- Email: [email protected]
Peter Harris
OBITUARY
Obituary
Peter Harris Cardiologist, biomedical scientist, and mentor. The first British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiology in the UK, at London University (1966–88), he built a centre of excellence in research into the origins and treatment of heart disease. Director of the Institute of Cardiology, London, UK (1966–73) and President of the International Society for Heart Research (1981–83). Born May 26, 1923, in London, UK; died, aged 79 years, in London, UK, on Dec 11, 2002.
eter Harris was an influential international statesman in cardiology. He was at the forefront of the revolution in biomedical research that started more than 40 years ago and paved the way for radical new treatments that are now taken for granted in most branches of medicine. A science scholar at King’s College, London, UK, Harris trained in medicine at Kings College Hospital, qualifying in 1946. During house appointments at King’s and the Brompton Hospital, he obtained his MD in 1951, winning the university gold medal and a PhD in 1955. That was followed by a 2-year Nuffield Fellowship at the Bellevue Hospital and Columbia University, New York, USA. On his return to the UK, he was appointed lecturer, in 1957, and reader in medicine, in 1962, at Birmingham University. His career, which was dedicated to exploring the cardiovascular system and the origins of heart disease, can be viewed as three chapters. During the 1950s and early 1960s, he was in the mainstream of research, and used established methods of haemodynamic measurements to explore cardiac output and pulmonary blood flow and the metabolism of the heart muscle. In the process, he compiled an immense body of knowledge that was the basis for The Human Pulmonary Circulation, the first of his definitive texts, coauthored with Donald Heath, a colleague then at Birmingham. He maintained that since so many of the methods of garnering cardiovascular data in research into the circulation and valve disease had passed into routine clinical investigations, the catheter laboratory should be supported by the National Health Service rather than be a drain on university funds. The argument was also a signal to the second stage of his career when his research into the heart muscle turned to experiments at the cellular and molecular level. His view that a better understanding of heart disease probably lay in a more intimate knowledge of the physiology and biochemistry of abnormalities of the heart muscle coincided, in 1966, with a decision of the British Heart Foundation to create its first chair in cardiology. Harris was given the chance to follow his vision when he was appointed the first Simon Marks Professor of Cardiology at the Cardiothoracic Institute and Director of the Institute of Cardiology, in the University of London.
P
Pearce Wright e-mail: [email protected]
THE LANCET • Vol 361 • April 5, 2003 • www.thelancet.com
Initially there were some shortcomings; his brave new world consisted of one room with a secretary and technician. But the fortunes of the unit improved, with support from the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust, and at new premises on Wimpole Street it became a magnet for a formidable team of scientists working on the underlying biochemistry and physiology of heart disease. Today’s holder of the Simon Marks Chair of Cardiology, professor Philip Poole-Wilson, says that as well as developing his own interests in heart disease, Harris trained and encouraged many scientists and clinical cardiologists who now hold leading posts around the world. In 1970, Harris organised a meeting of the European section of an international study group for research in cardiac metabolism, which resulted in the publication of one of the most influential works on cardiology: Calcium and the Heart. The study group was also the forerunner of the International Society of Heart Research, which, in 1986, created the prestigious Peter Harris Award for Achievement in Research. The third element to Harris’s career involved his fascination with the evolution of the cardiovascular and related systems, and love of travel. In a series of essays in 1983, he traced the way that the origins of clinical heart failure might lie in ancient reflexes. And expeditions to the Andes and Himalayas raised questions in his mind about the long-term adaptation of llamas, yaks, other animals, and people to their environment. His study of the right ventricle of the heart and the blood flow to the lungs of yaks showed they had adapted genetically to high altitude by eliminating the vasoconstrictor response due to reduction of oxygen; and a study of crossbreeds, the dzo and stols, revealed that this characteristic was inherited as a simple autosomal dominant. In 1988, Harris described a new disease in man at altitude occurring widely in Tibet, subacute infantile mountain sickness. It affected infants born at low altitude and brought to live in a place higher up. He believed the syndrome illustrated his view of the evolutionary processes involved in the development of the circulation to promote the survival of the species. Away from the laboratory he was a talented musician and artist, and he showed a leaning toward satirical writing. His wife Francesca survives him.
1231
For personal use. Only reproduce with permission from The Lancet Publishing Group.
