Graeme, who on 25 April 2020 died aged 78, was born in Adelaide on August 20, 1941.
Graeme graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science (Hons) degree in 1964, and gained a PhD from the John Curtain School of Medical Research at the Australian National University in 1969. He then joined CSIRO as a research scientist and veterinarian, embarking on a 34-year research career in nutrition with CSIRO’s Division of Nutritional Biochemistry, which later became the Division of Human Nutrition. Much of Graeme’s research related to the interrelationship of nutrition with disease and health, reflecting his ongoing interest in pathophysiology and commitment to improving the health of humankind.
Graeme was a passionate scientist and undertook experimental research in a number of areas: calcium metabolism, iodine and brain development, dietary strategies for the prevention of heart disease (including omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil and vitamin E), and dietary prevention of colorectal cancer (including development of a rodent model as well as intervention trials in humans). His most recent research interests centered on the role of cereal and grain legume dietary fibers, legumes (pulses) and dairy proteins in modulating risk of degenerative diseases, colorectal cancer in particular, and in elucidating the underlying biological mechanisms of disease. He was committed to scientific integrity and objectivity – principles that came through in every aspect of his own work and interactions with others.
Graeme was a passionate advocate of nutrition science and was a generous mentor to the many students and staff with whom he worked and who have gone on to become highly successful scientists. After ‘retiring’ from CSIRO in 2003, he remained actively engaged in science, taking on various roles, including a CSIRO Retirement Fellowship and an Adjunct Professorship of Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Flinders University.
Graeme was an active member of the Nutrition Society of Australia, joining in 1978 and being elected as an Honorary Fellow in 2008 in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the scientific study of nutrition and its applications to human health. Graeme was also an associate editor to the Journal Nutrition and Cancer.
On a personal note and reflecting his view that there was more to life than scientific endeavor, Graeme had an active passion for music and a fine singing voice. In the early 1970s Graeme won a television contest to find South Australia’s best singer which he subsequently won. Music was always a constant in Graeme’s life singing for 8 years with the Corinthian Singers of Adelaide and was always an active singer at his local Church.
Graeme will be sadly missed by his et al., friends and especially his family. He is the loved husband of Helen, father of Anna, Jamie (deceased) and Hugh.
Complied by Dr. Damien Belobrajdic and Dr. Richard Le Leu (both past Ph.D. students of Graeme McIntosh) with Prof. Graeme P. Young (a close et al., for three decades).