John Garthwaite obituary

My friend and former colleague John Garthwaite, who has died aged 76, was a neuroscientist who helped to transform our understanding of how brain cells communicate with each other. In the 1980s, while working at Liverpool University, John overturned the previous belief that cells communicate only at direct contact points (synapses) by showing that the brain also uses nitric oxide gas as a chemical messenger. He showed that activation of the NMDA receptor – a master switch for learning and memory – triggers nitric oxide production. This gas then diffuses freely, influencing blood vessels and networks of brain cells – a phenomenon now known as volume transmission. This foundational work, which earned John several awards, now lays the groundwork for discovering new medicines that target nitric oxide signalling. John was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, to Peter, a silviculturist, and his wife, Betty (nee Gorman), a homemaker. He was educated at Wellington college in Berkshire and then at the University of Surrey, where he earned a degree in medical biochemistry. He later completed his PhD at the University of London (School of Pharmacy) in 1977. Afterwards John worked as a researcher at the Medical Research Council’s Developmental Neurobiology Unit within the University of London, before moving to the University of Liverpool as a lecturer in 1980, first at the department of veterinary physiology and pharmacology, then at the department of physiology, where he rose through the ranks to become professor of physiology. In 1992 John was invited to become head of neuroscience research at the Wellcome Research laboratories in Beckenham, Kent, and in 1996, following closure of the labs, he moved to University College London, where his leadership was pivotal in establishing the Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research. He remained there as professor of experimental neuroscience until his retirement in 2014, after which he was awarded an emeritus position. Beyond his research career, John was a dedicated educator and generous mentor, known for his meticulous approach and dry wit. In his spare time he was an avid outdoorsman and environmental advocate, and enjoyed carpentry. John met his wife, Giti (nee Yamini), in London. She was an Iranian postdoctoral fellow at the London School of Pharmacy at the time. They married in 1978. From 1983 until their retirements, they worked together and moved in tandem with their careers. He is survived by Giti and their daughter, Nina.