Alun Hardwick Beddoe BSc MSc PhD DSc FACPSEM, FIP, FIPEM, FAIP, FASRP
Also, Chartered Physicist (Institute of Physics, UK) and Affiliate of the Royal College of Physicians.
Early History
Professor Alun Beddoe (“Alun”) was born in Barry, Wales on 22 April 1945. As his parents moved locally and then globally, Alun attended Stocksfield primary school in Northumberland, England, before moving to Te Awamutu in New Zealand.
He continued his primary school education there and later went Matamata College. Alun mentioned with some pride that Paul Keall and Peter Hoban, two other internationally influential medical physicists, lived in Te Awamutu too – but much, much later!
It was from the time of his first degree that Alun became a globetrotter too. His Bachelor and Master of Science degrees were in physics and mathematics at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch.
With Te Awamutu on the North Island and Christchurch on the South, this was already a significant move. However, it was to be the beginning of a career that took him back to England, back to New Zealand, across to Australia and finally settling again in England.
Joining the Medical Physics Fraternity
When asked how he first became interested in working in a rare professional area such as medical physics, Alun said:
“He was a ‘pacifist’ and he thought that nuclear physicists had caused enough mayhem in the world.”
Medical physics became his chosen career.
Alun joined the medical physics group at Christchurch Hospital in 1967. He worked as a physicist under the leadership of Jack Tait – someone he grew to highly respect as a lifetime mentor. He completed his MSc degree whilst at the North Canterbury Hospital.
Work and Academic Career
As soon as he completed his Master’s, he decided to gain more experience overseas and complete a PhD degree in between his work. He returned to Leeds, England, in 1971 to work as a Research Officer.
The job was in the Medical Physics Department at the University of Leeds. Alun worked there for 6.5 years and completed his thesis work. His studies involved measuring bone structure and using Monte Carlo calculations for dosimetry of bone-seeking radionuclides.
Professor F W Spiers supervised his research. Spiers was also on Alun’s list of respected mentors. Alun’s thesis work was very successful during that period. The published results underpinned some recommendations completed by the ICRP then and he published approximately 14 peer reviewed papers.
Interest in skeletal dosimetry has been regenerated in recent years because imaging techniques now have the spatial resolution to measure chord length distributions in vivo, and Monte Carlo methods have been developed that can compute the dosimetry on an individual patient basis. It is relevant to both Nuclear Medicine and radiotherapy for administered bone-seeking radionuclides.
Having completed his thesis, he was able to return to Auckland, New Zealand in 1977. He was appointed as a Senior physicist in the Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering.
Four years later, Alun secured a Senior Research Physicist position in the Department of Surgery, Auckland University, where he helped set up a metabolic research unit.
It was a good move because Alun could return to his main research area of expertise. Led by surgeon, Professor Graham Hill, and with intensive care physician, Dr Stephen Streat and a chemist, Dr Graham Knight, Alun and his colleagues published a further 18 peer-reviewed papers.
The most popular cited paper was on ‘obligatory protein loss accompanying critical illness’. Alun also developed a research project on ‘in vivo neutron activation analysis’ measuring body composition in surgical and intensive care patients.
By 1985, Alun’s work ended in Auckland when he was appointed as Chief Physicist in Dunedin. Three years later, he was appointed Chief Physicist at the Department of Medical Physics, Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH).
Alun’s depth of research knowledge, his gift in successfully completing projects, his report and writing ability and his personable management skills were tremendous assets that the RAH radiotherapy department gained.
He simultaneously managed a large department, taught large parts of the University of Adelaide’s MSc course, and nurtured a thriving research program. Alun imported some excellent quality research students from all parts of Australia, New Zealand and beyond to work with him.
PhD students that Alun supervised at RAH were:
- Tammy Utteridge;
- Mostafa Heydarian;
- Paul Keall;
- Wayne Beckham; and
- Martin Ebert
All these PhD students have gone on to be high international achievers working in leading medical physics appointments. Alun would be very proud of their achievements. The RAH staff and students all had a very high respect for Alun.
Sadly, the RAH staff were devastated in 1995 when Alun announced that he was leaving. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham had offered Alun an appointment as Consultant Physicist. His duties were to be Head of Radiotherapy and Deputy Head of the Department of Medical Physics.
