Submitted by D.P. Juan on Wed, 09/10/2024 - 10:54
The Department is sad to have recently learned of the death of former colleague Dr Peter Richardson.
Following undergraduate studies at the University of Oxford, Peter completed his PhD in Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge. He joined the Department of Pharmacology as a Lecturer and then Senior Lecturer between 1989 and 2006. His research interests focused on Parkinson’s disease and inflammation. Peter was a true translational pharmacologist, being a founding member of Cambridge Biotechnology (CBT) in 2001 and serving as Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Director until 2005. The CBT labs were housed in laboratories within the Department, meaning there was regular valuable exchange between academic and industrial researchers.
Peter’s research led to developing Nourianz (istradefylline), an adenosine A2A receptor antagonist used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Peter continued to work with a variety of different companies, most recently being Vice President of Pharmacology at BenevolentAI where he was involved in work to identify baricitinib, a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, as a treatment for hospitalised patients with COVID-19. Beyond his research endeavours, Peter was a highly popular colleague and lecturer, regularly returning to lecture to final-year undergraduate students long after he had moved on to the next stage of his career.
We send our sincere condolences to Peter’s family.
"I was sorry to hear the very sad news of Pete’s passing. Pete was my PhD supervisor from 2001 to 2005. At the time he was very busy as Cambridge Biotechnology (CBT) had only recently been established. However, whenever I did see him he always had the same warm smile to greet me. He was exceptionally bright and a brilliant scientist. My own father had passed in the year before commencing my PhD so something that really stood out to me about Pete was the frequency with which he mentioned his family; it was clear they meant a great deal to him, and I am sorry for their loss. Pete’s lab was next to the lab of another Pete; that of Peter Thorn. In that lab I met my now husband and father of my three children. So, in a way Pete has played a huge role in my life for which I will be forever grateful. Rest in Peace Pete." - From former student Shauna Chalmers (formerly Garvey).
Image credit: BenevolentAI