Professor David Adams

Professor David Adams
Professor of Hepatology and Consultant Hepatologist
Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Medical and Dental Sciences

{Professor David Adams}

Professor Adams, one of our longest serving and most distinguished members of staff, retires in the summer of 2023.

He graduated from the University of Birmingham, following which he spent several years at the National Institute of Health in the USA.

In 1993, he returned to Birmingham and established the world-renowned liver labs, before successfully leading the NIHR Biomedical Research Unit and then NIHR Biomedical Research Centre.

He is an international leader in liver immunology and has inspired and trained a large numbers of fellows over the past 30 years, who have developed units of their own all over the world.

A Festschrift in honour of Professor Adams will be held in October 2023.

You are welcome to submit a message, tribute, or anecdote, which will be reviewed before publishing.

 


 

Messages from colleagues past and present

Dear David - thank you so much for all your support and guidance over many years, not just during my time in the liver research labs in the late 90s but subsequently whenever I have sought your advice in the care of my patients at Sandwell. All the very best for your retirement! Saket 

Saket Singhal


Dear David, it has been a real pleasure and honor being your colleague for the last 15 years. When I started my post as a junior consultant I very much took on board your advice to pursue research and I thank you very much for that. All the very best. Regards, Dhiraj 

Professor Dhiraj Tripathi


Best wishes in your retirement -  thank you for all of your work and on a personal note, thank you for your guidance and expertise on projects that we worked on together in the clinical trial portfolio, including Immunotace and other ground breaking liver research. I learnt a lot from your expertise in this area as well as your leadership style.

Darren Barton, Trial Management Team Leader (CRCTU)


Dear Dave, you have been a tremendous champion of liver histopathology for which the whole specialty is grateful. You have the perfect mix of professionalism and approachability/'normalness' to make colleagues feel valued, I wish you the very best for retirement. 

Rachel Brown, Consultant Pathologist


Dear David, you have been a good friend, an excellent colleague, a superb clinician and scientist, and an outstanding leader. Thank you for your support for me and for my colleagues, and of course for our patients in the ICU. We wish you a long and happy retirement.

Professor Julian Bion


There are some colleagues who are good. Some who are great. Then there are those who are outstanding. David, you are one of them. A selfless leader. Quick to praise and fair in rebuke. Always looking for a win-win. Birmingham and the international community have so much to be grateful for from your inspired leadership in so many different ways, and I personally have so much to thank you for. 

Christopher Buckley, Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology 


Dave, alongside your many distinguished clinical academic achievements I was privileged to work alongside you in clinics where you maintained a compassionate approach to serving the needs of your patients and, in particular, developed and supported the transitional programme for young adults. A long and happy retirement! 

Kerry Webb


David, apologies I couldn't make your farewell event. Many congratulations on an outstanding career as a world leading Clinician Scientist and inspiring leader. Your achievements in Birmingham have been numerous and impactful. I wish you every success in your future roles - hopefully with some time to enjoy your many pastimes away from work. All our Love, Paul and Sue.

 Paul Stewart, University of Leeds


Hi Professor, it has been a pleasure working with you. You are both respected and admired as well as being approachable. The dedication you have shown to your career and improvement of health care for the patients is awesome. Thanks for all your support and warm smile. Wishing you all the best on your next adventure.

Diana Hull, UHB RD&I Liver Delivery Team


Dear David, congratulations on an amazing career. I first met you at the EASL school of hepatology in Birmingham. Your passion for liver immunology inspired me to do my basic research in dendritic cell immunotherapy for HCC and you examined my MD Thesis. It was always a pleasure to hear you speak. I learnt a lot. Thank you.

James O’Beirnr, Sunshine Coast University Hospital , Australia 


Dear David, enjoy the next phase of your life and career! It only gets better. Best wishes!

