Alan Munro (immunologist)

Alan James Munro (born 19 February 1937) is a British immunologist and entrepreneur who served as the Master of Christ's College, Cambridge (1995–2002).

Alan Munro
Born	1937 Madras, India
Alma mater	University of Cambridge
Known for	autoimmune system
Scientific career
Doctoral advisor	Asher Korner
Doctoral students	Philippa Marrack

Early life and education

Munro was born in Madras, India to John Bennet Lorimer Munro, CB, CMG and his wife Gladys.[1] He was educated at the Edinburgh Academy in Scotland.[1] He attended the University of Cambridge, specialising in biochemistry. His PhD in the area of protein synthesis was supervised by Asher Korner at the Department of Biochemistry (1964).[1]

Career and research

His early posts were in the Cambridge biochemistry department (1963–68).[1] His collaborators during this period include Tim Hunt.[2] He joined the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge in 1968 to set up a cellular immunology programme. In 1971, he joined the Immunology Division of the Department of Pathology at the University of Cambridge. He spent sabbatical years at the Salk Institute, La Jolla, USA (1965–66) and University of Leiden, the Netherlands (1976–77). He became acting head of the Pathology Department in 1987.[1]

His research interests during this period included the regulation of the immune response[1] and the generation of therapeutic antibodies. He was instrumental in the early investigation of the Campath series of antibodies, which eventually resulted in the cancer treatment, alemtuzumab.[3][4]

In 1988, Munro spent a sabbatical year working in the biotechnology company Celltech.[1] He left the university in 1989 to co-found the highly successful Cambridge-based biotechnology company Immunology Ltd, later renamed Cantab Pharmaceuticals plc (now part of Celtic Pharma), specialising in therapeutic vaccines and immunotherapy, and he acted as its scientific director until 1995.[1] He was also Chairman of Lorantis Ltd, another Cambridge-based immunology company.

He served as Master of Christ's College, Cambridge 1995–2002, being particularly active in establishing the college's fundraising campaign for the 2005 quincentenary.[1]

As of 2006, Munro chairs the New Agents Committee of Cancer Research UK[5] and holds non-executive directorships of Blackwell Publishing Ltd and Paradigm Therapeutics.[6][7]

Personal life

He married Mary Robertson in 1960. They have two sons:[1][8] Sean Munro, FRS, is a cell biologist,[9] and Ben Munro a Chief Engineer with Babcock.

References

1. Sykes P (2002) Tribute to the retiring Master, Dr Alan Munro. Christ's College Magazine 227: 20–21
2. Hunt T (2001) Protein synthesis, proteolysis, and cell cycle transitions: Nobel lecture
3. "Cambridge Therapeutic Antibody Links". Archived from the original on 19 June 2006. Retrieved 21 May 2006.
4. Hale G, Bright S, Chumbley G, Hoang T, Metcalf D, Munro AJ, Waldmann H (1983) Removal of T cells from bone marrow for transplantation: a monoclonal antilymphocyte antibody that fixes human complement. Blood 62:873–882 (PMID 6349718)
5. Cancer Research UK Scientific Advisory Board
6. "Blackwell Publishing Board of Directors". Archived from the original on 12 June 2006. Retrieved 21 May 2006.
7. Paradigm Therapeutics Management
8. Munro, Dr Alan James, Who's Who 2013 (accessed 16 January 2013) (subscription required)
9. Munro, Dr (Bruce) Sean, Who's Who 2013 (accessed 16 January 2013) (subscription required)

Academic offices
Preceded by Hans Kornberg	Master of Christ's College, Cambridge 1995–2002	Succeeded by Malcolm Bowie