: 41 minutes, 42 seconds
Interview 2: 47 minutes, 12 seconds
Total: 1 hour, 28 minutes, 54 seconds

128 kbs

Interview 1

00:00:00 Louis Isaac Landau Background Melbourne 1942. Origins of study in Melbourne. Psychiatry. Paediatrics. Children’s Hospital Melbourne. Howard Williams asthma. Interest in paediatric respiratory medicine. Montreal. Research Melbourne and Montreal. Looking at respiratory illness in large cohort of children.
00:06:00 William McNickle study. Studying in detail in utero. Ultra sound. Recruiting mothers and studying babies to the age of 22. Sabbatical in Jerusalem and the pressurising box. Lung function in babies.
00:10:10 Importance in sabbatical for advancement. Bill Macdonald dies. Coming to Perth and applying for the chair. Mary Margaret Patricia Ryan persuades to Perth.
00:13:30 Head of paediatric and thoracic medicine in Melbourne. Bill Macdonald reputation. Princess Margaret Hospital. Jack Mann and Houghton’s winery.
00:17:15 Reputation of UWA and early career. New medical school. Professor of paediatrics and impressions of UWA in 1984. Bill Macdonald and his influence on UWA. Poor part of Princess Margaret Hospital. Assisting young children.
00:22:30 UWA and rural and wider community. Sustaining a large paediatric service. Accepting trainees in WA. Larger populations in rural community. Running the small department of 5 or 6 people. Growth and growing. Bill Macdonald and research. research and practice. Telethon child institute and funding.
00:27:00 Gustav Nossal. Looking for a director. Fiona Stanley. Support and generous to needs. Jonathan Carapetis. Development of the institute. Memories of Fiona Stanley. ‘One day she is going to do great things’. Working with her.
00:30:20 Support of the department from the university. Isolation. Princess Margaret Hospital and QEII site. Contributions of and commitment, principal players. Des Gurry, Ian Lewis, Kevin Turner, Peter Le Souef.
00:34:55 Bill Karmen. The sabbatical system. London and institute for child health and cohort studies. Bristol study. The Raine Study. Learning from sabbatical experience. Two racial groups and genetic make up. Inaccurate data.
00:40:30 Reputation and Importance of UWA. Barry Marshall. International recognition.


Interview 2

00:00:00 Memories of Des Gurry, Ian Walpole, Bill Macdonald. Athol Hockey, Pru Manners. Doctor Ian Mormon main role in hospital. Peter Le Souef and David Forbes.
00:03:30 1996 dean of the faculty of medicine. Aims and expansion. Curriculum. Moving into the future. Graduate entry course. Vary from law to science. Small range of undergraduate courses. New style of teaching. Funding simulation centre. Edith Cowan and WAAPA.
00:07:50 Government funding and commitment to rural training. Port Hedland – Kalgoorlie. Successful achievements. Rural clinical school. Satisfying development and the teaching of dentists. Increasing numbers of students. new development.
00:12:10 Training of dentistry in rural sights. isolated communities requiring dental. Child and adult health research centre. Funding and WAIMR. Increasing aging population. Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Fiona Stanley Hospital. Education and curriculum unit and developments. Teaching on the run Fiona Lake. Lectures on the program.
00:17:00 Inter campus and competition with other universities. UWA’s position. Notre Dame. Murdoch and Edith Cowan. Competing and cohesion.
00:21:30 Personal research. Lung function in babies and elder children. Anti smoking lobby. Writing papers. Research into childhood asthma and in utero. East and West German comparisons with asthma.
00:26:54 New drugs Theophylline and Ephedrine. Adrenalin. Difficulty with treatment of asthma. Ventolin and steroids. Problems with Cystic fibrosis. Methods of treatment. Pollution in child health. Allergies.
00:32:30 WA and Allergies clean environment and growth in asthma. Order of Australia medal for work in Paediatrics. Credit for others. NHMRC, AMC and other organisations. Proud of contributions. Study and training in medicine. Drugs registered.
00:39:45 ADHD is a political football. Autism spectrum disorder. The autism association. Current situation with chid health. Social and emotional issues. Pressures that children are exposed to. Suicide. Collaboration and infrastructure.
00:44:50 Direction of UWA today. Medicine and paediatrics recognised internationally recognised. Robert Smith, Fay Gale, Deryck Schreuder and Alan Robson. Robson was very supportive. Hopes for Paul Johnson.

Landau, Interview 1, Track 1
Landau, Interview 1, Track 2