Deirdre Kelly, Liver Unit, BCH


Dear Dave, I did my PhD in the liver labs from 1998-2001. I loved it so much, I still keenly remember in 2001 feeling as though I wanted to hide under the desk and hope nobody would notice if I stayed. When we first met to discuss doing the PhD I declared that I was interested in doing molecular biology and you gave me an impenetrable article about second messengers and I quickly decided I would go along with your better suggestions. Similarly, your management skills were demonstrated when I came to show you how I had isolated dendritic cells from spleens; I was so proud of myself...You asked if I had isolated any from liver. This led to a rewarding line of work, during which I got some great suggestions from Ralph Steinman and grew my lasting love for immunology. I am very much hoping to hear, at your leaving do, the story about Annie Lenox. It is a long time since I was in the labs, and I feel there will be a lot of new tales. Guess what, I am slightly getting back into hepatology. I liaise with a group of hepatologists, including Dhiraj, to support management of patients with liver disease and immunodeficiency. My time in the liver labs and especially your influence had a really important and positive effect on my career and what seemed possible to me. Thank you so much and I cant tell you how much I am looking forward to the leaving do and also seeing some other people I have loved working with in the past. 

Dr Sarah Goddard, Consultant Clinical Immunologist


Dear David, thank you for your support over the years it has been a pleasure to work with you. Wishing you all the very best for the future, enjoy the rest you deserve it! 

Liz Darlow, Liver Database Manager, UHB


Dear David, What a remarkable career. You have an amazing ability to combine inspirational leadership with civility and friendship. Looking forward to continuing trips to Villa Park. 

Patrick Mckiernan, Birmingham Children's Hospital


Dear Dave, it's great to have the opportunity to celebrate your achievements and contribution as you leave full time employment but I know you still have lots more to offer and will continue to do so. You have achieved a lot personally but it is great to see how academia in liver has flourished under your guidance and stewardship as your proteges have had their own impact. It's been a pleasure working with you and keeping in touch since I left Birmingham and I have always appreciated your support and insights over the years. I hope you have a very happy (semi-) retirement with Ros and the family and look forward to continuing to keep in touch. All best wishes, Douglas & Eilis.

Prof Douglas Thorburn, Royal Free Hospital/UCL/NHSBT


Dear David, it was a pleasure being your NHS Liver Secretary at the QE hospital, but I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be your PA at the liver labs (CLGR) - a real eye-opener! It never ceases to amaze me how clinician scientists manage to juggle treating patients in clinics and on the wards, with all the admin involved in that, mentoring healthcare professionals, and having to jump through so many hoops with regard to clinical governance. That, alongside running a liver research group (and in your case, directing many liver research groups), successfully attracting funding for them and clinical trials, lecturing to medical and PhD students, writing scientific papers for publication, sitting on advisory boards and recruitment panels, giving talks and inspiring researchers at conferences all over the world, and so on... Just astonishing! I hadn't really appreciated the depth of your involvement on the research side and I really don't know how you managed it all. I think you deserve a well-earned rest. Enjoy your retirement! 

Loraine Brown, Centre for Liver & GI Research


Your brilliance, fairness, and passion have not just shaped my career, but have set a high standard for what mentorship should be in hepatology. Your impact extends beyond papers and academic achievements, reaching the core of who we are as clinicians and researchers. I am wishing you a well-deserved retirement filled with all that you are passionate about. 

Prof Tony Bruns, RWTH University Hospital Aachen 


Thank you for igniting my interest in liver immunology, and for getting me hooked into research! Wishing you all the best post retirement David.

Palak Trivedi, Centre for Liver and Gastrointestinal Research


Dear Prof, although our interactions have been brief, they have been profoundly influential. Your guidance, advice and support through my Welcome Trust funding process was incredibly helpful. Your influence and kindness has left its mark on both the University and the Liver Unit and I am grateful to have experienced both. Moreso than the above, I will remember your humility and humanity. My wife, Monica, having only recently moved to Birmingham, met you at one of Gideon's house parties. She disappeared for 25 minutes and caught up with me later to tell me how lovely "Dave" is after you discussed Aston Villa, the Birmingham food scene and the best places to live in Birmingham with her. It took me some moments to realise Dave was in fact Professor Adams. I wish you a full, healthy and peaceful retirement.  

Debashis Haldar, Birmingham Liver Unit


You inspired me when I was just a registrar/researcher and you still inspire me to this date. I am so lucky to have crossed path with you. You taught me so much more than just science! Most awesome professor, teacher, colleague ever! 

Reina Lim, Gastroenterology Dpt, Dunedin, New Zealand


Dear David Thank you! I really look forward to your Festschrift. You have always been wise, calm and considerate. You have created a legacy that you can be proud of, and that as we all know, is more important than grants or papers. Beyond being a great scientist and leader fundamentally you were a great clinician, who was adored by their patients. All the best for the future, for you and your family. Gideon, Joy and girls. 

