WEBVTT - How Did Jean Macnamara Help Vanquish Polio?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren bobebam here. Living through a global pandemic

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<v Speaker 1>will have a wealth of unintended consequences, positive and negative,

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<v Speaker 1>but one will certainly be a greater appreciation for people

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<v Speaker 1>in medical professions, from those on the front lines treating

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<v Speaker 1>patients to the researchers laboring behind the scenes seeking to

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<v Speaker 1>isolate viruses and discover vaccines, both now and in the past.

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<v Speaker 1>Dame Gene McNamara was one such hero. She witnessed and

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<v Speaker 1>made remarkable contributions in her chosen profession, medicine, principally in

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<v Speaker 1>the area of polio research and her work with patients

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<v Speaker 1>with partial or complete paralysis. McNamara was born in Victoria, Australia,

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<v Speaker 1>on April one. She was born into a family that

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<v Speaker 1>prized hard work and education, and she excelled at both.

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<v Speaker 1>McNamara attended Press Tyrian Ladies College and became the editor

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<v Speaker 1>of the school's magazine, winning the prize for General Excellence.

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<v Speaker 1>She distinguished herself at the University of Melbourne, graduating in

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<v Speaker 1>ninety two with degrees in both surgery and anatomy. She

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<v Speaker 1>went on to become a resident medical officer at the

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<v Speaker 1>Royal Melbourne Hospital. McNamara was just twenty three years old

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<v Speaker 1>when she was appointed resident at the Royal Children's Hospital

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<v Speaker 1>in May of nineteen three, where she worked until nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>It was a critical time as a horrifying disease, polio

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<v Speaker 1>myelitis also known as polio, was sweeping the globe. After

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<v Speaker 1>leaving the hospital, mcnamaro worked as a clinical assistant for

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<v Speaker 1>a children's outpatients physician and entered private practice to focus

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<v Speaker 1>on polio patients. But it was in McNamara's research where

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<v Speaker 1>she shone brightness. It was her conclusion that immune seram

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<v Speaker 1>needed to be used in polio treatment during the pre

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<v Speaker 1>paralytic stage. She published and defended her results in both

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<v Speaker 1>Australian and British journals, though it was a treatment that

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<v Speaker 1>was never widely administered. While visiting Princeton University, McNamara also

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<v Speaker 1>learned about the virus myzomatosis that infected and killed rabbits.

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<v Speaker 1>It was at her urging the Australian government held field

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<v Speaker 1>trials using the virus to eradicate millions of Australia's rabbits,

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<v Speaker 1>considered to be pests that had overpopulated the country. However,

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<v Speaker 1>it was her discovery in nineteen thirty one, along with

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<v Speaker 1>Australian virologist Sir Frank McFarlane Burnett, of more than one

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<v Speaker 1>strain of the poliovirus, that made her reputation. They're Finding

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<v Speaker 1>is credited as one of the first steps toward the

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<v Speaker 1>eventual discovery of the stock vaccine. She traveled to England

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<v Speaker 1>and North America on a Rockefeller fellowship from September of

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen thirty one to October of nineteen thirty three, even

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<v Speaker 1>meeting with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, himself a victim of polio.

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<v Speaker 1>In addition to her keen interest in curing disease, McNamara

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<v Speaker 1>sought to alleviate the pain and suffering that it left

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<v Speaker 1>in its wake. She's credited with ordering the first artificial

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<v Speaker 1>respirator or ventilator in Australia. She introduced novel approaches to

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<v Speaker 1>rehabilitation and splinting damaged limbs, most developed in conjunction with

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<v Speaker 1>conversation with patients and her own splint maker. McNamara proved

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<v Speaker 1>to be a tireless advocate for people with disabilities, long

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<v Speaker 1>before it was a widespread consideration She married a fellow physician,

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<v Speaker 1>dermatologist Joseph Connor, in thirty four, and in nineteen thirty

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<v Speaker 1>five McNamara was appointed Name Commander of the Order of

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<v Speaker 1>the British Empire for her services to the welfare of children.

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<v Speaker 1>She died of heart disease in nineteen sixty eight. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode is based on the article polio doc Gene McNamara's

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<v Speaker 1>work CRUs Viruses can be Vanquished on how stuffworks dot Com,

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