Jeremy Robin Jass, GI Pathologist

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Jeremy Robin Jass, Professor of Gastrointestinal Pathology at St. Mark's Hospital and Imperial College in London, UK, died on November 30, 2008. The author of >300 original papers and many books, Jass was equally highly esteemed as a research pathologist, clinician, and diagnostician. He challenged the belief that metaplastic polyps, now widely known as hyperplastic polyps, were benign. See “The relation between metaplastic polyp and carcinoma of the colorectum” (Lancet 1983;321:28–30).

Born May 13, 1951, Jass attended University College in London, and Westminster Medical School, also in London, UK, where he held early positions in pathology, acquiring his MD in 1983 and DSc in 1996. From 1996 to 1992, he served as Professor of Anatomical Pathology and Professor of Pathology at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and was Professor and Department Head of Pathology at the University of Auckland School of Medicine in New Zealand. In 2002, he became Professor of Gastrointestinal Pathology at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He returned to St. Marks Hospital and Imperial College, London, in January 2007.

Writing in the Journal of Pathology this year, 2 longstanding friends of Jass, Neil A. Shepherd, Professor of Gastrointestinal Pathology at Cheltenham General Hospital, UK, and Dr. Basil C. Morson, Consulting Pathologist at St. Mark's Hospital, Harrow, also in the UK, praised him “as an original thinker…always challenging dogmas and perceived wisdom in his research.” They note that Jass also was “a superb clinician and diagnostician.” In his immediate family, Jass is survived by his wife, 2 children and father.

See “Professor Jeremy R. Jass: an appreciation (J Pathol 2009;217:467–468).