Gideon Hirschfield, Toronto Centre for Liver Disease


 To a great doctor, mind, scientist, mentor, leader and family man, THANK YOU for all the support you have personally offered me over the last 14 years. My life and career clearly (on reflection) took a huge step in the right direction when you replied to my email in 2008, in response to me enquiring about liver research in weight loss and metabolic liver disease. You were the only person to reply from the UK! Whether it be taking me to the Villa ground to watch Man Utd (knowing all my family/friends were up north), buying me fish and chips, taking time to have a beverage at international conferences, reassuring me on Xmas Eve after manuscript rejections, clinical advice in rare cases and most recently taking the time to read/edit my exercise grant (in your own personal time) has been MASSIVELY APPRECIATED. The fact you have always had time for those more junior than you, who share your visions in liver research and clinical care, is what has made you unique. Thank you for your passion and platform you have provided for us and our patients in Birmingham. I sincerely wish you all the best with you and your family in the future. 

Matthew Armstrong, Liver Unit, Birmingham


Dear David, my most sincere wishes for a happy retirement, but most of all, our gratitude for all you have taught us about liver immunology and the role of cholangiocytes in liver inflammation. I am sure we will keep learning from you, whatever avenue of life you will choose. Again congratulations on a great scientific life.. and keep looking forward. 

Prof Mario Strazzabosco, Yale University School of Medicine 


Dear David, Congratulations on a lifetime of achievements in science, and thank you for illuminating the mysteries of liver immunology so well for generations to come. Thank you even more for the unique way in which you fostered and encouraged those around you in such a positive environment, resulting in so many like-minded disciples who are now furthering this work all around the world. It was an honor to have worked with you through the AASLD, and I along with your many friends here at Yale wish you lots of fulfillment in your retirement.  

David N. Assis, Yale Liver Center and Yale School of Medicine


Hi Prof, it has been a privilege to work with you. All the very best in your retirement. We will miss you.

Maria Round, Liver Opd


Dear David, Thank you for giving me the chance to be your PhD student and work with you! I wish you a happy retirement!! 

Evaggelia Liaskou


My memories of Prof Adams are mainly with young people on Thursday morning's clinic. You were so good with young people even when they could be argumentative, you were still so caring and understanding and insightful. I appreciated how you could explain complex medical issues into lay language for us all to understand. Thank you for all your hard work. 

Philippa Lewis, Liver Transition Team


Dear David congratulations on your retirement this year. It has been my pleasure to be your colleague in Birmingham during more than 30 years. I think that I arrived in Birmingham shortly before your departure to NIH. Indeed, I remember celebrating a Christmas meal at your place in 1989 and chipping a tooth on the shot that was embedded in the duck! A new experience for a young(ish) Australian. Your contribution to Hepatology in Birmingham has been amazing and I look forward to being reminded of your achievements at this week's festschrift. Enjoy the next phase of your career! With best wishes and enormous respect.

Professor David Mutimer, Liver Unit


Well done on such a stellar career, but most of all for being a decent chap. 

Philip Lumley


When for almost all immunologists the immune system consisted only of lymph nodes, spllen and thymus with some circulation in between, you bravely looked at the site of disease - and when almost all immunologists only looked at animal models and in vitro experiments, you looked into the diseased liver, and thus were the pioneer to study the immunology of human inflammatory liver diseases. It was an honour for me to join you on this journey, and to walk many of the paths of this hilly journey with beautiful views of the immunopathology landscape together with you and the wonderful team you created around you in Birmingham. You made Birmingham a world centre of liver immunology and clinical hepatology, and taught so many of us the joys of basic and clinical research, and the most special joy of combining basic and clinical research. In addition, you steered Birmingham University most successfully through rough times - it reflects your patience, stamina and tolerance. You were, are and will be an example to all of us.

Prof Ansgar W. Lohse, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany


Dear Prof, it has been a real treat working with you, particularly in the era of E3LU, with 4 Consultants, fewer patients and more doctors and nurses. We have fun times and I havent forgotton Saturday mornings where you were dismayed at my inability to shave a patient safely, and the time I wanted you to palliate a patient, who only needed a bowel evacuation and he was sitting up having breakfast the following day. I remember in Boston in 2005 when you were concerned about me walking back to my hotel at midnight from the bar and you asked if it was safe, to which I replied it is safer than walking down Broad Street. Enjoy your retirement. Best wishes to you and your family.

