Melbourne /Glas Slovenije/
Avstralija podeljuje vsako leto
priznanja - Order of Australia - najzaslužnejšim Avstralcem. Na praznik
rojstnega dne angleške kraljice Elizabete II je letos prejelo to priznanje
276 moških in 129 žensk. Med njimi je tudi naša rojakinja, specialistka
biokemije Jožica Paddle Ledinek. Priznanje ji je bilo dodeljeno za zasluge
pri medicinskih znanstvenih raziskavah - vzgoji nove človeške kože po opeklinah
- ter za njeno delo v avstralski in slovenski skupnosti.
Fotografija: Dragica Bošnjak-Delo
Ljubljana 
Joanne Elizabeth Paddle - Ledinek,
AM
Member of the Order of Australia,
honoured on Queens Birthday 1999 for the service to the medical science
- the only honour of this kind given to a Slovenian in Australia
The Slovenians in Australia, especially
in Victoria, we are very proud of you, Jožica and we believe your work
and your contribution to the human kind is immense.
As a biochemist at the Monash Medical
school you realized that your interests lay in tissue culture and the treatment
of burns. In 1989 you expanded your knowledge and qualifications with the
visiting Professor Howard Green at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts,
USA.
Following your return to Australia
you established the skin culture technique in the tissue culture laboratory
at Monash Medical Centre, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne.
Jožica, you are still the only person
in Australia who has succeeded in reliably growing human skin grafts on
demand. Your skill and perseverance have made it possible to save lives
of many burns victims, children as well as adults, who prior to your technique
and skills, and your perseverance, and the care of the Burns Unit teams,
had no chance of survival.
Now there is an increased possibility
of saving a burns victims life because a very small sample of his or her
own skin, as small as the size of a postage stamp, can be used to grow
square metres of cultured skin for grafting. In the laboratory the tissue
is grown under special conditions and your continuous care. You accompany
the skin to the hospital (in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Launceston or
Adelaide) where the patient receives in stages, up to 2 square metres of
his own new skin. You prepare this skin on-site and you are always present,
at the time of laying on of the skin.
In many cases, especially when children
are burns victims, some cultured skin cells are kept frozen in liquid nitrogen,
at the Monash Medical School Laboratory, to provide a basis for further
skin culture growth, since more skin grafts or perhaps cosmetic surgery
may be required in the future to aid patients recovery. The human skin
is unique to each person - it is the only human organ which can not be
transplanted from a donor, except from the identical twin.
Jožica, you can adapt your techniques
and experience to growing other cell types for surgical purposes such as
for the victims of melanoma, the deadly skin cancer.
The tissue you cultivate, saved
lives of many children and adults, and many times your work is referred
to as the the Cultivation of Hope (Gojenje upanja, title of an article
by Katarina Mahnič in Delo, Ljubljana 1997).
You have attended conferences and
discussions overseas to further expand your knowledge and expertise, adding
to the depth of your understanding.
You never forget to acknowledge
and praise the dedication and enthusiasm of your colleagues, and the surgical
work team.
Jožica, you have given free talks
and slide presentation about your pioneering work in our, Slovenian community
at the Religious and Cultural Centre of ss Cyril and Methodius, Kew, and
at Slovenian Association Melbourne, as well as professional presentations
at the international conferences, among them in Ljubljana, Slovenia, organized
by the World Slovenian Congress. You have been invited to other countries
to share your expertise and knowledge - to help even more people.
At Monash Medical School, Department
of Surgery, a seminar room bears your name in recognition of your dedication
and excellence of your work. 
Many international newspapers and
magazines have published articles explaining your work to the readers and
your work has been presented on television.
For many years you have taught
Slovenian language as a language instructor for the Saturday School of
Modern Languages on Year 11 and Year 12 Levels.
Jožica, you are a loving and proud
Slovenian mother, mother of two children, Paul and Alenka, who are very
talented. Your husband Brian supports you in your work and in respecting
your Slovenian heritage.
Paul and Alenka participated since
they were very little, and have on many occasion enriched cultural programs
with their talents in classical music, well spoken Slovenian language,
singing and dancing.
Congratualtions, Jožica on your
honour: AM - Member of the Order of Australia for the work in medical science.
Draga Gelt, OAM
Z
"novo" kožo rešuje življenja
Melbourne
O Jožici Paddle Ledinek, sicer Mariborčanki, zdaj že dolga leta Melbournčanki,
o ženi, materi in znanstvenici, je bilo napisanega že veliko. Jožica dela
v centru za laboratorijsko vzgajanje človeške kože, (z njo nadomestijo
kožo po opeklinah) v melbournškem Alfred Hospitalu. Omenjena bolnišnica
oskrbuje z umetno gojeno kožo vse avstralske centre od Darwina, do Brisbana,
Pertha, Sydneya, Adelaide in drugih krajev. Jožicino znanstveno in za prizadete
z opeklinami tako zelo humano delo je bilo pred kratkim nagrajeno: v Alfred
Hospital so odrpli novi center za opekline, seminarsko sobo so poimenovali
po Jožici "J.E.PADDLE LEDINEK SEMINAR ROOM".
