This symposium, largely devoted to colorectal cancer, has been organised as a tribute to the memory and legacy of Professor Ray McMahon. Ray passed away on Tuesday, 18 February 2025, after a short illness. He was 68. Ray was one of the most delightful and lovable characters in international pathology and had superb organisational, administrative and diplomatic skills, complemented by an extraordinarily friendly and humorous character.
There is little doubt that his greatest accomplishments were in his numerous roles in the International Academy of Pathology and the British Division of the IAP (BDIAP). He was elected to Council of the BDIAP in 1995 and served as its Treasurer for 12 years from 1996. A sure hand with economics and investments, Ray guaranteed the financial stability of the Society for all those years. He was President of the BDIAP from 2018 to 2020. He served with his typical proactive and yet diplomatic leadership and the Society is so much richer for his commitment and energy in these roles. He was elected Chair of the Finance Committee of the IAP, the world organisation, in 2012. This role he undertook for two years and then transferred to become the General Secretary of the IAP, a role that continued up until his sad demise, when he had just been elected as President-Elect of the IAP, a position that only two Pathologists working in the UK had previously held. Ms Sam Kiely, the BDIAP’s Managing Director and Assistant Secretary to the IAP, will discuss his various roles and his contributions to the IAP as part of this session.
In 2024, BDIAP Council ratified the establishment of the ‘Ray McMahon Lecture’, only the second named lecture that the Society has ever had, and he also became one of the very few who have been awarded both BDIAP Medals, only one of each being awarded each year: the Cunningham Medal for contributions to the BDIAP and the President’s Medal for contributions to international pathology education. These awards truly emphasise his massive contributions to pathology, the IAP and the BDIAP.