Moira Perrin, Liver Matron


David, It has been a privilege to have worked with you over the last 17 years, from the early days of the BRU through BHP and the BRC. Your support and wise advice has been critical in creating the innovation eco-system we now work within. I will miss the cups of "David's special coffee" and our chats. Best of luck with your next adventure.

Tim Jones, University Hospitals Birmingham


Dear Dave, I never actually believed this day would come. It feels like only yesterday that I met you for the first time, when I'd just arrived from Edinburgh and you wanted to talk about a pending Scotland v England football Euro qualifier; rather than the work I could do with you! Thank you so much for everything you've done for the Liver Unit, your patients and also, for helping me so much with my career. I hope you have the time to do everything you've always wanted to do, in the years to come. Otio fruere senectutis.

 Geoffrey Haydon, QEHB Liver Unit


Dear David, Just a brief note to say a huge thank you for being such a wonderful collaborator and partner across my time in RD&I at UHB. I will always be grateful for you sage and thoughtful advice. On a broader note, how lucky were our patients to have you return to work in Birmingham and drive such exemplary research programmes which really have made a difference to their lives.

Hilary Fanning, RD&I, University Hospitals Birmingham


Dear Dave, what a amazing career and legacy that you have created. Thank you for being a mentor and a role model. Your guidance and wisdom have not only shaped my career but also influenced my life. Wishing you health and happiness in your retirement. 

Ka-Kit Li, Digestive Disease Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust


Dear David, You have always been an inspiration to me as a clinician scientist and as a truly dedicated professional. I will never forget the first time I came to see you as a SHO to discuss a career in liver and how generous you were with your time. And although I never got the honour of doing research with you, I was extremely grateful to you for examining me for my PhD viva. It was great to end up working in the same unit as you were and to hear your patients speak so very highly of you. I wish you all the best in your well deserved retirement.

Ahmed Elsharkawy


 Dear Dave, thank you so much for all the encouragement and enjoyable collaboration, especially in the vital early stages of my research career. You really helped immerse me in the wonderful world of liver immunology and set such a good example of generous, unassuming leadership. Interacting with you in other settings like the AMS panel has been equally inspiring. You leave behind a formidable legacy of academic hepatologists in Birmngham and beyond... Wishing you all the best with your next phase.

Prof Mala Maini, Infection and Immunity, UCL


Dear David. It has been a great pleasure and tremendous privilege to have worked with you as a colleague and known you as a friend over the past 35+ years. Your pioneering work in establishing Birmingham as a world leading centre for research into liver disease has been truly inspirational. I wish you all the very best for the next exciting phase in your life.

Stefan Hübscher


Hi Dave Congratulations on your retirement. Let me take this opportunity to say a big 'thank you' to you for all that you have done for me. You stepped in as a supervisor for my MD/PhD project when my other supervisor left the country. Despite being incredibly busy, you always made time for me. In fact, it was you that encouraged me to extend to a PhD and apply for a fellowship. You were the first person to phone to congratulate me when I got the award. You were incredibly support of all of us in the lab and your gentle yet determined demeanour has been something that I have been trying to emulate ever since! Wishing you a very enjoyable time in your retirement. 

 Steve Ward, UHB


Dear David, You deserve nothing less than a fantastic retirement. Working with you and being able to deliver one of the cheapest cell therapy trials ever has been a life long learning experience! Your support and guidance have been invaluable. 

Anna Rowe, CRCTU


I would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for the wonderful time in Birmingham. I spent two amazing years in your laboratory between 2011 and 2013 and still think of that time with great joy. They have always been the best proof that scientific ambition and ability on the one hand and openness, warm-heartedness and friendliness on the other are not mutually exclusive. I wish you and your family all the best for the new phase of your life that is now beginning. 

Dr Henning Zimmermann, University Hospital RWTH Aachen


Thanks for all your seminal contributions to liver immunology and PSC research over the years. Thanks also for your guidance in the years you served as a visiting professor for the Norwegian PSC research center, you very much helped us get our agenda right! And most of all: thanks for the kind and humble role model you served for all of us - you truly helped make liver research a friendly place.

Tom Hemming Karlsen, University of Oslo/Oslo University Hospital Norway


A giant of Birmingham and International medicine. Inspirational innovation, leadership and humanity. Thank you for being such an example for all those around you and for future generations. The legacy will live long. 

