The World of Wound Care Loses an Inspirational Leader—Dr George W Cherry

It is with deep regret that the International Wound Journal announces the recent death of Dr. George W Cherry, an editorial board member of this publication and a global champion for wound healing for many years.

Dr George Cherry receiving his lifetime achievement award at World Union 2008 in Toronto.

George, American by birth, started his wound healing research interests in New Orleans in 1965 followed by his first spell in Oxford where he gained his doctorate followed by a stint in South Africa as the Christiaan Barnard Research Fellow at the University of Cape‐town before returning once again to Oxford. A spell as Director of Plastic Surgery research at the University of Michigan in the late 1970s was followed by his return to Oxford in 1982 as part of Department of Dermatology in Oxford. George remained in Oxford until his death. Professor Terence Ryan who brought George back to Oxford in 1982 noted how ‘huge developments in the leg ulcer field were led by George Cherry’ 1. George was a pioneer not only in terms of his academic and clinical studies in wound healing using initially animal models and then human subjects but also in the promotion and support of nursing research in wound healing.

For many, George will be remembered also for his immense role in founding and developing a number of wound healing organizations. His enthusiasm was boundless and without George the growth of the European Tissue Repair Society and perhaps especially the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel would have been severely hampered. George was not only a supporter of UK and European initiatives – over the years he helped build bridges between wound healers in Europe and the United States with colleagues in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Latin America among many other parts of the world. In all of this work George received great support from his wife, Christine, and together they formed a formidable team helping to organize multiple conferences and events.

Many will have cause to give George thanks for the opportunity to attend the Oxford Wound Healing Summer School. Whether you were part of the teaching team or a Summer School participant the opportunity to meet and discuss wound healing within the warm environment of Oxford University was a firm part of the wound healing annual calendar. The Oxford Wound Healing Summer School was one part of the Oxford International Wound Healing Foundation established in 1992 by George and Terence Ryan, which served both as a platform for on‐going wound healing research as well as the growing international collaboration George was instrumental in creating.

George was a great supporter of new and established wound healing investigators – this shines through from his work in Asia and Latin America. On a personal note as a new post‐doctoral fellow finding his feet with his first substantial grants in the mid‐1980s George was a constant source of advice, encouragement and friendship to me. George will be rightly remembered for his work in wound healing, particularly in leg ulceration; but his warmth and great enthusiasm marked him as a special man who will be much missed by all who knew him.