With great sadness, IBRO mourns the loss of Professor John G Nicholls, who passed away on 13 July 2023.

A pioneer in neurobiology research, Prof. Nicholls worked at different British and American universities, including the Universities of Oxford and Harvard. In 1983, he became a professor of pharmacology at the Biozentrum University of Basel, in Switzerland, where he reached emeritus status. After retirement from the Biozentrum, he chose the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) to continue his research and become a Professor of Neurobiology.

Prof. Nicholls was an exceptional contributor to IBRO’s mission of bringing neuroscience to the world. Passionate about teaching, from 1994 to 2002, he was in charge of the IBRO Visiting Lecturer Program (IBRO-VLTP), which provided neurobiology courses in countries with scarce access to research resources across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In recognition of his leadership, IBRO named a previous fellowship after him to support talented researchers to receive training at a distinguished laboratory and return to their home country to establish their research activity.

With his passion for neurobiology, engaging lecturing style, and incredible commitment to making neuroscience more accessible to everyone, Prof. Nicholls will always be remembered with gratitude and as a source of inspiration for all of us. 

Link to the announcement by the Biozentrum, University of Basel