Paul Moss


Dear David Thank you very much your overwhelming support guidance to me personally and the Liver unit at Birmingham Children's hospital. Congratulation on completing a successful inning, leading from front in clinical, research and managerial roles. Life does not end at retirement. Looking forward to your support and guidance in new roles post retirement. Wish you a happy retirement. 

Khalid Sharif, Paediatric Hepato-biliary & Transplant Surgeon  


Hi David, Although our paths did not cross in the IBR for too long, it was clear to say what an incredible collaborative centre you had established. I learned very quickly how amazing liver research could be, but also how you guided so many of the incredible leaders that spearhead the CLGR today. I am truly grateful and hope to inspire and lead as you have done for so many. Have a great retirement.

Scott Davies, CLGR


After a great career in medicine, have a great time in the next stage of your life and enjoy.

James Neuberger


Dear Dave It has been a wonderful 30+ years of knowing you as a teacher, a colleague and a friend. Thank you for all your contributions to the Liver Unit and for developing the research team into a world leading program. I have valued and enjoyed our time spent together and would like to thank you for all the help and support over these last 30+ years. Shirin and I wish Ros and you a very happy retired life. We look forward to seeing you both frequently and of course with the boys at Villa Park. Enjoy your hard earned and much deserved retirement!!! 

Professor Darius F Mirza


 Dear Prof. Adams, Congratulations on your retirement! Thank you so much for everything you have done for Birmingham, and for me. I still remeber clearly the teaching you gave me as a medical student on the liver wards. This, combined with your passion for research, is what has set me on the trajectory to now be working in the labs you established. We will continue to work hard and aim to do good science. Thank you for your inspiration and guidance. 

Jake Mann, UoB and Birmingham Children's Hospital


David it was great to have you Join our team for a period of research for your MD thesis and several exceptional and innovative publications on Neutrophil and lymphocyte trafficking post transplant and the relationship to rejection. Since then it has been a delight to see you have such a stellar research, clinical and University career. I am sorry to see you go as it also makes me feel my age!! Best wishes and a happy "retirement" and family life (we still need to arrange that beer!).

Prof Rob Stockley 


Dear David, sorry I can't be at your Festschrift but I would like to add my sincerest gratitude for your support and mentorship at a key stage in my career, when I moved to the wonderful clinical and learning environment that was (and is) the QEH liver unit, firstly as medical registrar and then as research fellow. I must have been one of your first fellows but benefitted enormously from the very supportive and knowledgable environment that you had helped to foster. It was a great pleasure and privilege to have worked with you and your team. Hope to catch up again at some point and hear what books you've been reading or what music you've been to see.

Dr Neil Fisher


 Dear David, It is such a honour and privilege to have worked with you in the NAT Team (Neuberger, Adams, Thorborn) all those years ago. You were always happy to help out with queries or to speak to a concerned patient or relative on the phone when you were dictating letters in our office, Nothing was ever too much trouble for you and it was very much appreciated. Wishing you all the very best in your retirement. 

 Maria del Vecchio 


 Dear David I have many fond memories of my time in the liver group, from the early days of my PhD, I recall my first AASLD when you told me to "go and explore Boston, you'll learn more than sitting in a day of clinical sessions", to sketching out plans for ImmunoTACE over a beer at a keystone conference. Your immense scientific knowledge was an inspiration that drove my excitement of discovery, whilst your calm counsel was always welcome in the tougher times. The opportunities I was given to develop the cellular therapy program are the foundations for where I find myself now, with no less excitement in bringing more advanced therapies to more patients, albeit now with the added stress of keeping a company alive! Enjoy your retirement, and please keep in touch. You are always welcome to visit us here at adthera, we are only around the corner! 

Dr Stuart Curbishley, Adthera Bio


Dear David, It is with a touch of sadness that I must acknowledge this landmark in your career, but it gives me an opportunity to thank you for the way in which you were instrumental in shaping my own. I arrived a very green and inexperienced SpR from Bristol in 1999 and was immediately sent by my new boss (Monz Ahmed) to meet with the great Professor Adams. Of course I knew nothing of the liver lab, the liver unit or 'rolling lymphocytes' at this stage in my life. It was with great kindness that you set the naive new SpR the challenge of learning, applying and competing for a research grant. That was my first visit to the lab and it established a period of my life that was both fulfilling and challenging in equal measure. I look back on it with great fondness and happiness. During my time as a research fellow you continued to show great kindness to me and I was very privileged to have been supervised by you and Chris Buckley. I would never have become a Hepatologist, let alone work at a transplant unit, if it hadn't been for your wisdom, humour and patience. I can never look at a Twix without thinking of your sometimes appalling diet and terrifying schedule, and I count it a great personal honour to have had the opportunity to work for you (and with you) on the liver unit. I suspect you would be appalled to hear me say it , but the time I spent in the liver lab showed me that you were (and are) a truly great Physician and Scientist. Your self-evident love of life, people and culture demonstrated the art and beauty of these twin disciplines better than anyone else I know. Thank you.

