Professor Sir Doug, who co-founded the Mitochondrial Research Group at Newcastle University with Professor Robert Lightowlers thirty years ago, has had a remarkable career dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by mitochondrial disease. He has worked tirelessly towards achieving this goal by combining exceptional clinical care with world-class mitochondrial research.

He has also played a critical role in the NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) since it was first awarded in 2007, leading research that contributed to the centre’s overall aims. In the most recent BRC, he led the Neuromuscular Disease theme from 2017, before stepping down in 2019 to prepare for retirement.

Professor Sir Doug’s cohesion of clinical and academic excellence with outstanding leadership is exemplified by his success in realising mitochondrial donation, a new reproductive option for women with mitochondrial disease that required Parliament to change UK law. This dedication has not gone unrecognised and has led to a number of prestigious awards, including a knighthood in 2016, a Fellowship to the Royal Society in 2019 and the Buchanan Medal in 2020.

As an internationally-renowned clinician and world class scientist, Professor Sir Doug has looked after patients with mitochondrial disease for over 35 years. During this time, he has always strived to maintain a patient-focussed approach to his research and has built an incredibly talented team who will continue to transform the lives of all patients with mitochondrial disease following his retirement. The whole team would like to take this opportunity to wish ‘Doug’ a very happy and fulfilling retirement and to say that he will be greatly missed by us all.