Aamir Ahmed (PhD student 1987–1990)
Centre for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, King’ s College London, UK

https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.107.50

Michael John Rennie, Symers Professor of Physiology at the University of Dundee, who died aged 70 on 9 January 2017, was described by his colleagues and friends as a force of nature, larger than life and a bit like Marmite: you either liked him or you didn’t. His key character traits were loyalty, generosity, both intellectual and material, and how well he engaged with the non-academic staff in his department and throughout the University. The technical staff and Jannies (janitors) referred to him simply as Mike (partly because of his habit of working late and on weekends) and were readily offered any help whether for professional or personal matters.

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, he was a proud alumnus of The Royal Grammar School where he entered as an Ochiltree Scholar. Mike charted his scientific path from the Universities of Hull (BSc, Hons), Manchester (MSc), Glasgow (PhD), Washington, St Louis (MRC Travelling Fellow), University College London (Lecturer and Wellcome Senior Lecturer) to Dundee where, at a relatively young age of 37 years, he was appointed as the Chair and 2 years later the Symers Professor of Physiology in 1985.

In 2003, he joined the University of Nottingham as Professor of Clinical Physiology, where he remained until his retirement in 2011; more recently, he taught at the Open University.

Mike’s lifelong research interest was in amino acid metabolism and transport particularly in skeletal muscle. He was an early adopter of the use of stable isotopes in man in conjunction with mass spectrometry to investigate metabolism in health, exercise and disease. His research on muscle protein turnover, hormonal changes during exercise and his early work on the effects of exercise on Duchenne muscular dystrophy, sarcopenia and atrophy remain significant landmarks in the field of muscle physiology. At Nottingham, he applied these to muscle wasting conditions and the relationship of muscle wasting to ageing.

Mike was Head of the Physiology department at Dundee from 1983 to 1988 and again from 1991 to 1997, and also of the Division of Biological Sciences from 1997 to 1998. Despite obtaining a diploma in management, his management style was unconventional and often abrupt; he later recognised a lack of nuance in his repertoire of professional interactions as a missed virtue. However, the intention in the abruptness borne of frustration was always for the recipient to achieve excellence, realise potential with a relentless, almost obsessive, pursuit of attention to detail. For postgraduate students this training was invaluable but others of senior vintage did not always see this approach as necessary or productive. Mike was always one of the hardest-working staff members in the department with a record to prove it: in terms of receiving grant awards or publishing high- quality research papers, there were few in his department, or in the institutions where he worked, that could match his scientific output.

The undergraduate students approached Mike’s lectures and tutorials with apprehension but enjoyed the intellectual and social engagement. One Red Nose day Mike raised money for charity after being challenged by the first year medical students to deliver his lecture wearing long johns and in boots filled with cold porridge after having half his moustache shaved on stage. Incidentally, he then changed into a suit and proceeded, nonchalantly, with only half a moustache, for a meeting with the University Principal and other Heads of department.

Mike’s PhD and clinical MD students also appreciated his style of mentorship that was non-officious and cultivated independence. Most of his PhD students would see him for one-to-one meetings perhaps three times during their 3 years; this was partly due to extensive administrative duties as the
Head of Department. This did not mean that he did not take interest in one’s research or did not insist on a high quality of work both experimental and written, far from it.

Mike’s favourite mode of discussing research with his students was not to have meetings but to come into the laboratory at the end of each day and holler ‘what’s the answer?’ Many lived in the dread of this, until one audacious customer piped back Bob Dylan’s words to him: ‘the answer my friend is blowing in the wind’. A haughty Professor may have taken offence at such impudence, but after being left momentarily speechless (perhaps for the first time in his life), Mike cracked an embarrassed grin followed by his signature belly laugh. The refrain, however, was changed to ‘what new have you found today?’ but failed to carry the same foreboding in the questioned.

Mike never appeared lithe despite cycling 4 miles every day from Invergowrie to Dundee, going for a run, regularly, during lunch time (not a pretty picture upon return) and being a keen hill walker. This was perhaps because the calorie burn was compensated with time spent in local watering holes located a short walk from the Physiology Department in the Old Medical School building. An inebriated bet with a rival laboratory about running up the Arthur’s Seat at the Edinburgh Physiological Society meeting was a consequence of this indulgence. The next morning the esteemed Symers Professor of Physiology was seen lumbering half way up Arthur’s seat and then heaving over a boulder; arriving half an hour late for a conference session because, despite losing the bet badly, he had to complete the task. An enthusiastic participant in other departmental social and sporting activities some will recall the vibrant departmental Christmas parties, summer tennis outings or cricket matches when the sun shone in Dundee. The work hard, play harder lifestyle was not without consequences, and it is difficult to judge what role this may have played in a relatively early demise.

Mike mentored over 25 postgraduate students and numerous postdoctoral fellows (most pursued careers in research related to human physiology and remain indebted to his contribution in initiating their careers) and published over 350 peer-reviewed articles. A keen supporter of scientific societies
(The Physiological Society, the American Physiological Society, European Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, amongst others), he published many of his papers in Society journals and also served on the editorial boards of numerous journals. Mike was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1995. He was the GL Brown prize lecturer (2004/2005) and served as the interim editor of The Journal of Physiology (2009–2010). Mike is survived by his wife Anne, daughters Louise and Eleanor, son Andrew and five grandchildren.