Associate Professor Julian White is a graduate of the Medical School of the University of Adelaide, from where he also gained his M.D. for "Studies in Clinical Toxinology in South Australia". He has a keen interest in Australia's native animals, especially reptiles and spiders, since migrating to Australia from the U.K. in 1964. He has kept most species of dangerous Australian snakes and many species of spider and has undertaken fieldwork collectingreptiles and spiders in most states of Australia, but in recent years has given up such hobbies because of the damandsof his work in clinical toxinology. For the last 11 years he has been State clinical toxinologist for South Australia, a unique position created for him in acknowledgement of his work treating snakebites, spiderbites and other bites and stings over the previous 15 years, and his work in venom research, particularly the coagulation effects of Australian snake venoms. This latter study is ongoing, and was commenced during the 6 years he worked in the Haematology Department of the Women's and Children's Hospital. He has provided a clinical service of advice on treatment of bites and stings in S.A. for more than 20 years, and has personally treated hundreds of cases.

He has an international reputation in toxinology, being a member of the International Society on Toxinology (IST) since 1982, including Australian Councillor for the Asia Pacific Section of the IST and Vice President of the Asia Pacific Association of Medical Toxicology and is currently on the Editorial Board of Toxicon. He has been a major contributor to the World Health Organisation/ International Programme on Chemical Safety INTOX Project and has written 8 of the Poisons Information Monographs for that project, covering venomous snakes and spiders. He is author of numerous scientific papers and book chapters on a variety of aspects of toxinology, both clinical and research. He was the medical editor of the first international textbook on clinical toxinology which was published in 1995 by American publisher CRC Press. He is a frequent lecturer on toxinology at international meetings around the world, and is Associate Professor in Toxinology at Adelaide University and the University of South Australia.

Over the last 5 years he has developed an international training course in clinical toxinology, based in Australia, which draws students from around the globe, further strengthening Australia's position in this field.

Associate Professor White became a consultant to CSL Ltd in 1994 to provide advice on the use of CSL antivenoms. His services are thus available to doctors throughout Australia, courtesy of CSL Ltd.

Acknowledgements: The author thanks his colleagues past and present at CSL Ltd for their support of this project, particularly Peter Hobbs, Russell Slater and Georgie Taylor; Bart Currie and John Williamson for helpful criticism of the original manuscript; Queensland Surf Life Saving for permission to use some illustrations; the many colleagues who have shared clinical cases with the author over the years.