Related articles

• Australia's top 10 young scientists
• Stuck for a gift idea? Try a spider.
• Spiders' orb web evolved from single origin
• Spider-Man suit in development
• High-tech armour from widow spider silk?

Geoff Isbister is something of a mythbuster in his field. "Almost everything we do in treating poison patients is based on 'expert' opinion rather than really good evidence," he says. "My interest is in bringing the science back into medicine."

Isbister is renowned among his peers for challenging the legend of the flesh-eating white-tailed spider. Since the early 1980s, the spider's bite had been blamed for a severe form of skin ulceration, known as necrotic arachnidism.

Aware of the dearth of scientific data surrounding spider bites, Isbister – then a doctoral student – undertook one of the most comprehensive studies of spider bites ever conducted in Australia.

Of the 750 bites investigated, 130 were from white-tailed spiders, and none of them caused ulceration. In fact, the skin conditions had been misdiagnosed and all could be traced back to other causes, including golden staph infections and skin cancer.

Isbister is now the driving force behind a similarly ambitious study, called the Australian Snakebite Project. He's also working on dispelling medical myths about redback spider antivenom, and the management of patients with drug overdose.

In 2007, his team was recognised with the Medical Journal of Australia Wyeth Award for the best article published in the journal in 2006. Their paper tested the traditional practice of applying ice to bluebottle stings, and found immersion in hot water to be a much more effective treatment.

According to Isbister, one of the best things about his work is the opportunity to collaborate with so many different people. "Every time you come across another venomous creature you have to find out who the expert is. I love that discussion," he says.

Outside work, Isbister feeds his creativity through listening to music, and his taste reflects his approach to medicine. "I like jazz because it's not just about the music that's written," he says. "It's about exploring and playing different things. It's about experimentation."

For a full list of the winners of Cosmos Bright Sparks – the country's top 10 scientists under 40 as selected by COSMOS magazine – click here.