Dr Barry Marshall: Curiosity Key to Success in Medicine

Hyderabad : When asked why Australia has multiple Nobel laureates in medicine while India has none, Nobel Laureate Dr Barry Marshall underscored the significance of curiosity-driven research in medicine.

Dr Marshall stressed the role of governmental support in fostering a scientific environment focused on problem-solving.

He was speaking at the AIG Hospitals on Saturday, highlighting his discovery of the Helicobacter pylori bacteria as the cause of peptic ulcers. Dr Marshall shared the 2005 Nobel prize in medicine with Dr Robin Warren for their work on H. Pylori.

“Surprisingly, many people did not accept this theory. To prove it, Barry infected himself by swallowing a concoction containing the bacterium. He was really ill for about two weeks, but he continued working,” Dr Nageswar Reddy, Chairman of Asian Institute of Gastroenterology and AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad, recounted, while introducing Dr Marshall.

Dr Marshall’s discovery led to a paradigm shift in the understanding of gastritis, ulcers, and potential gastric cancers. Dr Reddy added: “This discovery saved millions and loads of money on drugs that only aim to mask symptoms. H. pylori’s unique ability to penetrate cells opens doors for using the bacterium to carry drugs, potentially revolutionising treatments.”

During his visit, Dr Marshall inaugurated the H. pylori Research Centre at AIG Hospitals. Dr Reddy explained that the centre would investigate genetically unique Indian strains of H. pylori.

"Indians have developed a unique relationship with H. pylori. It’s a part of our gastric biome, and we want to understand why some strains cause illness while others coexist harmlessly. This could provide insights for the Western world,” he said.

Dr Marshall began his lecture by mentioning that even Alfred Nobel probably had H. Pylori bacteria infection, as he always complained of indigestion and poor health persisted. He said that at that time everyone had the bacteria in their stomachs and it was only in the 20th century, with better facilities, that people began to see less prevalence of it. However, still most of the world sees 50 per cent prevalence, including India. Some developing countries even higher.

Reflecting on his journey, Dr Mashall said that certain 'illusions of knowledge' existed within the medical research fraternity, hindering the search for root causes of diseases. "Everyone thought they knew ulcers were caused by stress, diet, or acid. Our research was initially dismissed, but we persisted, eventually proving our hypothesis right,” he explained.

"People also tend to mistake environmental factors, for genetic predispositions. But at times many generations of the same family, due to environmental factors like bad water supply can continue to have the same disease and this can lead to the disease being misdiagnosed as a genetic one. This was common in the 1980s before advanced genetic testing could differentiate actual genetic diseases," he added.

Published in The Lancet in 1984, their research did not immediately change clinical practice. “The medical fraternity didn’t start using antibiotics because diagnosing H. pylori was difficult, and ulcer treatment was a $3 billion industry. Everyone waited for more evidence. So we proceeded, and it took 23 years,” Dr Marshall noted.

Dr Marshall encouraged young scientists to question established assumptions. “Next time a doctor says something is due to stress, think, ‘If I can find the real cause, I could win a Nobel Prize too.’ Many diseases like inflammatory bowel disease are often attributed to stress, but stress only exacerbates, not causes, them.”

In recounting his self-experimentation, Dr Marshall humorously mentioned, “My lab tech said, ‘Dr Marshall, you’re crazy.’ And I thought, ‘There’s no other way.’”