OBITUARY
Professor Paul Michel Georges Vanhoutte
The Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy, The LKS Faculty of Medicine, The Department of Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong, record with deep sadness the loss of Professor Paul Michel Georges Vanhoutte, an internationally renowned pharmacologist and vascular biologist, who passed away in Paris on August 23, 2019. Professor Vanhoutte was the Chair Professor and Head of Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy from 2006 to 2011 and remained to be the Chair Professor until 2015. He was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Hong Kong since 2003 and the Director of the Biopharmaceutical Research and Development Centre that he co-founded with Professor Chi-ming Che (Chemistry) and Professor Ricky Ying-keung Man (Pharmacology) .
Professor Vanhoutte was a member of Academia Europea (the Academy of Europe), Academie Nationale de Pharmacie (National Academy of Pharmacy) [Paris, France], Academie Royale de Medecine de Belgique (Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium), Brasilian Academy of Medicine, American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, American Physiological Society, American Society for Clinical Investigation, American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, British Pharmacological Society, European Society of Cardiology, International Society for Heart Research, International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences. He was the founding president of Asian Society of Vascular Biology, past-president of Hong Kong Pharmacology Society, former director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Science and Medicine of The University of Hong Kong, a founding member of European Biomedical Research Association and International Society on Endothelialization in Cardiovascular Surgery, and the past-president of Serotonin Club. He served as Secretary General and President of the International Union of Pharmacology (IUPHAR). The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and the International Serotonin Research Society have established the Vanhoutte Lecture named after him.
As a distinguished scholar, Professor Vanhoutte has published over 690 original research papers, 584 reviews, 4 (as author) and 32 (as editor) book chapters. He is a highly cited scholar in three fields of science, pharmacology and clinical medicine (ISI papers 88643 times with a H index 143). Known as the father of vascular biology, he patiently and carefully cultivated the younger generation and was deeply engaged in the organization of international conferences. He has contributed to the establishment of numerous alliances between industry and academic institutions and helped to build up close links between academics from Western and Asian countries.
Professor Vanhoutte has played a major role in promoting the pharmacology and pharmacy education, and the drug discovery research activities across Chemistry, Molecular Biology and Medicine disciplines at the University of Hong Kong. The Bachelor of Pharmacy programme was launched when Professor Vanhoutte was the Head of Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy. Professor Vanhoutte has been a friend, mentor and an eminent scientist to support the Department. We are all very grateful for his contribution and service to the University. Professor Chi-ming Che and colleagues in the Department of Chemistry are grateful to the longstanding friendship of Professor Vanhoutte. His passing is a great loss to the field of cardiovascular medicine and pharmacology, the Department and the University. We extend our deepest condolences to Professor Vanhoutte’s family.
