- The first documented successful use of penicillin as a therapy was carried out in Sheffield by Cecil George Paine, in 1930, whilst working at the Royal Infirmary
- Paine, who was appointed as a lecturer at Sheffield Medical School in 1932, successfully treated an eye infection in two babies and a miner with a crude filtrate from a penicillin-producing mould supplied by his former lecturer, Alexander Fleming, at St Mary's Hospital Medical School in London
- It's commonly known that Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928. However, Cecil Paine's success in Sheffield arguably paved the way for the therapeutic use of the drug which has gone on to save more than 82 million lives worldwide
- A plaque honouring Paine is being installed at the University of Sheffield's Jessop Building, a former Victorian hospital
A forgotten chapter in one of medicine's greatest discoveries is being celebrated, as Sheffield honours the doctor scientist who paved the way for the therapeutic use of penicillin.
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928, but it was researchers at the University of Sheffield who first documented successful use of penicillin as a therapy to treat human infections - a breakthrough that is estimated to have saved 82 million lives worldwide.
A plaque is now being installed at the University of Sheffield's Jessop Building, a former Victorian hospital in honour of Cecil George Paine, a member of the University of Sheffield's Pathology Department, who carried out the first documented topical application of unpurified penicillin in 1930.
The pathologist, who took up an academic post at the University of Sheffield in 1932, made a little-known piece of medical history when he successfully applied an early form of penicillin to treat the eye infections of two babies and a miner.
The mould from which the penicillin was derived was given to Paine by Alexander Fleming, who had been Paine's lecturer at St Mary's Hospital Medical School in London.
Fleming published details of his fundamental discovery of penicillin as an antibacterial agent in 1928, but its therapeutic potential had not yet been pursued.
Paine, shared his findings of successfully using penicillin to treat infection with Fleming and Howard Florey, Professor of Pathology at Sheffield Medical School from 1932 to 1935.
Along with a team from Oxford, Sir Howard Florey then went on to purify penicillin, conducting the first clinical trial of the drug in 1941.
Others, including Flemming, tried to use penicillin prior to Paine with little evidence of success.
Paine did not publish the research, or maintain clear records, which means his work could have been lost had it not been publicised in the 1980s.
Sheila Francis, Professor of Cardiovascular Biology at the University of Sheffield, said: "Cecil Paine's contribution to one of the world's most important medical discoveries is little-known, but his pioneering work helped pave the way for a treatment that has saved millions of lives around the globe.
"We honour and commemorate his life and remarkable achievements in the city where he lived.
"Paine's work is part of the University of Sheffield's proud tradition of making discoveries that transform lives."
