Professor John Henderson
Expert in paediatric respiratory medicine, especially asthma
PROFESSOR JOHN HENDERSON, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 61, was a leading paediatrician and clinical scientist who specialised in diseases of the respiratory system, particularly asthma.
As a paediatric respiratory consultant in Bristol he established a retrieval service to bring sick patients from the far reaches of Devon and Cornwall to ensure that they were in an optimal state when they arrived in Bristol, after ambulance journeys of up to four hours.
An expert in artificial ventilation, he helped to develop a service for children to be artificially ventilated safely at home, and set up a service for the region for children who had breathing problems associated with sleep.
In 1991-92 the University of Bristol set up the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (Alspac), also known as Children of the 90s, which recruited more than 14,000 pregnant women in the area. Over the subsequent three decades the women, the children arising from their pregnancies and the women’s partners have been followed up intensively, with the collection of enormous amounts of information about their backgrounds, lifestyles and, with permission, their DNA.
Henderson was one of the leading researchers involved in linking the epidemiological data from Alspac with the latest advances in genetics, among other things distinguishing different patterns of asthmatic wheeze, and establishing that they have different risk factors and need different types of treatment.
He also made important contributions to the understanding of asthma heterogeneity (the complex interplay between genetic, environmental and behavioural risk factors), and was pivotal in bringing together five British birth cohort studies, with Alspac, into a consortium, the Stelar e-lab (Study Team for Early Life Asthma Research), which vastly improved the prospects for making major discoveries in this area.
The eldest of four children, Alexander John William Henderson was born in Renfrew, west of Glasgow, on February 11 1958. His father was in sales and his mother a nurse. The family moved regularly
around Scotland before settling in York where he attended Archbishop Holgate’s Grammar School, latterly as a boarder when the family moved again to the Cotswolds.
He qualified in medicine in Manchester and almost immediately decided that he would like to work with children. He met his wife Nicola on a blind date involving a picnic on Barnes Common and this enticed him to move south and take a post at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Following training in Britain and Australia he was appointed as a consultant in Bristol and Professor of Paediatric Respiratory Medicine at Bristol Medical School, where his organisational skills led to his being asked to lead the reorganisation of teaching, which for many years had struggled with low student satisfaction ratings.
The result – a new curriculum which put much greater emphasis on medicine in general practice and the community, together with a more coordinated approach, utilising all the major hospitals in the South West region, led to the school rising to a Top 10 position in student ratings.
A modest man who shunned the limelight, Henderson was described by a colleague as “just about the nicest guy and best company on the planet”. He only became frustrated when working with people unable to see the benefits of trying something different.
In his younger days he had been a rugby player which led on to coaching. He was a passionate follower of the Scottish team, with a touching faith that they would one day win at Cardiff. He loved exploring the countryside on foot or bicycle.
He is survived by his wife, Nicky, and their two sons.
Professor John Henderson, born February 11 1958, died July 24 2019