The University of Otago Global Health Institute leadership group member and tropical medicine researcher has been awarded the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene’s Chalmers Medal - one of the international science community’s highest honours.
But he could not attend the awards ceremony in Liverpool, England, earlier this week, so now he was waiting for the medal to arrive in the mail.
The medal is awarded to one person annually, and Prof Crump is the first New Zealander to be awarded it.
He joins a renowned group of past recipients, including a Nobel Prize laureate who developed the yellow fever vaccine.
Prof Crump received the medal for his work which has made major contributions to understanding non-malaria fever in poorer countries, and his work mentoring many early career researchers in low and middle-income countries.
He said it was a great honour.
"The list of recipients over almost a century includes many heroes in tropical medicine and global health, also mirroring developments and progress in my field over a period of great change.
"I’m very grateful to my collaborators in Tanzania, Myanmar and elsewhere who have made this work possible.
"It’s an honour to be counted among them."
He said the award was great encouragement for him to do more in the field and he hoped it would inspire young New Zealand scientists to follow in his footsteps.
He had worked in the field for more than 25 years.
He trained in both infectious diseases and medical microbiology in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia and the United States, and worked for a decade in Tanzania where he continued a partnership with local researchers.
He said it was important to pay attention to health problems beyond our own country.
"Most global health problems cannot be solved by countries working in isolation."
Prof Crump was nominated for the award by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine communicable diseases Prof David Mabey, who said his research had changed the way that scientists study and think about fever in the tropics.
"Since fever is the fundamental clinical problem in our field, his work touches millions of patients needing healthcare in poorly resourced areas every day.
"While making major contributions to scientific advancement in our field, John has also helped develop the careers of many early career scientists in the countries he collaborates with."
