Douglas Rees(ABGS 1955 - 1963)
Doug in the sixth form Doug arrived at ABGS in 1955 from Aberaman Junior School. In the sixth form he studied Chemistry, Physics, Botany and Zoology and took A levels in 1963. In his final year he was deputy Head Boy.After school he gained a BSc in Zoology and Physiology from London University before completing a PhD in the field of Neurophysiology at the University of Glasgow. He followed this with two years as a Rockefeller Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of California. On returning from the States in 1973, he was at the Southern General Hospital as Muscular Dystrophy Fellow until 1978.However, Doug spent most of his working life in New Zealand. From 1978-98 he was Senior Lecturer in the Physiology Department at Victoria University, Wellington. He also started to work in the pharmaceutical industry and implemented his research into the preservation of human organs for transplant. His contribution to organ preservation research over two decades, and appointment as Patron of the New Zealand Muscular Dystrophy Association in 1988, led to his election as a Member of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1997. Doug now As well as his academic career, Doug has made a significant impact in the field of organ preservation and transplantation in the private sector: from 1980 he has been Chairman & Director of R & D, Res-Del Ltd, Wellington; from 1999-2006 President & Director of Technology, Res-Del International Ltd, UK; and from 2006 has been Founder & Chief Scientific Officer of Aqix Ltd, based at Imperial College BioIncubator, London. He also is a visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Rayne Institute, Kings College, London.Doug returned to the UK in 1999 and now lives in Wapping. His wife Gaynor, née Owens, is also from Aberaman, she lived in Clifton Crescent about 200 yards from where Doug grew up. She attended Aberdare Girls Grammar School before Cardiff University, (1964-67). Doug and Gaynor have one son, Giles.Doug’s company website is at this address: http://www.aqix.com |