John Starr named in Top 10 Inspiring Physicians 2019
The late Professor John Starr has been named in the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh list of Top 10 Inspiring Physicians 2019
Many congratulations to the late Professor John Starr, founding Director of the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, who has been named in the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh list of Top 10 Inspiring Physicians 2019, alongside Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences (CCBS) colleague Professor Peter Sandcock.
2019 Inspiring Physician | Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh
Professor John Starr's nomination
John conducted innovative work on the environmental epidemiology of dementia, and his academic interests included improving the understanding of cognitive ageing, dementia, and intellectual disability.
Dr Susan Shenkin, Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University, nominated the late Professor John Starr, Honorary Professor of Health and Ageing:
Professor Starr died suddenly on 8 December 2018, aged just 58. He was an unconventional and unique figure, an inspiration to many. Many current students and doctors in training and those who are now consultants themselves were strongly influenced by John and carry his lessons and example with them.
Who else would start a ward round with a review of a poem; or theme an entire ward round on collagenous diseases; or use only Renaissance paintings as the slides for an academic talk; or illustrate a complex MRI technique with an analogy using a mattress and a wine glass?
He was a clinical academic, working as a consultant physician in Geriatric Medicine at the Royal Victoria Hospital and the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.
John was a strong advocate for groups who are traditionally disadvantaged and often explained that you can judge society on how it treats the 'disadvantaged'.
Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre
John founded ASDRC, which carries out research into the causes and treatment of dementia. Current projects include evaluating cognitive assessments used in diagnosis and developing methods to predict whether or not a particular patient will respond positively to current drugs, which have been shown to work inconsistently. Researchers also aim to develop and maintain a dementia brain tissue bank (the Scottish Dementia Brain Tissue Bank).
The Centre is funded by Alzheimer Scotland.