Obituary
Peter Harris Cardiologist, biomedical scientist, and mentor. The first British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiology in the UK, at London University (1966–88), he built a centre of excellence in research into the origins and treatment of heart disease. Director of the Institute of Cardiology, London, UK (1966–73) and President of the International Society for Heart Research (1981–83). Born May 26, 1923, in London, UK; died, aged 79 years, in London, UK, on Dec 11, 2002.
eter Harris was an influential international statesman in cardiology. He was at the forefront of the revolution in biomedical research that started more than 40 years ago and paved the way for radical new treatments that are now taken for granted in most branches of medicine. A science scholar at King’s College, London, UK, Harris trained in medicine at Kings College Hospital, qualifying in 1946. During house appointments at King’s and the Brompton Hospital, he obtained his MD in 1951, winning the university gold medal and a PhD in 1955. That was followed by a 2-year Nuffield Fellowship at the Bellevue Hospital and Columbia University, New York, USA. On his return to the UK, he was appointed lecturer, in 1957, and reader in medicine, in 1962, at Birmingham University. His career, which was dedicated to exploring the cardiovascular system and the origins of heart disease, can be viewed as three chapters. During the 1950s and early 1960s, he was in the mainstream of research, and used established methods of haemodynamic measurements to explore cardiac output and pulmonary blood flow and the metabolism of the heart muscle. In the process, he compiled an immense body of knowledge that was the basis for The Human Pulmonary Circulation, the first of his definitive texts, coauthored with Donald Heath, a colleague then at Birmingham. He maintained that since so many of the methods of garnering cardiovascular data in research into the circulation and valve disease had passed into routine clinical investigations, the catheter laboratory should be supported by the National Health Service rather than be a drain on university funds. The argument was also a signal to the second stage of his career when his research into the heart muscle turned to experiments at the cellular and molecular level. His view that a better understanding of heart disease probably lay in a more intimate knowledge of the physiology and biochemistry of abnormalities of the heart muscle coincided, in 1966, with a decision of the British Heart Foundation to create its first chair in cardiology. Harris was given the chance to follow his vision when he was appointed the first Simon Marks Professor of Cardiology at the Cardiothoracic Institute and Director of the Institute of Cardiology, in the University of London.
P
Pearce Wright e-mail: [email protected]
THE LANCET • Vol 361 • April 5, 2003 • www.thelancet.com
Initially there were some shortcomings; his brave new world consisted of one room with a secretary and technician. But the fortunes of the unit improved, with support from the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust, and at new premises on Wimpole Street it became a magnet for a formidable team of scientists working on the underlying biochemistry and physiology of heart disease. Today’s holder of the Simon Marks Chair of Cardiology, professor Philip Poole-Wilson, says that as well as developing his own interests in heart disease, Harris trained and encouraged many scientists and clinical cardiologists who now hold leading posts around the world. In 1970, Harris organised a meeting of the European section of an international study group for research in cardiac metabolism, which resulted in the publication of one of the most influential works on cardiology: Calcium and the Heart. The study group was also the forerunner of the International Society of Heart Research, which, in 1986, created the prestigious Peter Harris Award for Achievement in Research. The third element to Harris’s career involved his fascination with the evolution of the cardiovascular and related systems, and love of travel. In a series of essays in 1983, he traced the way that the origins of clinical heart failure might lie in ancient reflexes. And expeditions to the Andes and Himalayas raised questions in his mind about the long-term adaptation of llamas, yaks, other animals, and people to their environment. His study of the right ventricle of the heart and the blood flow to the lungs of yaks showed they had adapted genetically to high altitude by eliminating the vasoconstrictor response due to reduction of oxygen; and a study of crossbreeds, the dzo and stols, revealed that this characteristic was inherited as a simple autosomal dominant. In 1988, Harris described a new disease in man at altitude occurring widely in Tibet, subacute infantile mountain sickness. It affected infants born at low altitude and brought to live in a place higher up. He believed the syndrome illustrated his view of the evolutionary processes involved in the development of the circulation to promote the survival of the species. Away from the laboratory he was a talented musician and artist, and he showed a leaning toward satirical writing. His wife Francesca survives him.
1231
For personal use. Only reproduce with permission from The Lancet Publishing Group.