Andrew Holt, Liver Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital


Dear David, It has been a privilege working with you in our different roles over very many years. Thank you for all you have done in promoting collaboration across Birmingham's Health Partners and in particular UHB. I wish you all the best for the future. 

Prof Simon Ball, University Hospitals Birmingham


David, you were very supportive when I first started at the Liver Unit and have always been an inspirational leader. Enjoy your retirement and make the most of your new free time!

Dennis Freshwater, Liver Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital


 Dear David, I hope this massage finds you well. I would like to congratulate you on your retirement. I still have very vivid memories on my time in your lab in Birmingham, which really shaped my future career significantly. Hence, I would like to thank you for everything you have done for me and hope to see you in the near future.

Dr. Yazid Resheq, Medical Centre, Ulm University, Germany


Dear Prof, Thanks for everything you have contributed to the liver unit over the years - from a clinical perspective and academic one. I had the fortune to work with you briefly during my 2 stints in g50 as SpR then SCF in the unit - but sadly never as Consutlant colleagues. Your sagely advice along with Prof Hirschfield's in those clinics was inspirational and showed me how world calss clinical care should be delivered in the out-patient setting - something we have all strived to continue throughout the unit now. You were always patient and had time for your juniors in clinic - something the whole team appreciated. And your patients loved you - bar none. Your research portfolio was 2nd to none putting Birmingham well and truly on the World Immunology map & it was always a joy to ready your T-cell work whilst doing my research. Thanks for everything & enjoy retirement.

Dr Neil Rajoriya, Birmingham Liver Unit


Dave, although we were brought up in warring camps (Royal Free and King’s) I always appreciated your collegiality. To resist the temptation of the fame, fortune and status associated with chairs you were offered at major London teaching hospitals in favour of continuing your outstanding research program in Birmingham says a lot about you. I well remember the dinners at our respective houses with respective spouses where you expounded on your brave brushes with the medical authorities. You will miss the research but to wake up each morning and find the day stretching ahead of you without any administrative or contentious meetings and to know that every knock on your door is not just one more problem that has landed on your plate, more than makes up for it. Enjoy the peace and the fishing – you’ve earned it. 

Philip Johnson, University of Liverpool


Dear David, Thank you for your patience, support and understanding when I was new to the CRCTU and ImmunoTACE was the first trial I was fully involved with. It has been a pleasure to work with you and I wish the very best for your retirement. 

Camilla Bathurst, CRCTU


Dear David Congratulations on your retirement. My time working with you on the liver transplant unit was exceptional and your support throughout my PhD will never be forgotten. I wish you a very long and happy retirement. My very best wishes.

Dr Allister Grant, Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust


Hi David, it's been truly inspiring following your research and other successes over the years, enjoy your retirement!

Steve Pereira, Institute for Liver & Digestive Health, UCL


Dear Dave You have been a phenomenal mentor and friend. Endless nights of help and so much support for which I am eternally thankful. I wish you a wonderful retirement as you enter the next stage of your life. I do hope you find your way to Calgary for true western hospitality in future. 

Dr Bertus Eksteen, Aspen Woods Clinic & University of Calgary


 Hi Dave what a special mark in time. Would much have liked to join in today! Thank you very much indeed for your support over the years! Without this and the work in the Liver Labs my career would have been very different. Would have been good to tell you in person! I wish you well, all the best for the new opportunities in the years to come!

