Graham Liggins

Sir Graham Liggins CBE FRS FRSNZ
Error creating thumbnail: File missing Portrait by Bruce Jarvis
Born	Graham Collingwood Liggins (1926-06-24)24 June 1926 Thames, New Zealand
Died	24 August 2010(2010-08-24) (aged 84)
Known for	Obstetrics

Sir Graham Collingwood "Mont" Liggins CBE FRS FRSNZ (24 June 1926 – 24 August 2010) was a New Zealand medical scientist. A specialist in obstetrical research, he is best known for his pioneering use of hormone injections (antenatal steroids) in 1972 to accelerate the lung growth of premature babies. This made it possible for many preterm babies with lung problems to survive.

Early life and education

Liggins was born in 1926 in Thames; his father was a doctor. He attended Thames High School and Auckland Grammar School. He graduated with his medical degree from the University of Otago in 1949 and a Diploma in Obstetrics from the RCOG in London the following year. In 1969 he graduated with a PhD at the University of Auckland. His doctoral thesis was titled The Role of the foetal adrenal glands in the mechanism of initiation of parturition in the ewe.

Career

Liggins worked as an obstetrician at National Women's Hospital in Auckland from the late 1950s where he carried out research into the reduction of death rates of premature babies.

In 1971 he took up a chair as professor of obstetrics and gynaecological endocrinology at the University of Auckland. In 1972, following a trial of pre-natal corticosteroids, he published his study which established that hormone treatment could improve lung development and prevent respiratory distress syndrome in premature babies.

Honours and awards

Liggins was awarded the Polar Medal for Antarctic research in 1980. In the 1983 Queen's Birthday Honours, Liggins was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to medical research. He was made a Knight Bachelor, also for services to medical research, in the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Death and legacy

Liggins died on 24 August 2010, aged 84, following a long illness. The Liggins Institute, founded by Peter Gluckman, was named in his honour. Gluckman described Liggins as New Zealand's greatest ever medical scientist and said he "showed the importance of serendipity in clinical science, and the importance of moving rapidly to application."