Alastair Currie

Sir Alastair Robert Currie PRSE FRCPE FRCPGlas FRCP FRCPath LLD (8 October 1921 - 12 January 1994) was a Scottish pathologist, who was Professor of Pathology, at Edinburgh University, 1972–86, and then emeritus. He was eminent in the field of cancer research and humanitarian causes.

He was born on the island of Islay 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 Edinburgh University.

From 1947 he lectured in Pathology at Glasgow University. In 1959 he took a job in London with the Imperial Cancer Research Fund 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, publishing their results in 1972.

Glasgow University and Aberdeen Universities each awarded him an honorary doctorate: LLD from Glasgow and DSc from Aberdeen.

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