David N Furness, Husband and colleague

https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.99.45

Carole was born in Preston, Lancashire and went to the University of Manchester, gaining a B.Sc with 1st class Honours in Genetics and Cell Biology, and then a PhD in Cell Biology before becoming a New Blood lecturer at Keele University in 1983, appointed to the Department of Communication and Neuroscience by the then head, Professor  E.F. (Ted) Evans. This department, founded by Donald Mackay, was known for its excellent research into hearing, speech and vision

At Keele, Carole worked on cochlear hair cells. Whilst more anatomist than physiologist, she became a member of the Physiological Society and with me as her first post-doc , provided novel data on the recently discovered tip link, a tiny mechanical gating structure that underlies hair cell transduction. Carole built up an electron microscope unit and became head of department, then school, when the department merged with Biological Sciences to form the School of Life Sciences, after which she was given a Personal Chair. Carole was noted for her collaboration with Professor Kirsten Osen in the University of Oslo. They provided the first detailed anatomical map of the guinea-pig cochlear nucleus, still used by auditory physiologists today. She made beautiful camera lucida drawings of cells in the nuclei, following on in the tradition of classical neuroanatomists like Lorente de No.

Carole won several awards, among them the Thomas Simm Littler Prize from the British Society of Audiology, and the BAAS Charles Darwin Award Lecture (1996). Her research excellence is evidenced by the 89 research articles and numerous book chapters on hearing, including a revision of Gray’s Anatomy Inner Ear chapter.  Carole acted as occasional spokesperson and advisor to various deafness charities in the 1990s, and was on the Wellcome Trust Neurosciences Panel and International Committee for the ARO. She was certainly well known and well thought of in the auditory field.

Carole was a keen wildlife enthusiast and photographer, rehabilitating injured birds of prey such as barn owls, for release to the wild. After divorcing her first husband, Carole moved to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to focus on research with her long-term collaborator Professor Robert Fettiplace. Family concerns made her return to the UK where she held a post at Keele and then a lectureship at Cambridge University. However, she developed a desire to return to the Midlands, coming back to South Cheshire when we got married.

Carole’s career then took a completely different turn. Although retaining her research links, she started a company called Advanced Imaging and Microscopy, setting up two electron microscopes of her own in the garage to provide consultancy and research support. Carole died in a tragic accident on the 17 February, an untimely passing, leaving me and her two sons from her first marriage. All who knew her were touched by her determination and supportive, caring attitude. The help she gave to many people in her career will never be forgotten.