{"id":1815,"date":"2018-03-29T14:12:05","date_gmt":"2018-03-29T13:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/religion-law-and-the-constitution\/?p=1815"},"modified":"2025-11-26T11:35:02","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T11:35:02","slug":"tribute-to-professor-sir-john-sulston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/religion-law-and-the-constitution\/2018\/03\/29\/tribute-to-professor-sir-john-sulston\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribute to Professor Sir John Sulston"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Like many others around the world, we were deeply saddened to hear of the death of one of our interviewees in the \u2018Balancing Beliefs\u2019 project, Professor Sir John Sulston. \u00a0Remarkably, he made game-changing contributions to the field of Science, and after winning a Nobel Prize for his work on the DNA of the nematode, he went on to lead the British branch of an international project to sequence the human genome. Thanks to his commendable work, our collective knowledge of the building-blocks of life has been transformed, and the positive domino affects in the sphere of medicine have been immense.\u00a0 The Human Genome Project has indeed enabled dramatic advances in the treatment of cancer and other diseases, and it has helped scientists and doctors to develop targeted therapies with fewer side effects.<\/p>\n

It is moving to think that as a result of the research which Sir John and his colleagues carried out, people who would otherwise have died a long while ago can wake up this morning to play with their children, go to work, get wet in the March drizzle, and generally get on with life wherever they happen to be.\u00a0 That must be acknowledged as an indescribably precious, but also very apt legacy, for a man who dedicated himself to both biological science and the collective welfare of humankind.<\/p>\n

Sir John should also be remembered for his determination that the human genome should be sequenced in publically funded universities, and therefore freely available to future researchers.\u00a0 In his view, having data shackled by the intellectual property rights of business interests was far too high a price to pay for commercial support.\u00a0 This courageous stance in defence of social justice and the common good was typical of his, and the principles which he maintained throughout his life and career.\u00a0 We can attest from personal experience that he was extremely kind and unassuming, whilst his help was genuine, generous and completely ungrudging.\u00a0 Furthermore, in a society where it is all too common to witness a total disconnect between principles held in the abstract, on the one hand, and practical daily choices, on the other, it was refreshing to encounter someone who demonstrated a synergy between both of them.\u00a0 In other words, Sir John not only talked the talk, but walked the walk as well.\u00a0 He believed that human beings are a social species, and must be collaborative and mutually caring in order to flourish. He lived this out on every level, including big decisions and small, from taking a principled stand about research funding, to giving us his time to help with a legal project on religion and belief.<\/p>\n

The closing remarks in his interview made a deep impression upon both of us.\u00a0 Human beings are at present a very<\/em> young species (in context, trilobites endured for 281 MILLION years, homo sapiens have been around for about 200,000), and if we are to have any hope of surviving, we need to start working together to take responsibility for the planet we inhabit.\u00a0 Otherwise, our current squabbles about religion, humanism, culture and politics will all be pretty irrelevant.\u00a0 We run the risk of signing our own death-warrants by generating pollution and using resources irresponsibly, as well as destroying countless other innocent and beautiful living creatures (many of them with enough cognitive and emotional capacity to suffer) in the process.\u00a0 It is a salutary thought, but one which we cannot afford to ignore.\u00a0 Crucially, if we don\u2019t put our differences aside and find ways to live in harmony and collaboration one with another, we won\u2019t be living at all.<\/p>\n

Related Articles<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sir John Sulston: Obituary<\/a> The Guardian<\/em> (11\/3\/18)<\/p>\n

Sir John Sulston human genome pioneer dies<\/a> BBC News<\/em> (9\/3\/18)<\/p>\n

Balancing Beliefs: Sir John Sulston Interview<\/a><\/p>\n

John Sulston: Founding Director of the Wellcome Sanger Institute<\/a><\/p>\n

Manchester University: Obituary Professor Sir John Sulston<\/a><\/p>\n

An Overview of the Human Genome Project<\/a><\/p>\n

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