Alun continued that appointment until 2002. Many other hospital departments locally and internationally sought his assistance as a Consultant Physicist.
For his outstanding achievements in research and other aspects of his professional work, the University of Leeds granted Alun a Doctor of Science degree in 1999. The dissertation was entitled Bone morphology and bone dosimetry, in vivo neutron activation analysis and body composition, and other topics.
Alun went on to be Head of Department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital until 2009.
Teaching, Publishing and Professional Activities
It’s impossible to mention in any reasonable detail a full coverage of Alun’s teaching, publishing and professional activities. From 1967 to when Alun went overseas in 1995, he lectured radiographers, radiation oncologists, medical students, physics students, defence forces, engineering students and nurses.
Alun was Editor of New Zealand Medical Physics and Bio-medical Engineering, published by New Zealand Medical Physics and Bio-medical Engineering Association (1978 – 1980); Editor of the journal Australasian Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine (1989 – 1995); and Editor-in-Chief of Physics in Medicine and Biology, from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2005. He was also a member of editorial boards for six international journals.
Alun was a member of the Board of Examiners (1984 – 1987); elected Vice-President (1985 – 1987); and President (1987 – 1989) of the Australasian College of Physical Scientists in Medicine.
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Interview with Professor Alun Beddoe
To obtain impressions from Alun about his long career, he was asked to respond to some specific questions.
– Who were your fondest mentors?
Jack Tait (Christchurch 1967-71), Prof FW Spiers (1971-77), Prof Graham Hill (1981-85) and Dr Wyn Morgan (1995-2002 and beyond).
– What did your first job in Christchurch Hospital teach you?
Humility.
– Are there any particular lessons or anecdotes from your various jobs?
There are two that stick in my memory.
(i) Two days after my oldest son was born (in 1979) I helped with the radiation treatment of the first marrow transplant of a child with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in NZ (on a Saturday). Apparently, the radiographers (as they were known then) had the day off. I did the radiation physics of the treatment and supervised all radiographer aspects of the treatment including pressing the buttons.
(ii) In 1969 I took part in the treatment of horse who had arthritis in his fetlock…we put a bandage round the fetlock that contained gold seeds (198Au). Apparently, it must have worked…he won an important race!
– You were editor of both the Australasian journal (APESM) and Physics in Medicine & Biology. How were those experiences and what did they teach you?
(i) The lengths that some authors will go to claim that this is their work,
(ii) That being the editor of a relatively small journal is much more difficult than a relatively large journal … in the latter case you have an editorial office who do most of the work for you.
– What have been the most satisfying aspects of your career in clinical medical physics?
Knowing that I have been contributing, however minor, to the health and well-being of people of all ages round the globe … and horses and other animals too.
– What would you consider to be your most significant research contributions?
Bone Dosimetry (which I did my PhD on) and the dosimetry of diamond detectors, though, where cost is concerned, we saved several billions of dollars annually round the World in an article entitled “Aggressive nutritional support does not prevent protein loss despite fat gain in septic intensive care patients” published in J. Trauma in 1987…though the companies that produce the amino acid solutions were not so sure (reference 32 in my CV…in excess of 550 citations).
– Any advice for a young graduate thinking of launching into a career in medical physics research?
Do it! (far too many medical physicists use, as an excuse, the clinical commitments of their jobs).
– Any photographs from your (earlier … in NZ) research days?
I’ve searched the whole house for photographs of research in NZ and not come up with any.
– What have been the most satisfying aspects of your career in medical physics research?
I count myself as one of the last of the dying breed of the medical radiation physics generalists, not as a specialist in one particular subject.
OUTSIDE OF WORK
– Do you have a philosophy on life?
I’m an agnostic/humanist. My favourite quote is by Dylan Thomas:
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
– When did you meet Sheila, and how long have you been married?
I met Sheila in 1975 and we have been married for 42 years.
– How have you found/managed the balance between such an eventful and successful career and raising a family?
I owe a lot to Sheila, who did not work (professionally… she sure worked her socks off on family matters) during the period when the oldest of the three lads was born in March,1979 until we went to Dunedin in 1985, and then only nights on weekends. In Adelaide, she also worked weekends in 1988 to 1995…she started full-time work in the UK in 1998.
Martin Ebert PhD, 4 September 2019
