1 AlAstair Robert Michell a life

2 Comparative Physiology and Medicine Symposium – to commemorate the work of Professor A.R. Michell Wednesday 31 May 2017 Sincere thanks to our sponsors Idexx Laboratories Norbrook Laboratories Veterinary Times AND Prof. J. Elliott and Liz Wilkinson

3 AlAstair Robert Michell: Personal recollections of a life well-lived

4 Bob at RVC

5 Bob at RVC BSc, BVetMed, PhD, DSc, FRSA, MRCVSBSc First Class Honours Vice-Captain RVC Boat Club President Students’ Union Society BVetMed, (with FOUR prizes) MRCVS PhD Harkness Fellow Beit Memorial Research Fellow Lecturer Reader President RVC Alumnus Association Professor of Applied Physiology and Comparative Medicine DSc

6 Emmanuel Cipriano Amoroso FRS Professor of PhysiologyMentor to both Bob and myself A great linguist and writer of wonderful prose

7 ANECDOTE ONE There was no room for them in the inn. Luke: 2 ; 7ANECDOTE ONE There was no room for them in the inn. Luke: 2 ; 7. Trespass: verb; unlawful entry into a persons land or property

8 Bob not at RVC (up to 1997) Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Council :12 years * British Veterinary Association Council : 25 years ** Professional and Scientific Associations : 25 AVTRW President Veterinary Research Club President Industrial consultancies and research links : 18 companies Awards and Prizes : too numerous to mention Veterinary literature, 171 peer reviewed publications and 96 commentaries Notably his Speculum column in Veterinary Times * All Committees except Disciplinary Committee, including Presidential year ** Contribution to 17 BVA policy documents

9 Bob the disciplinarian alias Bob the Builder Not discipline constrainedChemist Biochemist Physiologist Pharmacologist Pathologist Clinician Statistician Built the bridges between the disciplines

10 Bob not in the same league but cast in the same mouldLouis Pasteur Charles Darwin Bob not in the same league but cast in the same mould

11 Bob the Builder of BridgesChemistry of sodium and potassium ↓ Biochemistry of electrolytes Physiology of electrolytes in relation to ↓ ↓ Blood circulation Kidney (hypertension) (disease) Fluids to replace deficits in water, electrolyte + acid- base balance “You have problems, I have solutions” The Bridges so many of us have crossed

12 Saving phenylbutazoneANECDOTE TWO Saving phenylbutazone In 1979 phenylbutazone was on the verge of following the dodo and dinosaurs → extinction A pharmacokinetic study in ponies at Glasgow Vet. School killed 5/13 animals within 12 days Conclusion : pony breeds are susceptible to phenylbutazone toxicity Lees and Michell: Vet. Rec. August , no we think not – longest letter ever published Studies at RVC in Hunters and thoroughbreds indicated that the problem was dose pure and simple

13 ANECDOTE THREE: a marvelOUS solutionNeeded a milk replacer solution of low magnesium content Michell A.R., White D.G., Higgins A.J., Moss P. and Lees P. (1986) The effect of induced hypomagnesaemia on the toxicity of imidocarb in calves. Res. Vet. Sci., 40, 264‑270.

14 AlAstair Robert Michell a life An insatiable desire to know the causes and consequences of everything

15 ON LIFE AND LIVING We make a living by what we getWe make a life by what we give Winston Spencer Churchill

16 DARWIN: THE TIMES OBITUARY 19th April 1882 An epitaph and a legacy for Bob Michell

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18 PASTEUR: THE TIMES OBITUARY 18th September 1895If ever a man deserved a great international monument, it is surely this modest, unassuming, gentle and humane French chemist .... he surely deserves to be ranked among the greatest benefactors of humanity