Sir Alastair Robert Currie (8 October 1921 – 12 January 1994) was a Scottish pathologist, who was Professor of Pathology, at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

, 1972–86, and then emeritus. He was eminent in the field of cancer research and humanitarian causes.

Life

He was born on the island of

Islay Islay ( ; , ) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll and Bute just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's cap ...

of the western Scottish coast on 8 October 1921. He was the son of John Currie and Maggie Mactaggart. He attended Port Ellen Primary School then Bowmore High School. He was then sent to the mainland to attend Glasgow High School for his final school years, from whence he studied Medicine at Glasgow University graduating MB ChB in 1944. He then studied as a postgraduate at

. From 1947, he lectured in Pathology at Glasgow University. In 1959 he took a job in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

with the

Imperial Cancer Research Fund Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and ...

as Head of Pathology, beginning a lifelong connection with cancer research. In 1962 he was offered the Regius Professor chair in Pathology at Aberdeen University. His research began to concentrate on cell death. During this he did joint research with the Australian, John Kerr, and Andrew Wyllie. They called this process ''

apoptosis Apoptosis (from ) is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms and in some eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms such as yeast. Biochemistry, Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (Morphology (biol ...

'', publishing their results in 1972. Glasgow University and Aberdeen University each awarded him an honorary doctorate: LLD from Glasgow and DSc from Aberdeen. In 1964 he was elected a member of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh. In 1964, he was also elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were George L Montgomery, James Norman Davidson, Thomas Symington and Richard H A Swain. He served as their Vice-President 1988–90 and President 1991–93 He died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 12 January 1994.

Family

In 1949 he married Jeanne Clark, whom he had met as a fellow medical student in 1942. They had three sons and two daughters. They were predeceased by one of their children.

Positions of note

*Chairman of the Medical Research Council 1976–80 *Chairman of the

Cancer Research Campaign Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

Scientific Committee 1979–83 *Vice President of the Cancer Research Campaign Scientific Committee 1988–90 *Vice Chairman of the Caledonian Research Foundation 1989–94 *Chairman of the Board of Governors, Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, in Glasgow 1984–91 *Chairman, Paterson Institute for Cancer Research,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

1990–92 *Advisor to Canada's Scientific Advisory Council 1982–88

References

1921 births 1994 deaths Presidents of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal College of Pathologists Knights Bachelor Academics of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish medical doctors 20th-century Scottish surgeons Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh {{Scotland-med-bio-stub