Justin Mason Seminar Room opened by family and friends

An event to commemorate the naming of the Justin Mason Seminar Room was held on Monday 22 May in ICTEM, Hammersmith.

This event was to unveil the newly named Justin Mason Seminar Room on the 5^th floor of ICTEM in memory of Professor Justin Mason who sadly passed away in May 2022. Professor Mason was Co-Head of the Cardiovascular Division at the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), and a much-loved colleague and friend. This event was an opportunity to recognise the fundraising efforts of Justin’s family, colleagues and friends towards the Memorial fund set up in his memory.

In attendance were Justin’s direct family, his mother, sister, brother-in-law and nephew. The event was hosted by Professor Anna Randi, Head of Vascular Science Section, Professor Dorian Haskard and former Head of NHLI Professor Edwin Chilvers. Amongst the guests, which included close colleagues of Justin’s, was Professor Jonathan Weber, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.

On arrival, the family were given a few minutes to admire the refurbished room, which now contains a plaque in Justin’s honour, his recent Imperial Award Certificate in recognition of his outstanding Mentorship, and a showcase of stunning wildlife photos taken by Justin during his travels to Africa.  

Professor Anna Randi welcomed everybody with a few opening words, thanking the family for allowing the photos taken by Justin to be used to decorate the room. She remembered how she and Justin briefly shared the role of Head of Section before Justin’s promotion to a higher role, and the fundamental role that Justin had played in the everyday life of the Section from its very beginning. 

Professor Dorian Haskard spoke about Justin’s research, academic achievements and how his ground breaking work not only answered a lot of questions but also opened new research avenues for future researchers. Professor Edwin Chilvers then unveiled the plaque and spoke of how much Justin was loved and admired by his students and colleagues. He hoped the Justin Mason Seminar Room would be a crucible for debate, dialogue and challenge, and a place where new data and new discoveries would be presented. After the speeches there was time for sharing stories and admiring the room.

Justin was a clinical academic at Imperial College London for over 25 years. He originally developed his interests in endothelial biology during an MRC Training Fellowship supervised by Professor Haskard, and was awarded his PhD in 1996. With independent research fellowship support from Arthritis Research Campaign/Versus Arthritis, his work helped identify vasculo-protective mechanisms capable of modulating blood vessel inflammation. His translational research was instrumental in improving the management of large vessel vasculitis, in particular through his pioneering work on vascular imaging that had international reach and significance. Justin was appointed as the College’s inaugural Professor of Vascular Rheumatology in 2009 and more recently Co-Head of the Cardiovascular Division at the NHLI. Justin worked hard supporting patient charities (Vasculitis UK, PMR/GCA UK, Scleroderma & Raynaud’s UK), served on the British Society for Rheumatology Heberden Committee and had a long association with the British Heart Foundation, for which he chaired the Project Grants Committee. 

You can donate to the Justin Mason Memorial Fund or find out how to apply for the awards it is funding by contacting Alun Owen.