02-11 2020 09:43
wrote:
This was such a shock to hear. My deepest sympathies to Katherine and Daniel.
There are leaders, great leaders and Chris Abell. In the 20 years I have known him as a colleague, I have always had the utmost respect for his advice and guidance. I have watched and tried to learn from his approach to science and communication, and his seminal contributions to chemical biology and fragment-based drug design are well documented. His leadership within the University followed the style of his research – collaborative, focused and systematic. The speed at which he assimilated situations and other people’s views allowed him to speak with clarity and authority; he seemed able to synthesise the best course of action time after time. Never afraid to challenge dogma or egotism, I admired his straight talking that seemed to be a testimony to his roots, and his appreciation of what every member of the University team contributes to the output of the whole showed his empathy and humanity. He never seemed to lose touch with students and the lab, and his feet always seemed firmly on the ground. I will miss his infectious laugh.
I am sure Chris would have gone on to bigger leadership positions and would have continued to positively impact everything he touched. He is a big loss to Cambridge as a whole, and Chemistry specifically, and we are all poorer without the benefit of his wisdom. May he rest in peace.
02-11 2020 09:43
wrote:
This was such a shock to hear. My deepest sympathies to Katherine and Daniel.
There are leaders, great leaders and Chris Abell. In the 20 years I have known him as a colleague, I have always had the utmost respect for his advice and guidance. I have watched and tried to learn from his approach to science and communication, and his seminal contributions to chemical biology and fragment-based drug design are well documented. His leadership within the University followed the style of his research – collaborative, focused and systematic. The speed at which he assimilated situations and other people’s views allowed him to speak with clarity and authority; he seemed able to synthesise the best course of action time after time. Never afraid to challenge dogma or egotism, I admired his straight talking that seemed to be a testimony to his roots, and his appreciation of what every member of the University team contributes to the output of the whole showed his empathy and humanity. He never seemed to lose touch with students and the lab, and his feet always seemed firmly on the ground. I will miss his infectious laugh.
I am sure Chris would have gone on to bigger leadership positions and would have continued to positively impact everything he touched. He is a big loss to Cambridge as a whole, and Chemistry specifically, and we are all poorer without the benefit of his wisdom. May he rest in peace.
