Professor Ronald Grainger
Professor Ronald Grainger
Professor Ronald Grainger, who has died aged 91 (on 22 August 2014), was the inaugural Professor of Radiology at the University of Sheffield and played a major role in the development of techniques for the investigation of cardiovascular and neurological disorders.
He was born in Leeds on 14 October 1922, to Abraham Goldberg, a tailor, and his wife, Hettie. From these relatively humble beginnings he rose, through his astonishing intellect and industry, to become one of the giants of international radiology.
After completing his medical training in Leeds in 1945, Grainger worked for six years in medical and surgical posts before taking up radiology. During the next six years he completed his general radiological training in Sheffield and then moved to London where he acquired skills in respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological disorders at the major specialist hospitals in these disciplines. During this period he married Ruth, who would be his dear and lifelong companion, and changed his name to Grainger – a sad indictment of a post-war Britain in which he felt such a change to be necessary to achieve his full professional potential. He then returned to Sheffield as a consultant, ultimately becoming Professor and head of department.
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14th October 1922 to 22nd August 2014
Grainger was a dedicated, industrious and intensely focused doctor who would, in modern terminology, be described as the ultimate workaholic. He conducted seminal research into the development and safe use of radiological contrast media. His work fundamentally changed the diagnostic techniques used for the investigation of congenital and acquired cardiovascular diseases and for a wide spectrum of neurological disorders. His reputation in this field led to his being entrusted with the UK clinical trials of no fewer than four major new contrast agents. His research achievements soon led to national and international acclaim and he was elected a Fellow of both the American College of Radiology and the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Radiologists. Grainger became Vice-President of The Royal College of Radiologists in 1983, having served on many college committees and boards in the preceding 14 years.
Grainger was in great demand as a teacher and an accomplished speaker and gave many hundreds of lectures at universities and hospitals across the world. He was awarded 18 overseas visiting professorships. Together with Paul Butt, he founded the Sheffield/ Leeds FRCR Preparation course in the early 1980s. He was a superb writer and editor and was the author of over 100 original scientific papers covering a diversity of research interests. He was on the editorial board of several leading medical journals and for five years was the editor of Clinical Radiology. He also wrote or edited several radiological textbooks including the monumental Diagnostic Radiology, a Textbook of Imaging.
This work, by Grainger and his co-editor Allison, is better known the world over as ‘Grainger and Allison’ and is regarded as the prime bench textbook or radiological ‘bible’ in many countries of the world. This book was first conceived in 1980 and first published in 1986, Grainger having lived to see the sixth edition in 2014. His attention to detail was exhausting for all involved. Heads of departments in some of the world’s leading universities would gaze in astonishment and dismay at Grainger’s red pen all over their beloved manuscripts (correcting both their English and their radiology), and the printers of the first edition were equally astounded to see him standing in overalls (with a slightly embarrassed co-editor) in front of the printing rollers in their factory so that he could check that the paper, ink, typeface and illustration quality were all ‘up to spec’.
As the first Professor of Radiology in Sheffield, he laid the foundations for an academic department. He also played a leading role in the planning and establishment of a radiology department at the newly opened Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield in 1978 (involving the merger of two Victorian hospitals). He headed the public fund-raising appeal for the ‘Don Valley Body Scanner’ in 1985, which successfully helped purchase Sheffield’s first computed tomography (CT) scanner capable of performing both head and abdominal scans.
Despite his eminence, Ronald Grainger was a modest and unassuming man, devoted to his family and treating professors and first-year students with equal kindness and respect. He never expressed an opinion on anything about which he was uncertain. He was a man of the utmost integrity and intellectual generosity, always giving credit where it was due and never abusing his status or power. He was held in the utmost affection and respect by his colleagues (including professional ‘rivals’ and publishers) and everyone with whom he worked.
Memoir author: David Allison
