Honorary Members

Sir James Black

Honorary Member 1998

Jim graduated in Medicine with commendation from the University of St Andrews (Scotland) in 1946 and then spent 12 years in academic physiology successively at the Universities of St Andrews, Malaya and Glasgow. Jim has worked in histamine research for over 40 years and the discovery of the different adrenaline ß-receptors suggested to him that histamine must also have more than one receptor. After working at ICI (1958-64), he moved as Head of Biological Research to SmithKline & French to pursue the search for a new histamine antagonist to sort out the relationship between histamine and gastrin in the stomach. In 1972, his famous Nature paper appeared announcing the second population of the histamine receptor (H₂). In 1973, Jim moved to University College London (UCL) to become Head of the Department of Pharmacology. Together with Professor Charles Vernon, he developed the new medicinal chemistry degree, which has provided the histamine field with so many able researchers. In 1978, he moved to Wellcome Research as Director of Therapeutic Research. He returned to academia in 1984 when he went to Kings College London as Professor of Analytical Pharmacology and then to found the Sir James Black Foundation as an independent research institute for promoting the rational basis for new drug research. Sir James has made an enormous and highly rigorous scientific contribution to the histamine field for which he has received too many honours for me to list them in their entirety. Sir James was knighted in 1981, received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1988, has been Chancellor of the University of Dundee since 1992 and has 17 honorary degrees. He has received many medals for his work including the Gold Medal (The Royal Society of Medicine), the Wellcome Gold medal (British Pharmacological Society) and the Golden Medal - Medicus Magnus (Polish Academy of Medcine).

Charon Robin Ganellin

Honorary Member 2007

Professor C.Robin Ganellin obtained a first class Honours Degree in organic chemistry from the University of London (Queen Mary College) and in 1958 he was awarded a PhD under the supervision of Professor Michael Dewar. Then Robin joined Smith Kline French (SK&F) as a medicinal chemist, and from 1966 collaborated with Sir James Black and led the chemical research for the discovery of the H2-receptor antagonists. The role of Robin in this discovery was huge. It was Robin’s understanding and application of physical organic chemistry that led to the design and sequencing of drugs from burimamide, to metiamide and finally to cimetidine (Tagamet®), which has revolutionised the treatment of peptic ulcer disease. Robin was also involved in the design of other histamine ligands such as oxmetidine, zolantidine and temelastine. Robin was instrumental in establishing the use of the agonists dimaprit and impromidine, and identified compounds for use as chemical controls in histamine pharmacology. Robin is noted for being a scientist who has an idea, concentrates on it and then finally comes up with the solution. He subsequently became Vice-President for Research at the company’s Welwyn facility. In 1986 he was awarded a DSc from London University for his published work on the medicinal chemistry of histaminergic drugs, and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was then appointed to the SK&F Chair of Medicinal Chemistry at University College London, where he is now Emeritus Professor of Medicinal Chemistry. He is the author or co-author of over 260 scientific publications and named co-inventor on over 160 US patents. Professor Ganellin has received international recognition as a medicinal chemist, including the Royal Society of Chemistry Award for Medicinal Chemistry (1977), their Tilden Medal and Lectureship (1982) and their Adrien Albert Medal and Lectureship (1999), Le Prix Charles Mentzer de France (1978), the ACS Division of Medicinal Chemistry Award (1980), the Society of Chemical Industry Messsel Medal (1988), the Society for Drug Research Award for Drug Discovery (1989), the Nauta Prize for Pharmacochemistry (2004) from the European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry, and the Pratesi Gold Medal from the Medicinal Chemistry Division of the Societa Chimica Italiana (2006). He has also been elected into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame (1990). He was elected as a Fellow of QMW College, London (1992) and awarded an Honorary DSc by Aston University in 1995.

