Upholding Protocol — The Logic of Diagnosis — Tribute to E. M. Nicholls (1927–2011)

Max Nicholls had an almost unique experience as a medical practitioner, researcher and teacher of medical genetics. An earlier paper described his contribution to the etiology of neurofibromatosis. This was followed by Nicholls' own experience as lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia. This note draws attention to his research in immunology. For example, he was instrumental in the study of the buffy coat leuko-agglutination (BCLA) test, a sensitive assay for cell-mediated immunity that he introduced to detect conditions (including cancer) in preclinical stages.