Tributes paid to De Montfort University professor who developed leading cancer treatment
Tributes have been paid after a university professor who developed a leading cancer treatment died aged 63.
Professor Gerry Potter, formerly of De Montfort University in Leicester, made a huge medical breakthrough when he and his team discovered a potential drug to treat cancer.
The academic was also a chemist and a loving father. He passed away on New Year's Eve surrounded by four children and eight grandchildren.
His son, Matthew Potter, also a DMU lecturer, shared a moving tribute highlighting his father's remarkable career achievements.
Eureka moment discovery
Mr Potter broke the news of his cancer drug discovery in 2001. Describing it as his "most important discovery" the chemical compound, Salvestrol, was found to have anti-cancer properties.
Salvestrols work by activating an enzyme in cancer cells - discovered by fellow DMU Professor Danny Burke - causing them to starve, without harming healthy cells. It was the "Eureka! moment" that led him to believe many forms of cancer could be curable, his son said.
Prof Potter said in 2001 that it was his aunt Justina - whom he names his eldest daughter after - who subconsciously drove his determination to make the discovery. He was only five years old when Justina died from ovarian cancer but he "promised [himself he] would try to do something".
On the discovery, his son Matthew wrote: "My father was a true eccentric to those who knew him, never afraid to climb a tree, eat wild mushrooms in the woods, or get everyone salsa dancing. It was this eccentricity, and his gifted knowledge of chemistry, that inspired his most important discovery."
Our whole family will always be so proud of our father
Prior to that and becoming a professor, he had been working on developing prostate cancer treatments after completing his PhD in 1990. By 1993, he and a team of lead researchers had developed a drug, called Abiraterone Acetate, to treat prostate cancer. It was approved for use in 2011 and culminated in the prestigious, Royal Society of Chemistry Innovation Award.
Prof Potter won the award three times in his lifetime, the only person to do. He continued to make his family, including his four children Matthew, Justina, Danielle and Robert, very proud, becoming a grandfather, in his later years.
Matthew wrote: "Our whole family will always be so proud of our father. He was such a fun and loving Dad, and as he progressed through his career, we looked up to him so much.
"He has had a great time these last few years, playing with his grandchildren and enjoying quality family time. We miss him already but have the most amazing memories. RIP Professor Gerry Potter."