The Society is sad to hear of the death of Professor Christopher Charles Michel, who passed away on 19 July 2024. Professor Charles Michel was an active member of The Physiological Society, and served as Meetings Secretary from 1980-1983.

He transformed the study of microcirculation, changing it from a descriptive approach to a quantitative research investigation. Studying the nature of the permeability of blood vessel walls, led to his novel discovery that the surface coating of endothelial cells acted like a molecular sieve. His research and findings have been instrumental in the development of new treatments for shock, and other conditions with increased vascular permeability.

Professor Charles Michel was born in 1938 in Leeds, UK. He won a scholarship at school to study medicine at Queen’s College Oxford, UK, where he soon developed an interest in physiology. After his second year in medicine, he went onto complete a BSc in physiology. During his studies at Oxford, he was awarded a Christopher Welsh Scholarship to pursue his interest in physiology, exploring blood flow and changes in its PH for his PhD. He then later worked on oxygen consumption in muscle in New York. When he returned to Oxford, he was appointed College Fellow of Queen’s College, and was given a lectureship in the Department of Physiology run by Sir George Lindor Brown (1903 –1971).

In 1980, Professor Charles Michel became Head of the Department of Physiology at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School, London (which later merged with Imperial College London to form Imperial College School of Medicine). Here, he worked with his colleagues on developing techniques to investigate the structure of the capillary wall in vessels and vascular permeability. He dedicated his time to developing the understanding of microcirculation, working on theories and models until he retired from Imperial College London in 2000.

Professor Charles Michel was awarded the prestigious Malpighi Prize in 1984 for his contributions to the field of microcirculatory and vascular biology research, and for his devotion to promoting the next generation of scientists.