John Foxton Ross Kerr (24 January 1934 – 4 June 2024) was an Australian

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

. He was the first to describe the ultrastructural changes in

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 ...

, and could show that they differ significantly from the changes that occur in

necrosis Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. The term "necrosis" came about in the mid-19th century and is commonly attributed to German pathologist Rudolf Virchow, who i ...

, another form of

cell death Cell death is the event of a biological cell ceasing to carry out its functions. This may be the result of the natural process of old cells dying and being replaced by new ones, as in programmed cell death, or may result from factors such as di ...

. For the first time, he placed the roles of cell death in normal adult mammals, and in disease, into scientific focus.

Biography

Education

Kerr attended Sydney Church of England Grammar School (Shore School) in North Sydney, Australia, where he was head of the school in 1950. He was third in the Leaving Certificate in New South Wales. He then studied at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia. In 1955, Kerr earned a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree, and in 1957, a

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education trad ...

(MBBS) in which he graduated with First Class Honours and in top place. As a medical assistant, he worked at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. In 1964, he earned a PhD at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

Academic career

Starting in 1965, he taught pathology at the University of Queensland, and was made a professor in 1974. He became a professor

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

in 1995. Kerr, in collaboration with Andrew Wyllie and Alastair Currie, coined the term ''

'' to describe natural developmental cell death.

Death

Kerr died on 4 June 2024, at the age of 90.

Awards and honours

Kerr has received numerous awards and honours: * 1974–1992 – 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 ...

* 1993 – Bancroft Medal of the Australian Medical Association * 1995 – Fred W. Stewart Award * 1996 – Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

* 1998 – Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science * 2000 –

Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize The Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize is an annual award bestowed by the since 1952 for research in medicine. It carries a monetary prize of 120,000 Euro. The prize ceremony is traditionally held on the 14th of March, the birthday of Nob ...

* 2002 – Charles IV Prize of

Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

Notes and references

;Bibliography * * ;Notes {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, John 1934 births 2024 deaths Australian pathologists Academics from Brisbane Medical doctors from Brisbane University of Queensland Mayne Medical School alumni Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Officers of the Order of Australia University of Queensland alumni Alumni of the University of London Academic staff of the University of Queensland