John Lake Moore

John Lake Moore was born in Markham, which is a small village to the north east of Bargoed in Caerphilly County Borough. He studied at University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire (now Cardiff University) and graduated with a degree in Microbiology in 1959. For his postgraduate study there he was supervised by Mr E.C. Hill and studied the effects of gamma radiation on E. coli. He used the 1000 Curie Cobalt 60 source that had been installed in the basement of Main Building in Cathays Park by the Atomic Energy Authority and spent periods studying at Harwell physics Laboratory in Oxfordshire. His postdoctoral research years were spent working as a Scientific Officer with Dr Tikvah Alper at the Medical Research Council Radiopathology Research Unit at Hammersmith hospital in London where he studied the effects of X-rays and fast neutrons on beta-galactosidase induction in E. coli and radiosensitivity at low oxygen concentrations.

In 1966, John returned to Cardiff to lead the newly-opened Tenovus Research Laboratory at Velindre hospital in Whitchurch. He continued to investigate radiosensitivity in a diverse range of systems and went on to develop research into radiotherapy, cancer immunology and medical pharmacology. He worked tirelessly with his research team to attract significant funding (including grants from the National Cancer Institute of America) to advance an understanding of how tumours respond to radiation and he was instrumental in the development of prestigious new research laboratories opened in 2001 that helped to establish Velindre NHS Trust as a Centre of Excellence. He worked to further develop the South Wales Cancer Research Charity (now known as Cancer Research Wales) and over many years acted as trustee, Chairman and President.

John was appointed as an Honorary lecturer at University College Cardiff (now Cardiff University) in the 1970s and collaborated successfully with Terry Coakley until his retirement to supervise many Honours and PhD projects. Their first PhD student on a Tenovus Scholarship was Helen Middleton (née Bass: Honours class of 1975In 1976 John helped to re-activate the South Wales branch of the Institute of Biology (now known as the Royal Society of Biology).

He became its first Chairman for two years and served on the committee for many years.

In 1991 an Honorary Professorship was conferred on John by the University of Wales and in 1993 he was made an Honorary Fellow by University of Wales Institute Cardiff (now known as Cardiff Metropolitan University).

John was an energetic and inspirational person, with a gregarious, kind and generous disposition. He was a proud family man who loved to play golf and enjoyed cooking and gardening. He was an effective committee worker and superb fund raiser, activities that continued during his retirement. Sadly, John was diagnosed with cancer less than a year before his death which was caused by pneumonia. He is survived by his wife Carol, sons Gavin and Robin, and grandchildren Joshua, Rebecca, Harriet, Mabon and Myfanwy. He will be missed by many.

Professor Rose Cooper, formally of Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University

Dr Helen Middleton, formally of The Welsh Blood Service, Velindre University NHS Trust

Professor David Lloyd, Honorary Professor, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University

Carol Moore