Professor Colin Caro, who has died aged 97, was one of the founding members of the British Microcirculation Society and became an honorary member of the society after his retirement in 1991. Colin was a giant in the field of bioengineering and fluid dynamics with research breakthroughs in multiple areas of physiology, including in the field of blood flow modelling. He was the first to identify the potential for low shear stress being a contributor to atherosclerosis – an idea that is now accepted, but at the time was highly controversial as it appeared to be in contrast with the widely accepted work of Antischkow from the early 1900 in cholesterol fed rabbits. A full obituary of Colin is published in the Journal of Biomechanical Engineering [1], but what is maybe less known is Colin’s contribution to the Society. Through the work and support of collaborating scientists such as John Lever, Peter Weinberg, Peter Winlove, Kim Parker and the establishment of the Bioengineering group at Imperial College, he was one of the key drivers behind the establishment of quantitative approaches to microcirculation that still lives on in the Society.
1. Weinberg, P.D., et al., In Memoriam: Colin Caro 1925-2022. J Biomech Eng, 2022. 144(9).