Sir Michael John Berridge#

Obituary, Academia Europaea

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Curriculum vitae#

Education

• 1960 BSc University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, Salisbury, Rhodesia, 1st Class honours
• 1965 PhD University of Cambridge (Supervisor: Sir Vincent B Wigglesworth)

Research and Professional Experience

• 1965-66 Post-doctoral Fellow, University of Virginia (Prof. D.Bodenstein)
• 1966-67 Post-doctoral Fellow, Case Western Reserve University (with Dr M Locke)
• 1967-69 Research Associate, Case Western University (with Dr B. Schmidt-Nielsen)
• 1969-72 Senior Scientific Officer, Unit of Invertebrate Chemistry and Physiology (Director Dr JE Treherne), Cambridge University
• 1972-78 Principal Scientific Officer, Unit of Invertebrate Chemistry and Physiology, Cambridge
• 1978-90 Senior Principal Scientific Officer, Unit of Insect Neurophysiology and Pharmacology, Cambridge
• 1990-96 Deputy Chief Scientific Officer (Grade 4), Laboratory of Molecular Signalling, Babraham Institute
• 1996-2003 Head of Signalling, Babraham Institute
• 1972-86 Elected Title C Fellow, Trinity College, Cambridge
• 1986- Elected Title B Fellow, Trinity College, Cambridge
• 1984 Elected Fellow of The Royal Society
• 1994- Honorary Professor of Cell Signalling (University of Cambridge)
• 1998 Honorary Fellowship- Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
• 2003- Emeritus Babraham Fellow

Editorial Work

• 1971-1985 Co-editor (with Sir Vincent Wigglesworth and Dr JE Treherne) of Advances in Insect Physiology
• 1980-1981 Editorial Board, Cell Calcium
• 1981-1984 Editorial Board, Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology
• 1987-2002 Editorial Advisory Panel, Biochemical Journal
• 1989-1995 Editorial Advisory Board, Journal of Neuroendocrinology
• 1989-2005 Editorial Board, Molecular Biology of the Cell (formerly Cell Regulation)
• 1989-92 Advisory Editorial Board, Cancer Cells
• 1990-1996 International Advisory Board, Advances in Second Messenger and Phosphoprotein Research
• 1990- Editorial Board, Journal of Basic and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology
• 1993-1999 Editorial Board, Journal of Experimental Biology
• 1994-2005 Advisory Editor to BioEssays
• 1994-1996 Editorial Board, Japan Society for Cell Biology's official journal, Cell Structure and Function
• 1998- 2002 Editorial Board of Molecular Cell Biology Research Communications.

Other Activities

• 1987-1998 Governor of The Strangeways Research Laboratory
• 1988-1992 Member of the Scientific Council of the International Institute of Cellular and Molecular Pathology (Brussels)
• 1991-2000 Trustee of The Isaac Newton Trust
• 1993-2003 International Scientific Council of the Princess Lilian Cardiology Foundation, Brussels, Belgium
• 1993-1998 Scientific Advisor to the Friedrich Miescher Institute, Basel, Switzerland
• 2000-2003 Myocyte Committee of The Alliance for Cellular Signaling
• 2004-2006 Macrophage Committee of The Alliance for Cellular Signalling
• 2000- Trustee of the Kalahari Research Trust

Consultancies

• 1998-2002 Cambridge Drug Discovery
• 2000-2001 Synaptica (Oxford)

Major Research Interest

The main area of research interest concerned the role of calcium (Ca2+) in the mode of action of hormones and neurotransmitters. I concentrated on the problem of how cells detect external signals and translates them into a change in the intracellular level of Ca2+, which is responsible for activating many different cellular processes.

Much of my interest was centred on the role of inositol lipids in the action of calcium-mobilizing hormones. I studied the way in which agonists act to stimulate the hydrolysis of these lipids to release both diacylglycerol and inositol trisphosphate (IP3). Attention was then focused on the role of IP3 in controlling the spatiotemporal aspects of calcium signalling with particular emphasis on neural signalling, cardiac contractility and cell proliferation.

As an Emeritus Babraham Fellow I maintain my interest in cell signalling by writing and maintaining a website cellsignallingbiology.org, which is hosted by Portland Press.

Membership of Societies

• Honorary Member of the Japanese Biochemical Society
• Society of General Physiologists
• 1989 Academia Europaea
• 1991 European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
• 1992 Honorary Member of the American Physiological Society
• 1994 Foreign Correspondent of The Academie Royale de Medecine de Belgique
• 1995 Honorary Life Member of The Society for Experimental Biology
• 1998 The Academy of Medical Sciences (London)
• 1999 National Academy of Science (Foreign Associate) (Washington, DC)
• 1999 American Academy of Arts and Science (Foreign Honorary Member)
• 2000 Honorary Fellowship of the Institute of Biology
• 2004 Honorary Member of the Biochemical Society
• 2006 Honorary Member of the European Calcium Society
• 2007 American Philosophical Society
• 2008 Honorary Fellowship of the British Pharmacology Society

