A framed photograph sits alongside Professor Robin Fraser's car number plate at his Memorial Gathering at UOC's Rolleston Lecture Theatre.
Over one hundred and twenty friends, whānau and former colleagues gathered in the University of Otago, Christchurch’s Rolleston Theatre last week to celebrate the lifetime achievements of a true taonga of the campus – the late Professor Fraser, who died in March, aged 91.
Emeritus Professor Robin Fraser ONZM, BSc (Med), MB BS, PhD, MD, FRACP was both an institution and a legend at the Christchurch campus, an anatomical pathologist, leader, researcher and teacher whose legacy is renowned - a man described as full of curiosity, wit and warmth, who embodied the line “hail fellow, well met”.
Numerous tributes - 12 in all - were delivered at the memorial gathering, recounting a man who didn’t just touch the lives of staff, students, colleagues and collaborators, but who left a lasting impression, propelling many into careers in medicine, pathology and ground-breaking medical discovery.
All were heartfelt, paying homage to Robin’s enthusiasm, boundless curiosity, passion for science research and teaching, his exceptional skills as a communicator, and a fierce love for his family – wife Linda, his children Elizabeth, Jane, Simon, Sarah, Rachel and Kate, his mokopuna and wider whānau.
Born in Australia, Robin graduated with both Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Science (Hons) at the University of Sydney, beginning his working career in 1961 as a country GP in Coonabarabran, rural NSW – a formative experience proudly relayed to those he taught and worked with in ensuing years.
His shift to Christchurch came in 1974, when he accepted an Associate Professor appointment in the then-named Department of Pathology at Otago’s newly established Christchurch School of Medicine, alongside a Consultant Pathologist position at Christchurch Hospital.
Robin went on to work in the Department of Pathology for a remarkable 46 years including many years as HOD, supporting research scientists, teaching pathology to hundreds of medical students, working at Christchurch hospital as a pathologist, assisting the coroner in carrying out autopsies, all while developing his own research into the liver and the ‘liver sieve’ - a research term he famously coined.
Former colleague and family friend Dot Maguire managed the Pathology Department for ten of those years.
“I fondly remember Robin in his navy blazer, with Coonabarabran motif, walking proudly with his dad’s briefcase and the neck ties chosen because of their similarity to chylomicrons,” Dot recalls.
“He was a wonderful teacher of medical students, encouraging without being threatening, more than once putting his own body up on the table for observation.
“Lessons were often followed up with the query “and how do you think this might impact the liver?””, Dot says.
Professor David Murdoch, former Head of the Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science, former UOC Dean and Vice-Chancellor, said Robin quite literally went the extra mile in support of his medical students.
“He had a tradition of taking a bus down to Dunedin each year for medical school graduation, staying at the same hotel year after year, even though the hotel became a far less salubrious establishment as the years passed.”
Dot recalls Robin as a proud family man, quick to laugh, with a strong sense of social justice.
“He was a great networker, not just in the academic world but even with his bus driver, the front-of-house staff at cafés, technicians, cleaners, participants of the Bridge (drug and alcohol) programme where he volunteered – they were all valuable people in his world, and he made them feel important.”
Speaking on behalf of the many family members present, his niece, University of Otago Marine Science Professor Ceridwyn Fraser, relayed his love of intellectual stimulation and his encouragement of and pride in her career.
Also providing a moving tribute was Professor Victoria Cogger, Director of the ANZAC Research Institute at the University of Sydney, a close research collaborator of Robin’s for more than 20 years, who flew over to attend the memorial.
“His passionate and almost dogged pursuit to understand the liver microcirculation has literally saved lives and will do so for many years to come, such is his scientific impact,” she says.
She explained that the liver sieve was, for many years, thought to be a silent bystander in health, largely overlooked by hepatologists and absent from many textbooks.
“It was Robin’s work that first discovered the double-edged impact that diseases like alcoholism and diabetes also have on the liver sieve, that the diseases themselves cause changes to the sieve which in turn changes the body’s capacity to deal with the disease,” Victoria explains.
She says that in retirement Robin continued to collaborate with the Sydney team, helping demonstrate the impacts of ageing on the sieve, the role of key proteins, lipids and cells, and understanding ways to target the sieve to try and slow down the defenestration seen with liver cirrhosis or ageing.
“Robin was also researching the perils and implications of a leaky gut on metabolic health prior to it being a widely accepted field of science and well before it became Instagram famous”, Victoria says.
“We are all indebted to Robin’s research, which changed the world’s understanding of the liver and many diseases of liver dysfunction.
“The liver sieve is no longer an overlooked part of the human anatomy and instead is understood by hepatologists, drug developers and any graduate of Robin’s classes at Otago Medical School to be front and centre of many aspects of human health.
“Robin’s scientific legacy is large and one his family can rightly be very proud of.”
David Murdoch recalls that long after his retirement, Robin would send him emails always finishing with the line “thank you for the joy and privilege of coming into work”.
Current Head of the Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science, Professor Martin Kennedy explained to those gathered that Robin’s legacy will continue at the Christchurch campus in a variety of ways; firstly, with the unveiling of a new portrait of Robin in the campus’ Denis Stewart Pathology Museum; the Robin Fraser Research Supporter Award awarded annually on campus; and the yearly University of Otago Biomedical Research Robin Fraser Lecture.
As a special tribute to Robin, this year’s Robin Fraser Lecture was delivered by Victoria Cogger the day following the memorial gathering, titled; How the liver sieve led us to oral insulin.
There was one final and fitting tribute at the event - the unveiling of a plaque marking ‘Robin’s Row’, the row of seats Robin would occupy at every Rolleston Theatre meeting and research presentation, from which he would routinely fire off his “legendary” scientific questions to unwitting speakers.
Helping unveil the plaque was UOC Dean and Head of Campus Professor Suzanne Pitama alongside Robin’s longtime teaching colleague, retired radiologist Dr Mike Hurrell.
Suzanne remarked that in the Māori world, the passing of a person so revered is often referred to as the “falling of a mighty tōtara”. However, she thought of Robin more as a kahikatea – a tree whose roots had branched out to support other kahikatea, together strengthened against the winds and other elements, and that he would forever be part of UOC.
The Memorial Gathering, organised by a dedicated team on campus, was followed by kai and much kōrero.
An obituary for Professor Robin Fraser, written earlier this year is available to read here.