Professor John Studd died on 17th August 2021. He was well known to the readers of this journal for his contribution in the field of menopause. But John Studd also made enormous contributions in other areas of women’s health care including the management of labor, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) as well as infertility. He was an inspirational teacher and a polymath with a great love for poetry and classical music particularly Opera.
John William Winston Studd was born on the 4th March 1940; he had a difficult start to life – his father died when he was just 6 months old. His mother worked as a cinema usherette and the young John Studd would often be seated in the back row of the cinema while his mother was working. She was unable to provide for John, so he was cared for by a number of foster parents and for some time at Dr Barnardo’s Children’s Home. His father had worked for the Royal Navy as a civilian and this qualified John to attend the Royal Hospital School, a boarding school in Suffolk that accepted the children and the orphans of members of the Royal Navy. This was transformative for the young John Studd; it provided him with the support and stability that were lacking in his early years. He excelled academically at the Royal Hospital and developed his lifelong love of classical music and literature. He was the first boy from the school to gain a place at medical school, when in 1957 at the age of 17 he was accepted by the University of Birmingham.
After house jobs in Birmingham and Hereford, he briefly worked as a GP in Ross on Wye; he enjoyed the idyllic setting and took up fishing, but this was not intellectually challenging for him. In 1963 he obtained a senior house officer post in Bulawayo, then Rhodesia, working in general surgery, obstetrics, and gynecology. He returned to Birmingham in 1965 to work for Professor McLaren, initially as a clinical registrar and then research fellow, undertaking research in proteinuria in pregnancy which led to the award of an MD.
He returned to Rhodesia in 1970, this time working in the academic department of the University of Rhodesia in Salisbury, now Harare. It was while working with Hugh Philpott in Rhodesia that he saw the use of the partogram, which was highly effective in avoiding prolonged labor and the consequences of obstructed labor in rural villages.
In the 1960s, he developed an interest in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and spent some time working with Professor Robert Greenblatt. He set up the UK’s first menopause clinic in Birmingham while he was still a trainee. At that time, HRT was considered unethical and the local health authority closed the clinic down. This did not deter John Studd who re-opened it a few months later; the Midlands menopause clinic still thrives to this day. John's early research interest in the menopause was in the use of progestogens to prevent endometrial hyperplasia; he demonstrated that cyclical progestogen can avoid the risk of endometrial pathology reported with unopposed estrogen.
He was appointed consultant gynecologist in Nottingham and a year later accepted a post at King's College Hospital, London. John always felt that all practising clinicians should be actively involved in research and, as a consultant at King's College Hospital, he continued his research in menopause and set up the King’s College Hospital Menopause Clinic. He continued his academic work on the active management of labor as well as the management of sickle cell disease in pregnancy. He helped to popularize the use of the partogram and the ‘Studd Curves’. He published a number of papers on this subject and in 1985 edited the highly popular book, The Management of Labor.
John Studd carried out important research in osteoporosis and demonstrated that the skeletal response to estrogen is dose-dependent. He also demonstrated that the skin of postmenopausal women loses thickness with reduced collagen content and that these changes can be reversed with estrogen replacement. He reported similar changes in the skeleton and skin in women with anorexia nervosa.
John Studd recognized that sex steroids play an important role in mental health and described the association of PMS, postnatal depression and menopause. He felt very strongly that women with mood disorders in midlife were wrongly diagnosed as suffering from a psychiatric disorder and were treated inappropriately with antidepressants rather than HRT. His outspoken criticism on the use of antidepressants for the treatment of these symptoms sometimes caused controversy amongst psychiatrists. He carried out important research into the use of transdermal hormonal therapy in the treatment of PMS and postnatal depression. He also recognized the value of testosterone for the alleviation of sexual dysfunction but also to help with other symptoms, again an area that some still regard as controversial.
In 1986 John Studd established the Lister Hospital IVF unit in London, which remains one of the most successful assisted conception units in the UK.
After many years as a consultant at King's College Hospital he moved to the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital as a Consultant Gynecologist and Professor of Gynecology. He quickly set up the menopause clinic at the Chelsea & Westminster which remains a busy clinic looking after women with menopausal problems.
He retired from the Chelsea & Westminster and continued to work privately establishing the London PMS and Menopause Clinic. He retired from clinical practice in 2019 shortly before his 80th birthday. He did not enjoy retirement very much, as he missed clinical and academic work, but he continued to enjoy classical music, particularly the operas of Wagner.
John Studd was passionate about women's health care and set up the Women's Health Concern in 1977 and co-founded The National Osteoporosis Society, now The Royal Osteoporosis Society. He was an inspirational teacher and a supporter of women trainees; in one case in the 1980s he challenged his more senior colleagues to secure the appointment of the first female consultant Gynecologist at King’s. Many of his trainees went on to set up successful research units of their own.
John Studd was a larger-than-life character, a bon viveur and did not dwell on his humble beginnings. He had a wide knowledge of literature, history, and politics. He was widely read and could often recite poetry that he had learnt many years previously. He was always great company. His views today may seem a little outdated or controversial, but he was always honest and the frankness with which he expressed his views may sometimes have caused offense, but one of his endearing qualities was that he held no grudges.
In 1981 John Studd married Margaret Johnson who was then a Respiratory Physician, now Professor of Medicine at the Royal Free Hospital. They had three children to whom he was a devoted father.
His contribution to women's health care was recognized by the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) which awarded him the Blair Bell medal for lifetime achievement in medicine. He was a visiting professor at many institutions. He was past president of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology section of the RSM, Chair of the British Menopause Society and served on the council of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists for many years. He published more than 500 papers and numerous books. His series of books, Progress in Obstetrics and Gynecology, were published annually between 1985 and 2003 and were essential reading for trainees preparing for the MRCOG Part II examination.
Many gynecology specialists owe a great debt to John Studd for his kindness, wisdom, and teaching.
He is survived by his wife Margaret, his son, two daughters and three grandchildren.