University Medical Center Research Prof. Barry Marshall was awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine over the weekend, making him the first current University faculty member to receive the honor.
With the help of Australian physician Robert Warren, Marshall discovered that the Helicobacter pylori bacterium causes peptic ulcer disease. He then devised a method to detect the colonization of pylori and designed an antibiotic regiment that would eradicate the bacteria.
All of Marshall's discoveries have markedly reduced the prevalence of peptic ulcer disease, Medical Prof. Robert Carey said.
"It is a great thrill to be recognized in this way, and it is fitting that a lot of the credit for the dissemination of the new discovery goes to faculty at U.Va.," Marshall said in a Medical School statement.
Initially, Marshall's theory went against the beliefs of the medical community, according to Medical Prof. David Peura, who also is president of the American Gastroenterological Association. He said Marshall's ability to question the medical community made his discovery revolutionary.
"His persistence is what drove this discovery," Peura said. "He was very young and he was still in training. As a young physician, he went against the medical community."
Marshall's work has changed the understanding of ulcers and gastrointestinal diseases, which is unprecedented considering he was a clinician and not a researcher, Peura said.
Likewise, Carey said he credits Marshall's accomplishments to both his determination and his ideas.
"He works hard, but mainly it's his thinking, which is very different from most people's thinking," Carey said. "He's willing to take risks."
Previously, the University has had two Nobel Prize winners, Alfred G. Gilman, who received the award in 1994 for his work with G proteins, and Ferid Murad, who was awarded in 1998 for his study of nitric oxide and its ability to dilate blood vessels, Carey said.
Marshall, however, is the only Nobel Prize recipient to remain a University faculty member, and he will accept the Nobel Prize on behalf of the University and the University of Western Australia, where he began his research.
Carey said he thinks Marshall's award will draw positive attention to the Medical School.
"Whenever you have a Nobel Prize recipient, it does call attention to the institution," Carey said. "I think it will probably assist us in recruiting and possibly in our national presence."
Marshall could not be reached for comment by press time yesterday.
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