RMS deeply saddened to learn of death of Chris Guerin

The RMS is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Chris Guerin, a highly respected microscopist and serving member of the Society’s History Committee.

Chris was an instrumental and highly active figure within the RMS, who not only gave back to the community through his committee work, but also by devoting his time and expertise as a tutor on the RMS Light Microscopy Summer Courses – passing knowledge and skills on to hundreds of students over many years.

Chris was a key figure in the emerging Volume EM community, and helped set up the 3D LM to 3D EM meetings that currently rotate between the Flanders Institute of Biotechnology (VIB) in Ghent – where he was most recently based, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, and the Francis Crick Institute in London.

Chris’s distinguished career straddled both sides of the Atlantic, and he made lasting professional connections and friendships wherever he went. Having been awarded a PhD in physiology, cell biology and neuroscience from the University of California Santa Barbara in 1991, he worked as a senior staff scientist in the Eye Care Services department at Henry Ford Hospital before taking up a post as a non-clinical neuroscientist at the MRC toxicology Unit at the University of Leicester in 1998. From 2008, Chris was PI at the VIB in Ghent, Belgium, where he managed the BioImaging Core.

RMS President Peter O’Toole said:  “It was with great sadness that I heard of Chris's passing. He was both a close family friend and a wonderful microscopist whose legacy will remain long into the future. I know many people within our community will be struggling to process this awful news.”

“Chris was hugely talented and a passionate microscopist, as well as a passionate and talented chef! He made many close friends, inspired many careers and had a positive influence on so many young microscopists through his teaching, both within the Ghent core, and through his VIB and our own RMS courses. He was greatly respected across the international microscopy community and we hope that those who knew Chris will raise a glass to him. On behalf of everyone at the RMS, I would like to offer our sincerest condolences to Chris’s family, friends and colleagues.”