Obituary for Professor Michael J. Day

Abstract

On 10th May 2020, Michael Day passed away at the age of 59 after a terminal illness with cancer. There have been many messages and tributes to him. He had many interests and activities as a veterinarian and was involved with the British Veterinary Small Animal Association (BSAVA), the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) as well as being the senior editor of the Journal of Comparative Pathology. There is an online book of condolence with many tributes at http://www.tolbc.com/MichaelDay. Michael trained as a veterinarian at Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia. He had a profound interest in small animal immunology, infectious diseases and pathology which was focused in his residency and PhD studies performed at Murdoch. Having completed his PhD he held postdoctoral positions in Bristol and Oxford before joining the University of Bristol in 1990 as a lecturer in veterinary pathology in the Veterinary School. In 2017 he left Bristol Veterinary School as emeritus professor in veterinary pathology. Michael had been taught at Murdoch by Susan Shaw, who also joined the University of Bristol in 1990, and they forged a long-term collaborative friendship. For example, they co-authored a chapter entitled “Recent developments in atopic dermatitis of companion animals” (In: Williams HC, ed., Atopic dermatitis: the epidemiology, causes and prevention of atopic eczema. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000; 233–244). Michael was renowned for his ability to teach immunology to veterinary undergraduates and postgraduates by making the complex seem accessible. This ability was put to use helping residents of the European College of Veterinary Dermatology in their Immunology workshops in Split and ESVD members at a workshop in York. He lectured all over the world at international conferences about small animals and their immune-mediated and infectious diseases. He co-authored, with Ronald Schulz, a successful and popular textbook that has been widely used for teaching veterinary students (Veterinary immunology: principles and practice, 2nd edition. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2013). He also wrote two other books published by CRC Press, Clinical immunology of the dog and cat and (co-authored with Susan Shaw) Arthropod-borne infectious diseases of the dog and cat. Michael was extraordinarily hard-working and meticulously organised. For example, when compiling the book Veterinary Allergy (Chichester, UK: Wiley, 2014), the editors asked him to write the introductory chapter on “The immunological basis of allergic diseases”. His was, as expected, the first manuscript submitted, on time and complete with no revisions required. Michael worked on various techniques during his residency and PhD studies on the immune system of companion animals, and this is reflected in one of his earliest publications entitled “Immunodiagnosis of autoimmune skin disease in the dog, cat and horse” (Day MJ, Penhale WJ, Aust Vet J 1986; 63: 65–68). His research training in Murdoch led to the establishment of a diagnostic laboratory at the University of Bristol that enabled clinicians to investigate various diseases and conditions; it included testing for immunoglobulins, ANA titres and interpretation of immunohistochemical results for various tissues. This helped to bring him into contact with many clinicians within and outside Bristol Veterinary School and with whom he collaborated, this work helped to contribute to Michael’s large list of over 340 publications. While at Bristol Veterinary School, Michael helped to develop the application of reagents in detecting canine immunoglobulin G subclasses, and this led to a series of studies of immune responses in various skin diseases in dogs including pyoderma, hypersensitivity disorders and immune-mediated diseases. He also published detailed substantial retrospective histopathological studies looking at demodicosis, auto-immune skin diseases, pyoderma and cutaneous lymphoma. Michael will be remembered by many for his engaging and collaborative approach to all things concerning the study of infectious and immune-mediated diseases in companion animals, as well as a substantial portfolio of work on experimental autoimmunity. He supervised numerous PhD students and postdoctoral fellows, and was an external examiner for many. In later years Michael explored his family history and, interestingly, it became apparent that his family had hailed from the southwestern England, from villages in the county of Somerset, before they moved out to Australia in the 19th Century. Consequently, when he worked for the University of Bristol and made his home in Cheddar in the Mendip Hills area of Somerset, he was not far from where his ancestors had set out for Australia. Our thoughts and sympathies are extended to his wife Mary and to his family.