Professor John Douglas Mitchell, known to everyone as Douglas, died on 13 February 2011. He was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in August 2010, by which time it was incurable.
Douglas was a consultant neurologist at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Director of the Preston MND Care and Research Centre. Although interested in neurodegenerative diseases generally, his specific interest was motor neuron disease (MND), which began at an early stage in his career; his M.D. thesis entitled ‘Trace Element Studies in Motor Neurone Disease’ was awarded by Aberdeen University in 1991. He rapidly became an internationally recognized expert on MND and enjoyed working with collaborators worldwide.
Inspired by the multidisciplinary approach to care advocated by the late Ted Norris, Douglas was instrumental in establishing the Preston MND Care and Research Centre based at the Royal Preston Hospital, which provides specialist care and advice for people affected by MND across Lancashire and south Cumbria. Originally founded in 1993, this was one of the first such services for people living with MND in the UK. More recently he set up a fast-track diagnostic service for people suspected of having MND in an attempt to reduce what he regarded as unacceptable delays in arriving at a diagnosis.
He was passionate about trying to improve the lives of people with MND and was involved in many key developments including the formulation and revision of the El Escorial criteria and creation of guidelines on clinical trial methodology. Douglas was a prolific clinical investigator and worked on many of the pivotal clinical trials in MND. His team also made a valuable contribution to the identification of the TDP-43 linkage in inherited motor neuron disease. The extent of his contribution to MND care and research can be seen in his outstanding publication record.
Douglas Mitchell was an active contributor to the Cochrane Reviews on ALS/MND and served on the Board of the Cochrane Neuromuscular Group for a number of years. He was heavily involved in establishing the North-West Dementias and Neurodegenerative Diseases (DeNDRoN) Network and was a member of the MND Clinical Studies Group, a nationally recognized authoritative voice on MND research in the UK.
Away from work, Douglas was a first class pianist and violinist and enjoyed photography and astronomy. He was married to Christine and had two daughters, Susie and Catriona, of whom he was exceptionally proud. He will be remembered as a highly respected colleague and friend and will be sadly missed.