Wilfried Lorenz

Honorary Member 2005

Prof. Lorenz or Wilfried as he is known to all of us, was born in 1939. He studied medicine at the universities of Würzburg, Tübingen and Müchen and obtained his MD in 1966 for a thesis entitled 'Histamine and histidine decarboxylase in the central nervous system and in the upper gastrointestinal tract'. In 1969, he was awarded his "Habilitation" in Clinical Chemistry with a dissertation on 'Localisation, metabolism and question of a physiological function of histamine in salivary glands, thyroid and gastric mucosa'. He then obtained a Chair at the Philipps University of Marburg where he stayed until his retirement in 2004. Wilfried has published over 1000 papers, mostly in English but also in German, French and Spanish; including 5 citation classics for his work in the field of histamine. He supervised over 100 MD theses and 34 Habilitations and has been awarded numerous honours for his work. He received the "Großes Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland" in 2005. It is one of the highest German honours and he received it because of his outstanding research as one of the most important German scientists, and his work on Theoretical Surgery, the Quality of Life in Medical Decision Making and Clinical Guidelines. Wilfried has been a member of the histamine family (first the Histamine Club but later renamed the European Histamine Research Society) since the first informal meeting in Lodz (1971). He attended the first formal meeting in Paris (1972) and has twice hosted the meeting in Marburg (1973, 1991). When you met Wilfried, you can not help being impressed by his enthusiasm, knowledge and love for the subject. He is a hard-working but fun-loving man who cares passionately for his subject and for the development of his co-workers.

Pier Francesco Mannaioni

Honorary Member 2005

Professor Mannaioni or Piero as we all know him, graduated in Medicine in 1959 at Florence University, and during his training developed an interest in pharmacology, cardiology and clinical toxicology. In 1959, he received a post-graduate degree in Cardiology and Rheumatology. He then joined the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, now Department of Preclinical and Clinical Pharmacology, as Assistant Professor in 1961, as Professor of Toxicology in the Medical School in 1967 and Full Professor of Toxicology in 1974. He was awarded the first Chair in Toxicology in Italy. During his post-doctoral training, he received a number of fellowships for pharmacological research and was a visiting scientist at Yale University Medical School, where he became interested in mast cell histamine. Returning to Florence, he continued his research on mast cell histamine and on cardiac anaphylaxis. Professor Mannaioni has been a pioneer in the field of cardiac histamine, suggesting over 30 years ago, its involvement in myocardial diseases, such as arrhythmias, angina and myocardial infarction. He has also been interested in mast cell histamine release induced by cholinergic stimulation or by free radicals and the interactions between histamine, nitric oxide and carbon monoxide. He joined this society in 1972 and has played a very active role here; National and General Secretary for twelve years, and hosted the EHRS meeting in Florence (1975 and 1982). Besides his research in the field of histamine, he has always been committed to the development of medical toxicology as a primary science and he was the head of the Clinical Toxicological Unit in Florence, until 2002. This unit is universally recognized as a reference clinical structure for the treatment of acute and chronic intoxication. He is author of about 200 international papers, of several books and many scientific and publications in Italian.

Walter Gunnar Schunack

Honorary Member 2007

Prof. Dr rer. nat. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. Walter Schunack studied Pharmacy and Medicine in Germany and was awarded his PhD in Mainz in 1964 and his MD in Marburg in 1978. During his Habilitation (Qualification for Lecturing; DSc) in the field of Medicinal Chemistry, he had already undertaken pioneering work on novel histamine derivatives and analogues together with their pharmacological evaluation. In 1971, he was appointed as Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in Mainz and in 1984 he became Full Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Institute of Pharmacy of the Freie Universität Berlin, a post which he held until his retirement in 2003. In addition to his research work, he has been Dean of the Faculty as well as Vice-President of the University and he has shown a strong involvement in the advancement of the German academic Pharmacy education program. He supervised more than 75 PhD theses and 5 Habilitations and has been awarded numerous honours for his work. Among other distinctions he received the French Prix Charles Mentzer of the Société de Chimie Thérapeutique (1992), the Carl-Mannich-Medal of the German Pharmaceutical Society (1997), the Distinguished Service Cross 1. Class of the Federal Republic of Germany (2002) and was elected as Honorary Member of the Polish Histamine Research Society (2006). In 1998 he received his third doctoral degree (Dr. honoris causa) of the Université René Descartes, Sorbonne V, Paris, France. He is very well known in the EHRS for his abundant contributions of potent and selective ligands of different histamine receptor subtypes. He has developed several agonists (e.g., the histaprodifen-family (H1), sopromidine (H2), R-α-methylhistamine (H3)), antagonists (e.g., ciproxifan, and BF2.649 (H3)), radioligands (e. g., [125I]iodoaminopotentidine (H2), and [125I]iodoproxyfan (H3)), as well as many other histamine receptor modulating drugs with different properties (e.g., pro-drugs (BP2.94), protean ligands (proxyfan), hybrid compounds) used nowadays in many laboratories throughout the world. This has led to more than 400 international publications and many congress invitations as he is an excellent lecturer. Walter is a passionate histamine researcher with numerous co-operations all over the world, but especially within the community of the EHRS.

Hendrik Timmerman

Honorary Member 2007

Professor Henk Timmerman (1937) obtained a M.Sc. in Chemistry at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam in 1964, and then started his Ph.D. studies under the supervision of Prof. Dr. W. Th. Nauta in the department of Pharmacochemistry. It is clear from the title of his Ph.D. thesis “2-alkyl-1-orthoalkylphenyl cyclohexanols: synthesis and pharmacological investigations”, the department of Pharmacochemistry was already focused on organic synthesis, but also on the molecular mechanisms behind the potential biological activities of the prepared compounds. After his Ph.D. in 1967, Henk Timmerman joined Gist-Brocades (now part of Yamanouchi) and became head of Pharmacology and then from 1972-1979 their scientific director. In 1979, Henk Timmerman returned to academia and took over the department of Pharmacochemistry from his previous supervisor Prof. dr. Nauta. He held his position of professor in Pharmacochemistry until 2002 and is now, as emeritus professor, appointed as consultant for the department. During his academic career of almost 25 years, most of his research was in the area of histamine receptors and their ligands. It should be noted that in 2006, his 375 research papers (most of them in the area of histamine) still obtained 450 citations, indicating the impact of his work in this field. Henk Timmerman is regarded as one the leading medicinal chemists of his time in the histamine research area. His work resulted in many new pharmacological tools (amthamine, imetit, clobenpropit, immepip, immethridine, methimmepip), which were easily shared with the pharmacological community and allowed him to develop an extensive network of valuable scientific friends. At the same time, Henk Timmerman was also very interested in the molecular mechanisms of actions of the developed molecules. This is also well reflected in his publication record. One of his most cited papers details the inverse agonistic properties of histamine H2 receptor antagonists, which has been an important contribution to our present understanding of receptor antagonist action. Among many official representations, Henk Timmerman was member of the IUPHAR committee on histamine receptors, took the initiative to organize the first IUPHAR satellite meeting ‘New Perspective in Histamine Research’ in Noorwijkerhout in 1990 and hosted the 32nd annual meeting of the European Histamine Research Society in Amsterdam in 2003. Besides a scientist with impact, he is also a great mentor for numerous Ph.D. and master students. At this moment three of his former students have been appointed as professor and many of his Ph.D. students are currently employed in international pharmaceutical industry.

Ingrid Olhagen-Uvnäs

Honorary Member 2006

Ingrid Olhagen -Uvnäs was born on the 13th of March 1925 in Norrköping, Sweden. After education at a Commercial College, she went to the United States for some years of training and later to France. She worked for SAS the Scandinavian Airway Company for 32 years mostly based at Arlanda Airport. She was appointed among the first group of female traffic assistants – which used to be a male only position. She became chief ground hostess with a staff of several hundreds of people and ended up as Personal Manager before retiring.

Ingrid and Börje Uvnäs met in 1963 through a relative of Ingrid – Börje Olhagen who was Professor of Rheumatology in Stockholm. It was not love at first sight, indeed she found him rather annoying! However, love blossomed and Ingrid accompanied her husband Professor Börje Uvnäs to many meetings in many countries throughout the world.

The first meeting of the Histamine Club (the forerunner of the European Histamine Research Society) was in Paris in 1972. Börje was at that very first meeting and attended all meetings since until his last meeting in Amsterdam 2003. Ingrid has accompanied Börje to all meetings except in 1990 which was held at Kuopio, Finland. This means, she has attended 34 meetings of the 35 annual meetings of the EHRS and so she must be one of the record holders for number of meetings attended.

Ingrid has always played a prominent role in the partner’s programme of the EHRS meetings. Ingrid’s friendliness and charm meant that all newcomers especially those in the partner programme felt part of the “histamine family”. However, Ingrid was always also Börje’s confidant and he told her when the meetings met his high scientific standards or not. After the meetings were over, Börje often wrote to the President of the Society to say what he thought about the meeting organisation and science. After his death, Ingrid took up the role, even though she had to rely on what others told her about the science.

In one meeting –when Börje was to dress for dinner he could not find his shoes but only two different styles of black shoes – one of each of two different pairs of shoes. There was a big fuss and the room maid tried to find the right shoe and the manager even offered to buy new ones. Ingrid then asked Börje - “Could it possibly be that you have packed only one of each kind?” Well he had to use two different black shoes during the dinners for the whole meeting and from then on Ingrid always packed his bags. In contrast to her somewhat absent minded husband (well only with respect to clothing!), Ingrid is always dressed with great care and attention. Her appearance is at odds with her date of birth! Perhaps hard-work, she still works on her and Börje’s farm, does keep you young!

Ingrid is an excellent organizer and always gets things done. She supported and helped Börje in so many different ways and this became even more evident during the last meetings. As he became increasingly frail, Ingrid made sure that he arrived safely at the meeting, with all the correct luggage and that he also took some rest when he needed it. We all owe Ingrid a great deal because of her ways and her support of Börje. She helped Börje Uvnäs retain his role as a major player in our society until his death. We are delighted that her love for the society means that she still comes regularly to our meetings.

Takehiko Watanabe

Honorary Member 2005

Professor Watanabe graduated from Osaka University in 1963 and obtained his MD in the following year. He then undertook a PhD in biochemistry and on obtaining his postgraduate award in 1968 he became Assistant Professor at Osaka University. He went to work in America with Professor Esmond Snell at the University of California, Berkley from 1970-72 and then at the National Institute of Health with Dr Martin Flavin until 1974. On returning to Japan, he was made Assistant and then Associate Professor in Pharmacology at Osaka University. Here he worked with Dr. H. Wada on various aspects of histamine research. In 1985 he was Professor of Pharmacology at Tohoku University School of Medicine and then Professor Emeritus on his retirement in 2002. Professor Watanabe has published over 300 papers, was the co-editor on 2 important histamine books: 'Histaminergic Neurons; Morphology and Function' in 1991 and 'Histamine Research in the New Millennium' in 2001. His major contributions to histamine research have been the immunohistochemical identification of histamine neurons in the hypothalamus using an antibody specific for histidine decarboxylase, the use of positron Emission Tomography studies on the histaminergic neuron system and the development of Histamine-related Genes Knockout mice. He organized 2 highly successful international meetings on histamine research.

Mrs Jean West

Honorary Member 1998

Jean regularly accompanied her husband, Geoff to the EHRS meetings and with her quiet efficiency she worked behind the scenes to ensure the smooth running of many a meeting. In brief, Jean generally "looked after everybody" and as Geoff was surely the Father Figure of the Society, Jean was its Mother Figure. When suitcases didn't turn up, Jean rushed round asking people to help. If the participants were leaving early in the morning, Jean ensured that everybody was there and arranged for the sleepyheads to be called! Jean received the Honorary Membership of the EHRS for her invaluable and irreplaceable support of the Society over very many years.

Franc Erjavec

Honorary Member 2000

Prof. dr. Franc Erjavec was born in 1925 in Ljubljana, Slovenia where he received an M.D. from the University of Ljubljana in 1952. After graduation he joined a newly established Department of Pharmacology at the Medical School in Ljubljana. In 1972 he became Professor of Pharmacology and Head of the Department of Pharmacology which he led until 1995. He received a number of fellowships during his pre and postdoctoral training and used them to study at various institutes and universities (Vienna and Graz, Austria; Paris and Nancy, France; Bethesda, USA). It was during this time that he became interested in histamine research, in particular the existence of non-mast cell histamine, histamine metabolism, where he introduced new isotopic techniques, and the role of histamine in exocrine secretion. On returning to Ljubljana, he continued researching on histamine with the younger members of the Department of Pharmacology, enabling their research on histamine to become internationally recognized. He has published work on histamine storage and release from isolated mast cells and its modulation by many drugs, metabolism of histamine, the role of histamine in gastric secretion, and histamine receptors. In 1978 at the invitation of Professor Maslinski, he joined the EHRS (known at that time as the Histamine Club). In 1983 he organised the EHRS meeting in Bled, Slovenia. He died on 13th August 2004.

J.P. Green

Honorary Member 2000

Jack Green graduated first in Pharmacology and then in medicine at Yale University, USA. He has been Professor of Pharmacology in a number of US Universities (Yale, Cornell, Mount Sinai Medical School) as well as spending sabbatical terms at the Polytechnic Institute of Copenhagen and the Institute of Physical Chemical Biology in Paris. Jack has been a pioneer in the field of histamine as a neuromodulator in the brain. In fact, he suggested this over 20 years ago when he demonstrated the presence of histamine in brain synaptosomes. In addition to the role of histamine in the brain, Jack has also been interested in other central neurotransmitters, such as acetylcholine and 5-hydroxytryptamine, as well the hallucinogenic drugs. Jack Peter Green died on the 7th of February 2007.

Czeslaw Maslinski

Honorary Member 1998

Born on 19th May 1921, Czeslaw graduated from the School of Medicine in Lodz and then became an assistant in the Department of Pathophysiology. Thereafter, he became senior assistant in the Department of General Pathophysiology at the School of Medicine in Warsaw. In 1953, he became the Deputy Secretary of the Committee of Medical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 1956, he became Head of the Section of Pathophysiology in the Polish Academy of Sciences, where he became Assistant and in 1959 Associate Professor. In 1964, he became Extraordinary Professor in Pathophysiology and in 1970 Ordinary Professor in Pathophysiology at the Institute of Biogenic Amines of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Lodz, where he was Chairman until 1991. In 1971, he organised a Histamine Satellite Meeting in Lodz, which was the first informal meeting that provided the foundation for our Society. He has had a very active and successful research career and has published over 200 papers. He was awarded the prize of the Scientific Secretary of the Polish Academy of Sciences three times and once that of the Polish Ministry of Health. His important contributions to the development of Polish Science were recognised by the award of the Medal 25 years of the Polish Academy of Sciences. In 1995, he received the Nicolaus Copernicus Medal, the highest award of the Polish Academy of Sciences, for his outstanding scientific achievements. He died on 11th July 2002.

Wolfgang Schmutzler

Honorary Member 2003

Wolfgang started his academic career in Heidelberg in 1957 when he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine with a physiology thesis entitled ’Sense of temperature and temperature regulation’. After 2 years as a clinical assistant, he moved first to Düsseldorf and then to Frieburg to work with Fritz Hahn, who was one of the pioneers of Immunopharmacology. Wolfgang studied the role of histamine in anaphylaxis and the mechanism and kinetics of anaphylatoxin in guinea-pigs. In 1952, he discovered the release of diamine oxidase or histaminase by heparin and other polyelectrolytes in the guinea-pig. He traced the source of this diamine oxidase to the microsomal fraction of the liver.

In 1966, Wolfgang obtained the degree of lecturer in Pharmacology and Toxicology at Frieburg University with a thesis on ‘Histaminase Liberation’. Then, the following year, he came to work with Professor Charles Vernon and his research group at University College London, to learn some techniques of protein chemistry. Whilst at UCL, Wolfgang worked with Professor Shawn Doonan on threonine dehydrogenase from the liver of sheep. In 1969, Wolfgang Schmutzler moved to the University of Aachen, initially as a senior lecturer and then two years later as Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, a position that he held until his retirement a few years ago.

Wolfgang’s contribution to Immunopharmacology has been immense. In addition to the works that I have briefly summarised, he developed the human mast cell as a model for the study of antiallergic drugs and pseudoallergic agents and most recently he became interested in the role of the macrophage in allergic reactions. This latter topic formed part of the millennium Geoff West Memorial Lecture “Mast cell and non-mast cell histamine” that Wolfgang gave at Geoff’s academic home at the University of East London.

Wolfgang’s contribution to our Society has been equally immense. He has attended virtually every meeting since its inception, he organised a wonderful congress in Aachen in 1985, and most recently he has acted as our Treasurer during which tenure he has overseen the formal European recognition of the Society.

Wolfgang Schmutzler died on the 5th of November 2007.

Börje Uvnäs

Honorary Member 1991

Börje was born on 20 June 1913. He studied medicine at the University of Lund, Sweden in the 1930s. Several years later Georg Kahlson invited him to join the physiology department of the University of Lund and he worked there for nearly 15 years. In 1942, he discovered that on stimulating the vagus nerve, a substance was released into the blood, which caused gastric secretion. This was a landmark in gastroenterology. It was many years later, after the development of radioimmunoassay (RIA), before this substance (gastrin) was finally identified. After the second World War, Börje went to the United States of America to continue working on gastric physiology with Professor Ivy of Northwestern University in Chicago. He had no laboratory assistant and so his wife worked as his technician! It was here that he met C. A. Dragstedt, a pharmacologist who was well known for his work on the role of histamine in anaphylactic reactions, and Börje started his interest in this biogenic amine. A year later, Börje returned to Sweden and continued his vasodilator research, using the techniques which he had learnt in America. Soon after he was appointed to the new chair in physiology at Lund University, he moved to the chair in pharmacology at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm. Here over the years, he built up a large and thriving department. One of the areas of research in this department was histamine, in particular the mechanism by which mast cells degranulate and then the mechanism of histamine storage and release from mast cell granules. In the early 1960s, Börje organised an international symposium on the 'Modes of action of drugs' and this was the start of a series of international pharmacological congresses and was a strong impetus to the development of pharmacology. It also led to the formation of the International Union of Pharmacologists (IUPHAR) with the first World Congress of Pharmacology in 1961 being headed by Börje in Stockholm.

Even though Börje was officially retired, this did not stop his interest in pharmacology and in particular in histamine. He was a constant supporter of the EHRS and regularly attended our meetings. He could always be found giving supportive advice to the younger presenters. He did not lose the thirst for his science until his death on 5 November 2003, and it is still a continual stimulus to us all.

Geoffrey B. West

Honorary Member 1991

Geoff West was born on 13th September 1916. His long and distinguished career started in 1938 in London with his degree in Pharmacy. After his Ph.D. he then moved to Edinburgh and then to Dundee where in 1952 he established with J.F.Riley that tissue mast cells were a main storage site of histamine. This discovery laid the foundation for an understanding of allergic and inflammatory disease. He was awarded the D.Sc. (University of London) in 1954 and won the Annual Biology prize of the New York Academy of Science in 1964. After working for the British Industrial Biological Research Association (BIBRA), in 1970 Geoff went to the Polytechnic of North East London, now the University of East London, where he established a flourishing research group. On retiring in 1982, Geoff became the Polytechnic's first Honorary Research Fellow and continued to add to more than 350 research papers. Geoff West was our Secretary-General for more than 10 years. His attitude to the meetings epitomised his approach to life and to science. He was compassionate to the young investigator giving his or her first presentation and constructively critical of the more experienced. He was full of zest and enthusiasm and had the rare gift of being able to communicate this to others, both at the scientific sessions and as Master of Ceremonies at the Society's Social Functions. Everyone was much saddened by his death on 5th December 1990.