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IN MEMORIAM

Peter Lomax, M.D., D. Sc.

Professor of Pharmacology, Emeritus

Los Angeles

1928—2002

 

 

Peter Lomax died December 18, 2002, peacefully, after a long illness bravely borne. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth, also professor emeritus, and three sons. He had been living in Valbonne, France, on the Riviera, since shortly after his retirement from UCLA in 1992.

 

Professor Lomax obtained the M.B., C.H.B. and M.D. from the University of Manchester, England, with a residency in neurosurgery. He joined the faculty at UCLA in 1961, in the Department of Pharmacology of the School of Medicine, and progressed to full professor. He was awarded a D.Sc. degree from Manchester in 1971. He had a distinguished research career in the field of the pharmacology and physiology of thermo-regulation, including the involvement of various neurotransmitters and opioid peptides, which also drew him into the fascinating topic of drugs of abuse, the opiate analgesics. Further, he maintained and studied a genetic strain of gerbils which had epilepsy. Dr. Lomax was an invited speaker and organizer of numerous international symposia in his field. He was fascinated by the workings of the brain, but also understood the physiology of the entire body, which allowed him to expertly teach any topic in the medical school pharmacology course, and to ask the most piercing questions in graduate student orals. He was a contributor to numerous research granting agencies, and journal editorial boards. Dr. Lomax was tireless in the necessary committee work of the University, and a leader in the early days of the School of Medicine. Perhaps his best known contribution was to serve as Chair of the Animal Research Committee from 1985 to 1992, but he also served on the Human Subject Protection Committee for Wadsworth VA Hospital; curriculum committees for the School of Medicine and Brain Research Institute; and Board of Directors of the John Wooden Center, as well as member of the 1984 UCLA Olympic Committee, to name a few.

 

Peter Lomax enjoyed scientific as well as other cultural topics of conversation, including whilst spending time on the ski slopes or golf course. He was active in cricket and supported it vigorously in Southern California. Perhaps his greatest joy was to be awarded the rank of Commandeur of the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin du Clos de Vougeot, Bourgogne, France. This was a British gentleman of the old school, with an appropriate appreciation for fine things. The Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology is proud to provide this memorial statement.