Professor Geoffrey Burnstock was born in London in 1929 and studied theology, maths and physics at King’s College London, before completing a PhD at King’s and University College London (1957) under the supervision of the neurophysiologist, JZ Young. Between 1959 and 1975, Professor Burnstock worked at the University of Melbourne, beginning with a senior lectureship in zoology. Most of his major research has been on the autonomic nervous system, notably autonomic neurotransmission and he is best known for his discovery that ATP is a transmitter in NANC (non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic) nerves and also for the discovery and definition of P2 purinergic receptors, their signaling pathways and functional relevance. Professor Burnstock’s work in this area has had an impact on the understanding of pain mechanisms, incontinence, embryological development, bone formation and resorption, and on skin, prostate and bladder cancer.

Professor Burnstock returned to London in 1975, becoming Head of Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at University College London and Convenor of the Centre of Neuroscience. He has served as editor-in-chief of the journals Autonomic Neuroscience and Purinergic Signalling and has been on the editorial boards of many other journals. He has been elected to the Australian Academy of Science (1971, the Royal Society (1986) and the Academy of Medical Sciences (1998), and was awarded the Royal Society Gold Medal (2000). He was President (1995-2000) of the International Society for Autonomic Neuroscience (ISAN), and was first in the Institute of Scientific Information list (1994-2004) of most cited scientists in Pharmacology and Toxicology.