The world of cancer pharmacology was shocked to hear of the sudden death of Lloyd Kelland on 23 May 2008. Lloyd was well known both nationally and internationally for his work on platinum complexes and a range of other innovative cancer medicines. Equally importantly, Lloyd was greatly respected as an outstanding colleague, teacher and mentor. His tragic and untimely death has deprived cancer pharmacology of a key leader.

Lloyd was trained as a pharmacist at the University of Bath, UK, where he completed his undergraduate studies in 1979 and his PhD in 1984, and was subsequently awarded a DSc in 2000. On completing his PhD and moving to the Institute of Cancer Research, London, Lloyd began a career dedicated to the discovery and development of new cancer treatments, focussing initially on radiotherapy. Lloyd developed an unparalleled understanding of in vivo tumor biology which he initially applied with significant success to studies that resulted in the development of third generation platinum complexes for clinical evaluation. Subsequently, he was present at the dawn of the era of molecularly targeted therapy and was immediately an enthusiastic convert. On moving to the biotech company Antisoma, Lloyd extended his interests to the field of biological therapies again with great success, demonstrating—not that it was needed—his versatility as a scientist. Most recently, as Head of Biology at Cancer Research Technology, Lloyd was responsible for providing bioscience leadership across a broad portfolio of drug discovery projects—a challenge that he had grasped with characteristic enthusiasm and was actively pursuing at the time of his death.

In addition to his scientific achievements, Lloyd will be remembered for his contributions as a teacher and mentor by a large number of former PhD students and post-doctoral researchers. His encouragement, support and advice secured the careers of many of the up-and-coming cancer pharmacologists of our time, whose respect, admiration and affection was always plain to see. Lloyd also played a central role in a number of cancer research organizations, in particular the British Association for Cancer Research and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer; organizations where he held positions on a number of committees. These activities, as well as his scientific reputation, secured a network of friends and colleagues that was truly global, and Lloyd’s openness and willingness to collaborate were key attributes that made him such a popular figure.

Reflecting Lloyd’s popularity and the high esteem in which he was held, Lloyd’s wife, two children and family were joined at his funeral service by a very large number of colleagues from throughout his scientific career. Recollections about Lloyd’s life served to emphasize not only the magnitude of his achievements and contributions, and hence our loss on his untimely death, but also the truly rounded character of this man of science. Attendees at the funeral, and comments from colleagues around the world emphasized Lloyd’s global standing as scientist, and the impact of his research career will continue to be felt for many decades to come.