Marcello Costa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 9 January 1940 Turin, Italy |
| Died | 14 April 2024 (aged 84) Adelaide, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian and Italian |
| Known for | Scientific basis of medicine |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Professor of Neurophysiology |
| Field | Neurophysiology |
| Institutions | |
| Research | role of neurons in controlling gut functions |
| Website | flinders.edu.au/people/marcello.costa |
Marcello Costa AO (9 January 1940 – 14 April 2024) was an Italian-born Australian medical researcher, academic, and public health advocate. He specialized in the structure and functions of the enteric nervous system. He taught in Turin, Melbourne, and Helsinki before moving to Adelaide in 1975 where he was a foundation lecturer at the Flinders Medical School, building the new discipline of neuroscience at the college.[1] He worked at Flinders University, where he held the title of Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor of Neurophysiology in the Department of Physiology from 2013 until his retirement in 2021.
He co-founded the Australian Neuroscience Society, the South Australian Neuroscience Institute (SANI) and the Friends of Science in Medicine (FSM). He was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal and the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award by the Federation of Neurogastroenterology and Motility Societies, and in 2020 he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia.