Professor Sir Nicholas White FRCP FMedSci FRS FBPhS

Professor Sir Nicholas White was an outstanding medical doctor and researcher, specialising in tropical medicine in developing countries. His research saved the lives of millions of people living in malaria-endemic countries in Africa and South East Asia: he played a key role in ensuring the global recommendation of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and intravenous artesunate as the most effective treatment for severe malaria. Professor White's scientific interests extended to other infectious diseases of major public health importance, including dengue, melioidosis, typhoid fever, and tetanus.

Professor White studied at the Guy’s Hospital Medical School at King’s College London, completing his residency in internal medicine at various hospitals in London and at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford. Since 1980, he was part of a scientific collaboration between the Nuffield Department of Medicine and Mahidol University in Thailand (Mahidol Oxford Research Unit (MORU)) becoming its director in 1986. Under his scientific leadership, MORU became world renowned for clinical research that combined methodological rigour with direct relevance to patient care, working in long-term partnership with local hospitals, clinicians, and researchers.

Professor White was a very highly cited author/co-author of more than one thousand peer-reviewed scientific publications, and contributed extensively to internal advisory bodies, including those of the World Health Organization. His achievements were recognised through honours, including election as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2006 and appointment as Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2017. Professor White was also the recipient of a number of awards, including the GlaxoSmithKline Prize (2005), the Gairdner Global Health Award, Gairdner Foundation, Canada (2010), and the Prince Mahidol Award (2011).

Details of a memorial event will be added in due course.