The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Leading leukaemia scientist leaves inspiring legacy
Tributes have been paid to a “brilliant scientist” who made world-leading contributions in leukaemia research.
Professor Tessa Holyoake, an expert in Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia, died peacefully on August 30, aged 54, after battling breast cancer.
The Aberdeen-born scientist was the Professor of Experimental Haematology at the Institute of Cancer Sciences at Glasgow University and Director of the Paul O’Gorman Leukemia Research Centre.
Professor Holyoake is survived by her husband Andy, her mother Mary, her sister Sylvia and brother Nick.
Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak, vice principal and Head of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences at Glasgow University, said: “Professor Tessa Holyoake was not only a brilliant scientist and a wonderful doctor, but also a true friend and inspiration to her colleagues, myself included.
“Tessa was a world leader in her field of CML research, making many important discoveries. She was dedicated to her patients and colleagues, always willing to give her time to fundraising and raising awareness of CML. She will be sorely missed by everyone at the university and, of course, beyond, and we were privileged to have worked with her.”
Professor Holyoake was educated at Albyn School in Aberdeen and later went on to study medicine in Glasgow, graduating in 1985. She completed a PhD in 1996 before embarking on a two-year research fellowship in Vancouver, where she lived with her husband Andy.
She returned to Glasgow University as a researcher in 1992, achieving her personal professorship in October 2004.
One of the finest moments of her career was when she became the first person to identify the existence of cancer stem cells in CML in 1999. Later, she demonstrated the resistance of these stem cells to CML-specific therapies.
Professor Holyoake also made a world-leading contribution to her field, by identifying key CML stem cell survival pathways that can be manipulated to develop potential new treatments.
She helped to raise more than £4million towards building the Paul O’Gorman Leukaemia Research Centre. The centre was opened in 2008 by Dr Richard Rockefeller, the great-grandson of America’s first billionaire and a CML sufferer who had donated generously to Professor Holyoake’s work.
In 2009, she won the Scottish Health Awards Cancer Care Award, in 2011 the Lord Provost of Glasgow Health Award, and in 2015 the Scottish Alba Saltire Society Fletcher of Saltoun Award for her contribution to science, and the Scottish Cancer Foundation Inaugural Prize and Evans/Forrest Medal. She was made a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2013.
Earlier this year, she was awarded the prestigious Rowley Prize by the International CML Foundation in recognition of her ground-breaking work.
She was elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2007 and, as recently as July, was given an RSE Royal Medal by the Queen in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the field of life sciences.
Professor Holyoake enjoyed running, swimming and cycling in her spare time.