Interview with Professor Roderick Flower conducted by Professor Tilli Tansey, for the History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group, 14 April 2016, in the School of History, Queen Mary University of London. Transcribed by Mrs Debra Gee, and edited by Professor Tilli Tansey and Dr Apostolos Zarros. The project management and the technical support (filming and production) were undertaken by Mr Adam Wilkinson and Mr Alan Yabsley, respectively.
Professor Roderick Flower PhD DSc FMedSci FRS FRSB HonFBPhS HonLLD HonDSc (b. 1945) trained as a physiologist at Sheffield University, subsequently receiving a PhD in Experimental Pharmacology from the University of London and a DSc in 1985. After 12 years working in industry at the Wellcome Foundation, he left to take the Chair of Pharmacology at the University of Bath in 1985. In 1990 he returned to London to establish a new Unit at the William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. During this time he was Head, on a part-time basis, of the Clinical Pharmacology Department, and was President of the British Pharmacological Society (2000-2003).
The History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group is funded by the Wellcome Trust, which is a registered charity (no. 210183). The current interview has been funded by the Wellcome Trust Strategic Award entitled “Makers of modern biomedicine: testimonies and legacy” (2012-2017; awarded to Professor Tilli Tansey).
The interview is part of the History of the Modern Biomedicine Interviews (Digital Collection).
Access to the ‘Drugs and pharmacologists’ thematic group of resources:
Access to the transcript of this video interview and its related material:
History of Modern Biomedicine Interviews (Digital Collection), items e2016069-e2016081.
Example of how to cite: Tansey E M (intvr); Yabsley A (prod) (2016) Flower, Roderick: 01 - Starting in John Vane’s pharmacology lab (14-Apr-2016). History of Modern Biomedicine Interviews (Digital Collection), item e2016070. London: Queen Mary University of London.
Access to the transcript of a longer, audio interview:
Note: Video interviews are conducted following standard oral history methodology, and have received ethical approval (reference QMREC 0642). Video interview transcripts are edited only for clarity and factual accuracy. Related material has been deposited in the Wellcome Library.
© The Trustee of the Wellcome Trust, London, 2016
A copy of Professor Flower's curriculum vitae is available here.
