Konzo is a neurological disease that causes irreversible paralysis of the legs, often in women and young children. It's caused by malnutrition and consumption of high levels of a cyanide compound found in the cassava plant - which happens to be a common staple food in tropical Africa.

On Monday, 28 November, Emeritus Professor Howard Bradbury passed away.

Howard worked tirelessly to translate science into effective actions to improve the lives of some of the poorest people in the world. His passion, humour and determination inspired many of us and one of his greatest wishes was to see that work to prevent konzo continue. We will do our best to honour his legacy.

Howard Bradbury followed in his father’s footsteps. “Dad was a chemist and he used to keep telling me stories about it all the time. I couldn’t understand what he said, but somehow something just rubbed off and so I always thought science would be real fun, so I just went into it. I must say I’ve enjoyed every minute."

Tackling one of tropical Africa's crippling epidemic diseases has been an interesting and demanding retirement project, as HOWARD BRADBURY AM writes. Through our work, konzo has now been prevented in 16 villages, which has involved more than 10,000 people.