Award Lectures

• 1984 Annual Bayer AG Lecture in Pharmacology (Yale University School of Medicine)
• 1985 Halliburton Lecture (Kings College, London)
• 1985 Harrison Lecture (Endocrine Society of Australia)
• 1986 Nelson Medical Lecture (University of California, Davis)
• 1987 Wellcome Visiting Professor (Medical School, The University of Texas)
• 1987 The N I H Lecture
• 1987 ICI Prize Lecture (University of Manchester)
• 1987 The Baule Distinguished Lecture in Neuroscience (Syracuse)
• 1987 The Alice and Joseph Brooks International Lecture in Neurosciences (Harvard Medical School)
• 1988 16th FEBS Ferdinand Springer Lecturer
• 1988 Royal Society Croonian Lecture
• 1988 18th Annual Schueler Distinguished Lecture in Pharmacology (Tulane University)
• 1988 Smith Kline and French Lecture (University of London)
• 1988 2nd Hillarp Lecture (European Neurosciences Association (Zurich))
• 1988 Ralph Dorfman Lecture (Stanford University School of Medicine)
• 1988 Steinhouse Memorial Lecture (University of California, Irvine)
• 1988 Robert E. Olsen Lecture (St.Louis University School of Medicine)
• 1988 Hillarp Memorial Lecture (Bioscience 88, Malmo, Sweden)
• 1989 Harold Lamport Lecture (University of Washington, Seattle)
• 1989 Flexner Lecture (Vanderbilt University, Nashville)
• 1989 Chilton Lecture (University of Texas, Dallas)
• 1989 Boxer Lecture (University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey)
• 1989 Samuel Rudin Visiting Professorship (Columbia University)
• 1990 Dame Honor B. Fell Lecture (Cardiff)
• 1990 Charnock Bradley Memorial Lecture (University of Edinburgh)
• 1990 John R. Murlin Lecture (University of Rochester)
• 1990 College of Medicine Distinguished Lecturer (University of lowa)
• 1990 Leslie L. Bennett Lecture (University of California, S.F.)
• 1990 The Inaugural Albert L. Lehninger Lecture (The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore)
• 1991 Frank Rose Memorial Lecture (British Association for Cancer Research)
• 1991 Falk Memorial Lecture (NIEHS, Research Triangle Park)
• 1991 The ICI Guest Lecture (Medical Research Society, UK)
• 1992 The 19th Annual Calbiochem Lectureship in Chemistry (University of California, San Diego)
• 1992 The Poulsson Lecture (University of Oslo)
• 1993 The Donald W Seldin Lecture (The 12th International Congress of Nephrology, Jerusalem)
• 1994 The 14th Dr Abraham White Memorial Lecture (Syntex, Palo Alto, California)
• 1994 Storer Life Sciences Lecture (University of California, Davis)
• 1995 Bidder Lecture (The Society for Experimental Biology)
• 1995 Hugh Davson Distinguished Lectureship (The American Physiological Society)
• 1996 Applebaum Distinguished Lecturer (The University of Florida, Gainesville)
• 1996 Annual Review Prize Lecture (The Physiological Society)
• 1996 Dr Aaron I. Grollman Visiting Lectureship in Basic Medical Sciences (University of Maryland, Baltimore)
• 1997 6th Choh Hao Li Memorial Lecturer (Berkeley, California)
• 2001 Edwin G. Krebs Lecture in Molecular Pharmacology (University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle.
• 1999 First Fred Fay Lecture (Dept. of Physiology, Univ. of Massachusetts Medical School).
• 2000 Alvin Taurog Lecture (The University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas)
• 2000 Lister Memorial Lecture (Society of Chemical Industry, Edinburgh)
• 2002 The Dean’s Lecture (Mt. Sinai School of Medicine (New York)
• 2004 23rd Steinberg/Wylie Lecture (Univ, of Maryland School of Medicine)
• 2004 The Seventh Annual Nathan S. Greenfield Family Lecture (Dept. of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
• 2004 Paul D. Lamson Lecture (Dept. of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• 2006 The Raymond and Beverly Sackler Distinguished Lecture (Dept. of Medicine, University of Cambridge)
• 2006 The Leopold Koss Lecture (University of Bern)
• 2007 The Gerald D. Aurbach Memorial Lecture (The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research)
• 2009 Rosalyn Yalow Lecture at the 3rd New York Skeletal Biology and Medicine Conference
• 2009 George E. Palade Gold Medal and Distinguished Lecture Wayne State University School of Medicine

Honours

• 1998 Knight Bachelor

Honorary Degrees

• 1993 Degree of Doctor Honoris Causa (Limburgs Universitair Centrum, Belgium)
• 2007 Honorary Degree, University of Liverpool

Medals

• 1989 Baly Medal (Royal College of Physicians, London)
• 1990 Dale Medal (Society for Endocrinology)
• 1991 Royal Medal (The Royal Society)

Prizes and Awards

• 1984 Feldberg Prize
• 1986 The King Faisal International Prize in Science
• 1986 Louis Jeantet Prize in Medicine
• 1987 William Bate Hardy Prize (Cambridge Philosophical Society)
• 1987 Abraham White Scientific Achievement Award (George Washington University School of Medicine)
• 1988 Gairdner Foundation International Award
• 1989 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award
• 1990 Rita Levi Montalcini Award Lecture (Fidia Research Foundation, Washington DC)
• 1991 CIBA-GEIGY/DREW Award in Biomedical Research
• 1994 Dr H P Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics
• 1995 The Wolf Foundation Prize in Medicine (Israel)
• 1996 The Massry Prize in Nephrology, Physiology and Related Fields (The Meira and Shaul G. Massry Foundation, USA)
• 1999 Ernst Schering Prize (Ernst Schering Research Foundation, Berlin)
• 2005 The Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine