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N. Holder et al.
Obituary
Nigel Holder (1953-1998)
Nigel Holder died on 11 December 1998 at the tragically young age of
45. Nigel was a much-loved and respected scientist whose influence was
diverse and far reaching. He led an internationally respected research
group, established the highly successful Developmental Biology Research Centre at Kings College London and more recently, headed the
Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at University College London, one of the UK's largest and most successful life science
departments.
Nigel's research was directed at understanding the mechanisms that
underlie the patterning of cells and tissues in the vertebrate embryo. In
recent years, he had become interested in the mechanisms responsible
for patterning of hindbrain segments and of somites in the developing
zebrafish embryo. Much of his research focused on the role of the Eph
family of molecules, which appear to regulate the behaviour of cells at
the boundaries between segments.
There are many ways to be a successful scientist: Nigel chose the best
way - to have endless enthusiasm and to take real pleasure from doing
science. He encouraged cooperation and collaboration whenever possible and indeed in the last 10 years, all 30 of his research papers were
collaborative efforts. Nigel was great fun to be around and his scientific
colleagues frequently became close personal friends. His enthusiasm,
humour, inventiveness and energy were infectious and made him the
most treasured of colleagues. Nigel had that rare gift of genuinely caring
about other people, their worries, their successes and their failures.
Nigel had the ability to make people feel at ease and this made him a
great communicator and leader. He used his intelligence, power and
influence wisely and universally gained the trust of those around him.
N. Holder et al.
Obituary
Nigel Holder (1953-1998)
Nigel Holder died on 11 December 1998 at the tragically young age of
45. Nigel was a much-loved and respected scientist whose influence was
diverse and far reaching. He led an internationally respected research
group, established the highly successful Developmental Biology Research Centre at Kings College London and more recently, headed the
Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at University College London, one of the UK's largest and most successful life science
departments.
Nigel's research was directed at understanding the mechanisms that
underlie the patterning of cells and tissues in the vertebrate embryo. In
recent years, he had become interested in the mechanisms responsible
for patterning of hindbrain segments and of somites in the developing
zebrafish embryo. Much of his research focused on the role of the Eph
family of molecules, which appear to regulate the behaviour of cells at
the boundaries between segments.
There are many ways to be a successful scientist: Nigel chose the best
way - to have endless enthusiasm and to take real pleasure from doing
science. He encouraged cooperation and collaboration whenever possible and indeed in the last 10 years, all 30 of his research papers were
collaborative efforts. Nigel was great fun to be around and his scientific
colleagues frequently became close personal friends. His enthusiasm,
humour, inventiveness and energy were infectious and made him the
most treasured of colleagues. Nigel had that rare gift of genuinely caring
about other people, their worries, their successes and their failures.
Nigel had the ability to make people feel at ease and this made him a
great communicator and leader. He used his intelligence, power and
influence wisely and universally gained the trust of those around him.