Honorary Professor: John Forsythe

John Forsythe has been made an Honorary Professor.

Born in Northern Ireland, he was educated there and in Newcastle upon Tyne prior to becoming a Consultant at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary.

In 1995 he was appointed Consultant Transplant Surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

During his years as Clinical Director of the Edinburgh Transplant Unit, it saw significant development and innovation in renal, pancreas and liver transplant surgery with a number of national ‘firsts’.

Professor Forsythe has always been involved in clinical and laboratory research, and he was recently part of a successful £2 million grant application for studies in renal failure/transplantation.

His career has been marked by a number of awards and distinctions, including the Moynihan Prize and Medal (1989), the Honeyman Gillespie Lecture (1998) and the Rutherford Morrison Lecture (2010).

Professor Forsythe is also involved in the promotion of organ donation and regularly speaks on this subject on radio and television.

He holds many professional leadership appointments, including Lead Clinician for Organ Donation and Transplantation in Scotland, Non-Executive Board Member of NHS Blood & Transplant, and Chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs to all four UK Health Ministers.

He is past President of the British Transplantation Society and General Secretary of the European Society for Organ Transplantation.