John Kerr (pathologist) explained

John Foxton Ross Kerr
Birth Date:	24 January 1934
Birth Place:	Sydney, Australia
Nationality:	Australian
Fields:	Pathology
Alma Mater:	University of Queensland (BSc, MBBS) University of London (PhD)
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John Foxton Ross Kerr (24 January 1934 – 4 June 2024)^[1] was an Australian pathologist. He was the first to describe the ultrastructural changes in apoptosis, and could show that they differ significantly from the changes that occur in necrosis, another form of cell death. For the first time, he placed the roles of cell death in normal adult mammals, and in disease, into scientific focus.^[2]

Biography

Education

Kerr studied at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. In 1955, Kerr earned a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree, and in 1957, a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). As a medical assistant, he worked at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. In 1964, he earned a PhD at the University of London.

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 in 1995.

Kerr, in collaboration with Andrew Wyllie and Alastair Currie, coined the term apoptosis to describe natural developmental cell death.^[3]

Awards and honours

Kerr has received numerous awards and honours:

1974–1992 – Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians
1993 – Bancroft Medal of the Australian Medical Association
1995 – Fred W. Stewart Award
1996 – Officer of the Order of Australia^[4]
1998 – Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science^[5]
2000 – Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize^[6]
2002 – Charles IV Prize of Charles University in Prague^[7]

Notes and references

Bibliography

8772792 . John Foxton Ross Kerr, M.B., PH.D., recipient of the 1995 Fred W. Stewart Award. . Sternberg . S. S. . . March 1996 . 20 . 3 . 380–381 . 10.1097/00000478-199603000-00020.
11379508 . John Kerr and apoptosis. . O'Rourke . M. G. E. . Ellem . K. A. O. . . August 2000 . 173 . 11 . 616–617 . 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2000.tb139362.x. 38265127 .

Notes

Notes and References

Web site: Fellows update: June 2024 . Australian Academy of Science . 3 July 2024.
Web site: Kerr, John Foxton Ross (1934 -) . Encyclopedia of Australian Science . 14 February 2006 . 15 July 2015.
Apoptosis: A Basic Biological Phenomenon with Wide-ranging Implications in Tissue Kinetics . 2008650 . 10.1038/bjc.1972.33 . 1972 . 26 . 4 . 239–257 . J. F. R. . Kerr . A. H. . Wyllie . A. R. . Currie. British Journal of Cancer . 4561027 . free .
Web site: Award Extract - Dr John Foxton Ross Kerr . Australian Honours Search Facility . 15 May 2011 . . Canberra, Australia.
Web site: Professor John Kerr . Australian Academy of Science . 15 July 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151208154243/https://www.science.org.au/node/41179 . 8 December 2015 . mdy-all .
Web site: Preisträger des Paul Ehrlich und Ludwig Darmstaedter-Preises . German . . 15 May 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120302164340/http://www.paul-ehrlich-stiftung.de/Preistraeger_seit_1952/index.html . 2 March 2012 . Winners of the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize.
Web site: Charles IV Prize . Charles IV Prize . 15 May 2011.