Professor Geoffrey Warren Hanks DSc(Med), (1946-2013), also known as Geoff, was a British

palliative care Palliative care (from Latin root "to cloak") is an interdisciplinary medical care-giving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating or reducing suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Man ...

specialist. Hanks was born in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, India, on 19 February 1946, the son of Kate, a housewife, and Frederick Condict Hanks, an accountant. He attended

Hackney Downs School Hackney Downs School was an 11–16 boys, community comprehensive secondary school in Lower Clapton, Greater London, England. It was established in 1876 and closed in 1995. It has been replaced by the Mossbourne Community Academy. History ...

, then studied medicine at University College Hospital Medical School, qualifying in 1970. After working at

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lo ...

Nottingham General Hospital Nottingham General Hospital was a major hospital in Nottingham, England. It was founded in 1781 and closed in 1992. History The hospital was the result of a legacy from John Key, a wealthy banker, who had left money in his will for hospitals t ...

, in the pharmaceutical industry, and at the Oxford Regional Pain Unit, he was made Consultant Physician in charge of the Palliative Care Units at the Royal Marsden Hospitals London and Surrey, and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Medicine at the

Institute of Cancer Research The Institute of Cancer Research (the ICR) is a public research institute and a member institution of the University of London in London, United Kingdom, specialising in oncology. It was founded in 1909 as a research department of the Royal Ma ...

from 1983 to 1991. He was also a Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in the Department of Clinical Pharmacology at

St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, commonly known as Barts or BL, is a medical and dental school in London, England. The school is part of Queen Mary University of London, a constituent college of the federal University of L ...

from 1986 to 1991. He was then Sainsbury Professor of Palliative Medicine — the first ever chair of palliative medicine — at the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guys and St Thomas' Hospitals from 1991 until 1993, where he took over the country's oldest palliative care department from Thelma Bates. In 1993, he was appointed Professor of Palliative Medicine at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

, becoming Emeritus there upon retirement in 2006. He was also a Professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine and Cancer Research at the

Norwegian University of Science and Technology The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Norway and the largest in terms of enrollment. The university's headquarters is located in Trondheim (city), Trondheim, with region ...

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

. He served as Honorary President of the

European Association for Palliative Care European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

and as a vice-president of

Macmillan Cancer Support Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, an ...

. He was senior editor of the '' Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine'', founding editor of the '' European Journal of Palliative Care'', and editor-in-chief of the journal '' Palliative Medicine'' from 2002 to 2012. He was a

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

(FRCP), a

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that set the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by royal charter i ...

(FRCPE), and a Fellow of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, (FFPM). He died on 27 June 2013.

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* 1946 births Scientists from Bengaluru 2013 deaths Place of death missing 20th-century British medical doctors British academic journal editors People educated at Hackney Downs School Physicians of the Royal Marsden Hospital {{UK-med-bio-stub