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Written by:
Kathryn Martin-Chambers
Posted:
24 Apr 2020

Dr John Walshe matriculated at Trinity Hall in 1939 to study Medicine & Medical Sciences. On the 24 April he celebrates his 100th birthday.

Dr Walshe discovered an effective treatment for Wilson’s disease, otherwise known as hepatolenticular degeneration. Wilson’s disease is a metabolic, autosomnal recessive illness in which excess copper builds up in the body. It was an untreatable illness prior to Dr Walshe’s discovery. Sixty-five years on, Dr Walshe’s first patient remains in good health.

In 1950 Dr Walshe joined the University of Cambridge’s Department of Investigative Medicine and held an honorary consultant’s position at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.