Sir John Gerald Patrick Sissons (28 June 1945 – 25 September 2016) was an English physician, specialising in nephrology and virology, focusing on cytomegalovirus. He was aFRCP, FRCPath, FMedSci and Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Cambridge.

Sir Patrick Sissons
Born(1945-06-28)28 June 1945
Died25 September 2016(2016-09-25) (aged 71)
Scientific career
InstitutionsRoyal Postgraduate Medical School
John E. Fogarty International Center
University of Cambridge
Thesis The metabolism of the fifth component of complement, and its relation to metabolism of the third component, in patients with complement activation, and Studies on the characterisation of nephritic factor  (1978)
Doctoral studentsLeszek Borysiewicz

Biography edit

Patrick Sissons was born in Hessle, East Riding of Yorkshire and attended Ilkley and Felsted School. He studied medicine at St Mary's Hospital Medical School, London. After graduation, he continued there, specialising in nephrology, studying immune-mediated kidney diseases.[1] His clinical training was at the University of the West Indies.[2]

Career edit

Sissons won an NIH Fogarty Fellowship and moved to the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego for 3 years.

He returned to London and continued at Hammersmith Hospital, working with Keith Peters (physician) on the virology research side and Jonathan Cohen, establishing a clinical infectious diseases service. He began working on cytomegalovirus during the late 1970s and 1980s with John Sinclair focusing on virus latency and reactivation in humans, which had been done in animal models only. Leszek Borysiewicz was his PhD student.[2]

In 1987, he moved to the University of Cambridge, helped develop the Faculty of Clinical Medicine, connecting it with the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Addenbrooke's Hospital, helped to develop the Centre for Clinical Investigation, the Institute of Metabolic Science and the Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre and is said to have convinced AstraZeneca to move its research to Cambridge.[2]

In 2005, Sissons became Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Cambridge after Peters retired, until his own retirement in 2012.[3] He died in September 2016[4] from complications of Parkinson's disease.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ "Patrick Sissons". Debretts. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d Tony Kirby (16 March 2017). "Obituary—Patrick Sissons". Lancet Infectious Diseases.
  3. ^ "The Regius Professor Of Physic". University of Cambridge Research News. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012. A new Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Cambridge has been approved by Her Majesty The Queen to succeed Professor Sir Patrick Sissons who will retire on 30 September 2012.
  4. ^ "Professor Sir Patrick Sissons (1945-2016)". 26 September 2016. Members of the Department will be deeply saddened to hear of the death yesterday of Professor Sir Patrick Sissons