Dedicated to the Memory of Professor Barry Kay

Barry Kay departed this life towards the end of 2020, aged 81. He was emeritus Professor of Allergy and Immunology at Imperial College London and, before he retired from clinical work, a consultant allergist at the nearby Brompton Hospital. He co-founded Circassia, an Imperial College biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of vaccines for allergen immunotherapy. To members of the BSACI and hundreds of allergists and asthma researchers across the world, Barry needs no introduction. He served as president of the BSACI and the EAACI, as co-editor of Clinical & Experimental Allergy, as specialist adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee on Allergy and co-authored some 500 research papers and review articles as well as editing his textbook “Allergy and Allergic Diseases”. 

To view the full article please view below Tribute to my friend Barry Kay by Chris Corrigan in Lifestories 

Contribute

Help grow Barry's Tribute by adding messages or memories you'd like to share.

Thoughts

At the 2021 BSACI Conference we shared a tribute video made by Barry's friends and colleagues. you can view this video here: https://youtu.be/sh2ixvqBp5g
BSACI
8th November 2021
My last connection with Barry, an email indicated that he was very ill, had just turned 81, and hoped for better times and health--but evidently, he had been cheerful, right to the end. I'm very glad. I first met him to know his original name, was certainly in the Autumn of 1950, when I became a first-year student at King's School, Peterborough. I knew him as Barry Chambers, of course. I was born August 15, 1939, in the very same street he sometimes lived in, 194 Walpole Street, now 960 Bourges Boulevard. Over the years, we had many friends, and possibly enemies, in common. I think I even acted on one or more plays with him. His wonderful book Whatever Happened to Barry Chambers was directed my way by a writer colleague, and I can tell all his friends and relatives that he was a truly great writer, whom I have been proud to know. I wrote to him immediately after reading the book for a first time and he seemed very happy to share reminiscences. For me his loss is a terrible blow, but I truly hope his faith will have carried him to the destination he desired. Since he was certainly a very good man, Dante Alighieri's Paradiso is where I would expect him to be. My career has been oddly similar to his, King's Peterborough 1950-1958, then several universities--for me Leeds (two degrees), Edinburgh (Diploma of Phonetics); Chicago (Graduate work in American Linguistics and Computer Science), North Dakota, Doctorate in English, French, Translation, and Linguistics. I am a well-published poet, fiction writer, literary translator; I am also a small-press editor and publisher and visual artist. I had been careful not to bother him when he told me he was going to undergo serious surgery, but I hoped today to send him another email, today 12 September 2021, tried to, but, alas, found out about his sad demise. My empathy is with his relatives and many many friends. Sincerely Antony Oldknow, Distinguished Emeritus Professor of English, Eastern New Mexico University.
Antony
11th September 2021
My time at the the Royal Brompton Hospital and the Heart and Lung institute was one of the most enjoyable and inspiring times in my career. There was a wonderful "family of researchers" in our department led by Professor Kay. We were all well supported and learnt from the Friday morning meetings where we exchanged ideas on all the other research subjects with Professor Kay's thoughts and directions. He understood fully what projects we were all doing and what our challenges were, and he assisted us to a successful outcome along with an MD or PhD. We were supported and encouraged to attend amazing conferences on allergy and immunology around the world, that expanded both clinical and research knowledge and understanding that we have all used throughout our career. Professor Kay had great enthusiasm and was extremely hard working himself and always kept a sense of humour. When I saw the MD post advertised in the BMJ I called into the Heart and lung Institute uninvited to ask about the MD on a day off. I remember Professor Kay was there with his arm in a sling, and told me that he should have been elsewhere had it not been for his arm!! I realised that I was very lucky that day! I asked about the post and he spent 1-2 hrs with a projector showing me all that was occurring in the department and what the proposed MD study would entail and then took me around the department to introduce me to everyone. He then asked when I could commence!! I never had an interview!! The subject of the study was grass pollen allergy and desensitisation effects on the immune system and especially the late phase reaction in patients. This was perfect for me and there was lots of help with Prof Durham and Dr Mina Gaga. Professor Kay had grass pollen allergy himself and was one of our "guinea pigs". Dr Mina Gaga and I took countless skin biopsies from him after injecting him with grass pollen to examine his late phase reactions. Despite our study of grass pollen desensitisation we did not offer it to Professor Kay as we decided he was more valuable to science with his allergy than being desensitised. He never flinched when we set about cutting out skin biopsies nor injecting him with the grass pollen to generate his late reactions. Most of our department kept in touch long term, and Professor Kay was interested to know how we all progressed and we would meet him at conferences. The massive attendance at his 80th Birthday party in June 2019 where people travelled from all corners of the earth to attend his evening party speaks volumes about his personal and lasting connection with us all. It was a very memorial evening and lovely to catch up everyone and see professor Kay again and everyone else. We are all sad at our loss and owe much of our success in our careers to having passed through his department gaining his enthusiasm and inspiration. With condolences to his wife Rosie and all his Family. Veronica Varney
Veronica
21st March 2021