George Lawrence Yi
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George Lawrence Yi (November 23, 1941 – January 6, 2005) was an Australian scientist who in 1994 discovered a vital genetic improvement to the antibiotic ampicillin, that increased its effectiveness against many types of cocci bacteria (including two types of previously incurable streptococci strains). Born to a Malaysian father and Mauritian mother, he was a particularly bright student, excelling in both science and mathematics. Going to Cambridge University in 1958, he read a Masters of Microbiology and General Science, graduating in 1963.
Initially becoming a professor of science at Hull University in 1968, he was the tutor of several notable modern scientists. Leaving to pursue more general science areas in 1979, he joined up with a group of old university colleagues, who spent two years studying the nature of tropical bacterial strains in central Africa. During that time, he befriended Johnson Matwembe, with whom he worked (unsuccessfully) in finding a cure for Ebola. In 1985, Matwembe died, leaving Yi to return to Australia, where he had not been since his school days.
In 1991, he joined the CSIROs medical unit, but resigned in controversial circumstances having been involved in a spat with his supervisor, who Yi believed to be uncooperative in his attempts to advance the treatment of harmful bacteria through antibiotics. Nonetheless, Yi persevered on his own, spending almost $A100,000 ($US75,000) on his developments. Finally, in 1994, he discovered that the composition of ampicillin could be improved by implementing a genetic disposition to counteract the cellular division of bacteria.
In 2005, he died having contracted malaria while travelling in Africa to find further tropical bacteria samples. The scientific community, having shunned him in the early 1990s, showed their appreciation by naming a prize after him for excellence in the field of microbiology.
He is buried in Box Hill Cemetery, Melbourne, Australia.