Stem-cell research pioneer Alan Mackay-Sim dies at 71

Former Australian of the Year and stem-cell research pioneer Professor Alan Mackay-Sim has died, aged 71.

Alan Mackay-Sim. Picture: Kym Smith

Former Australian of the Year and stem-cell research pioneer Professor Alan Mackay-Sim has died, aged 71.

He was best known as the scientist who led the world’s first human clinical trial using transplanted nasal cells into the spinal cords of three paraplegic patients.

In 1987, Professor Mackay-Sim came to Griffith University with a research focus on the regenerative olfactory ensheathing cells found in the nose,

Twenty years on, his research led to a successful human trial in Brisbane when his team proved that transplanting therapeutic nasal cells into the spinal cord was possible and safe.

As a result of his groundbreaking research, Professor Mackay-Sim was named Queenslander of the Year in 2003, Australian of the Year in 2017, and in 2021, he was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia, for “significant service to tertiary education, and to biomedical science”.

In 2017, Professor Mackay-Sim told the ABC why he began his research.

“The passion right from the start is how we can use this to help people, I mean this is a basic driver in me,” he said.

Throughout his career, Professor Mackay-Sim met some big names including actor and quadriplegic Christopher Reeve, and late Pope Benedict XVI after the Catholic Church donated $50,000 towards his work to encourage alternatives to research on embryonic stem cells.

Aside from his research, he also had an affinity for extreme sports, according to colleague Dr Alex Cristino.

“Alan was a contemporary ‘Renaissance’ man who embraced all knowledge and devoted his professional life to science but was also a passionate cyclist and daring hang glider in his early days,” he said.

Head of the Clem Jones Centre for Neurobiology and Stem Cell Research, Professor James St John, who collaborated for many years with Professor Mackay-Sim said he will be remembered as a trailblazer and an exceptional mentor.

“He was a trailblazer in the fields of neurological diseases and stem cell research who leaves an outstanding legacy and one in which I will be very proud and honoured to carry on,” he said in a statement.

He was director of the National Centre for Adult Stem Cell Research at Griffith University, where he worked from 1987 until his retirement in 2015.