Professor Justin Yerbury

What are your memories of Oak Flats High School - what subjects you enjoyed or hated, any highlights or funny stories?

'My favourite part of high school was lunch times when I could get outside and play basketball with other students from different year groups. Mr Delaite was my basketball coach from year 7 to year 12 and he is my most memorable teacher. He was a great teacher and coach and he even played with us in a basketball competition in Kiama. I would not have played for the Hawks without him because he challenged and extended my basketball skills.

Pictured, Justin Yerbury, No 10, with the Oak Flats High School Senior Basketball team and Mr Delaite, 1989. 

I always enjoyed sport and P.E and other practical subjects such as Woodwork the most at high school. I also liked maths. I found English very difficult as writing essays and reading were not easy for me.

A funny story happened when I took my friend from Edmund Rice College one day in Year 12 to OFHS with me. We told the teachers he was a Swedish Exchange student and he couldn’t speak English. He went to all my classes and no-one realised that he was actually from Dapto. It was so funny because the only OFHS people who knew the truth were me and my friend from the year below. We didn’t tell any other students all day and we never told anyone afterwards either.'

Justin played competition soccer and basketball. 'I also played cricket with the Lee brothers.' 

The best thing that happened to Justin at high school was 'I broke the record for the under 12s high jump at the school Athletics carnival in Year 7. I think it was for around 1.5m and I still hold that record.'

What was the job you wanted to do at the end of Year 10 and at the end of year 12? 'At the end of year 10, I wanted to be an electrician. At the end of year 12, I wanted to play professional basketball. I did my work experience with an electrician in Oak Flats.'

Today Professor Yerbury continues with his valuable work. 'I am a research Scientist at the University of Wollongong, within the Health and Medical Research Institute, also known as IHMRI. I study a disease called Motor Neuron Disease which is also known as MND. I study this disease because it is in my family and my mother, sister, grandmother and many of my Aunties and cousins have died from it.

My title is “Professor of Neurodegenerative Diseases”. I oversee a team of 17 people who are PhD graduates, research assistants and students. These people work on different projects which are all aimed at understanding Motor Neuron Disease. They do experiments in the lab and look at proteins in the motor neurone cells which don’t work properly when someone has the disease. One day I hope the work we are doing will help to find a cure for the disease because there isn’t any cure or even any treatments.

I have motor neuron disease too so I don’t do experiments in the lab anymore because I am totally paralysed. I am in a wheelchair and I am on life support all the time. I can type with my eye movements so I mainly write reports about the work we do and also apply for more money to keep doing our work. It takes me a long time to type but I feel like there is a purpose and meaning in my life.'

Is there anything you would have done differently at school if you had your time over again?' 'I would have studied more and I would have had more confidence in my abilities.'

What has been your driving force to do so well? 'The driving force in my life has been my love of my family and my determination to search for a cure for motor neuron disease.'

Do you still live locally or have you moved away? 'I have lived with my wife in Wollongong since 1995. I still live in the same house. I like living in Wollongong because its not too busy or crowded and we have amazing nature- bush, lake and beach.'

What do you enjoy most about life? 'I love and enjoy being with my family and seeing them grow up and achieve their goals.'

Asked for his top three tips for our students the former Oak Flats High School Student provided these:

1. There is life after school- how you achieve in school doesn’t determine the rest of your life.
2. If you are driven and motivated enough you can achieve whatever you want to in your life. Choose goals in your life that are meaningful for you or you are passionate about- not what you think you should do or what other people think you should do. If you feel there is a reason or a purpose to your life, you will be much happier, satisfied and motivated. 
3. Relationships are the most important thing in your life, so make sure you are kind and respectful to everyone you are in a relationship with, that could be a friendship or a family relationship. 

In 2022 Dr Justin Yerbury won the prestigious Eureka Prize for his scientific research into Motor Neuron Disease. The Eureka Prize is Australia’s most comprehensive national science award. He was also awarded the award for Excellence in Medical Biological Sciences in the 2022 NSW Premier's Prizes for Science and Engineering. We are very proud to count Professor Justin Yerbury as an Oak Flats High School alumni.