Ulli Baumann, Hannover Medical School, Germany


Dear Dave, Thank you so much for all you have done, both for me personally and for your extraordinary academic and leadership contributions. Your support for me as a renal research fellow was crucial in my development and your approach had a major influence on me. Together with Simon Afford you allowed me to develop my bench expertise (from a very low base) in the Liver Labs, helped me develop scientific writing skills in supporting through multiple versions my first full basic science review article, and you were always available for advice and support for me. Your generosity of spirit matched with your breadth of skills and your formidable scientific literacy sets a standard to aim at for me and many others of my generation in Birmingham and beyond. In many instants over the past 29 years (!) I have been profoundly grateful for your input (often practical), and academic and leadership guidance. And finally, thank you for being such a great clinical colleague (despite all the work generated) at QEH Birmingham. 

Prof Paul Cockwell, Department of Renal Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital and University of Birmingham


Dear David, you are clearly too young to be retiring! Thank you for being a role model, mentor and inspiration. Thanks to you, dendritic cells will always be very dear to me….apologies it took so long to publish the paper! Very best wishes for your future adventures.

Prof Daniel Palmer, University of Liverpool


Dear David, Wishing you a long and happy retirement. Thank you for your support and guidance during the time I worked on ImmunoTACE, it was invaluable – a learning experience like no other. 

Jessica Douglas-Pugh, CRCTU


 

Dear David, For me, your scientific contributions were crucial. These were landmarks in our small world of immune-mediated liver diseases. Thank you for your kindness and modesty. For your bright (and hopefully healthy) future. 

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Beuers, Amsterdam University Medical Centers

Anecdotes about Professor David Adams

I first met Professor David Adams when I joined the liver labs in 2005, as a postdoc in Professor Jane McKeating's group. At the time he was director of the Liver Labs, then went on to become head of our Institute, then head of our College. It is because of Dave's passion for liver immunology that I became attracted to the fascinating liver, and I later chose to dedicate my career as a principal investigator to liver immunology. A few things that I learned from Dave: i) the liver is magnificent, ii) focus on the research, iii) find a mentor, iv) apply!, v) interrogate the data (on scientific rigour). Through Dave, I met outstanding clinician scientists, formed collaborations and won research funding to discover the new biological process of enclysis. I was first impressed by Dave's calm leadership, humility and caring disposition in his interactions with patients and students. I am extremely fortunate to have met him at the University of Birmingham at a critical stage of my career. He has made a difference to the lives of many and has been a force for good. I wish him a very happy retirement. 

Dr Zania Stamataki


Prof Adams is a true legend of the liver world. And one of the nicest consutlants I have worked for. A measured expert opinion and always was happy to help out his juniors in clinics - providing sage-like advice and wisdom for AIH patients. His research was 2nd to none in liver immunology putting Birmingham Liver reseach unit well on the world map. Wish him all the best for retirement and a big thanks for all he did for the Birmingham liver unit. 

Dr Neil Rajoriya, CSL Liver Medicine


Prof Adams is a great mentor and guides me to secure a research post during the training years. It helps me tremendolusly my career and I will not be where I am without his support and guidance. Thank you. 

Dr Sophia Than, Hepatology


I have known David for many years, since when I was at the very first steps of my career. He inspired me in many key moments and professional decisions. Of course when I decided to work in the liver immunology field but also when, two years ago, I decided to become the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at my University. A civil servant who inspired many of us, and a true model for the youngest. 

Prof Pietro Invernizzi, Facultu of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca


David is the consummate clinician; calm, knowledgeable, experienced, always helpful, patient focussed and kind, particularly for the external referring clinician. His track record in research speaks for itself and attests to a spirit of intellectual excellence combined with intellectual generosity. He is a superb collaborator. He is also a good friend and was extremely supportive of me personally in difficult times. But what really gets me is on top of all that he is a superb fisherman and a much better one than I (although I'm still up for day trips to the Wye and Avon with luncheon in our regular pub haunts!).

John Iredale


 It is a great pleasure for me to participate in Prof David Adams' Festschrift, from whom I learned so much during the years spent in Birmingham, not only for his scientific capability and rigor in research but also as a friend. David and his family are a great example for all of us. A warm hug, Patta.

Prof Patrizia Burra, University of Padova (Italy)


 

Professor Adams was a wonderful support when I started work on the Unit soon after him as a Specialsit Dietitian brand new to the world of Liver. He was always approachable and suppotive and welcomed me in to what was our small team in those days! He is a pateint teacher and supported me to be able to provide the best nutritional care for our patients. 

Jill Johnson, Dieteteics, QEHB Birmingham 

Important abstracts and papers

Take a look at Professor Adams' research profile.

Colleges

Professional Services