1933-2021
Malcolm Greaves received his medical degree from Charing Cross Hospital Medical School in 1957. He was a UK Medical Research Council Fellow for 3 years at the University College London where he received a PhD in pharmacology. He completed his dermatology training at St. John’s Institute of Dermatology and the Royal Victoria Infirmary.
He was appointed Clinical Professor and Head of the St. John’s Institute of Dermatology in 1975 and later became Dean of the Institute in 1986. Professor Greaves was an honorary member of countless national societies and served as president of many important dermatology organizations.
After retirement he became a clinician-teacher in Southeast Asia, first in Malaysia and later in Singapore. Malcolm and his wife narrowly escaped death when they survived a tsunami on December 6, 2004, while on vacation in Dusit Laguna Resort, Phuket.
Professor Greaves contributions to skin research were immense. He was a clinician scientist who uncovered significant insights into the molecular pharmacology of skin inflammation, psoriasis immunotherapy, the pathophysiology of itch, and the autoimmune basis of chronic urticaria. Education was a passion and he made globalized postgraduate medical training in dermatology a priority.
He authored over six hundred peer-reviewed articles and was listed among the “Top 10 British Doctors” by The Times in 2010. Professor Greaves died at age 87.
