Ronald Whittam. 21 March 1925—16 August 2023

Ron Whittam had a distinguished academic career in the field of cellular physiology and biochemistry, significantly in the study of transmembrane ion transport mechanisms. His work spanned several decades and institutions including the universities of Manchester, Sheffield, Cambridge, Oxford and Leicester. He served in the Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1947. Undergraduate success was followed by various prestigious fellowships and academic positions. He held the founding Chair of General Physiology at Leicester University. His research addressed an aspect of cellular function fundamental to all life forms: namely, the mechanisms whereby the various transmembrane ionic gradients and distributions are generated and sustained, defining the differences between the inside and outside of the cell.