Story
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐧 was a 𝑝𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑐𝑜𝑔𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡, 𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟. He served for many years as a board member of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research (GA), and held roles as both President and long-term Treasurer of the International Society for Ethnopharmacology. [1–4]
Contribution to Pharmacognosy and TCM:
A Fellow of both the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and the Royal Society of Chemistry, Peter was widely respected for his discoveries of novel compounds and new drug activities derived from herbal extracts. His work drew on diverse medical traditions—including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Indian medicine—particularly in the treatment of brain disorders, cancer and wound healing. By bridging scientific innovation and traditional knowledge, he significantly advanced the use of medicinal plants for global health. [1–5]
As a senior team member, Peter played an indispensable role in establishing the GP-TCM consortium, which pioneered the first major EU–China collaboration in developing and promoting good practice in TCM research. This initiative later gave rise to the GP-TCM Research Association and helped lay the groundwork for the King’s Centre for Integrative Chinese Medicine (CICM) at King’s College London. [6,7]
Tributes from colleagues and friends:
"Peter was extremely well known both in the UK and worldwide as an expert in pharmacognosy and, in particular, ethnopharmacology. " [1,3]
"He was one of the most caring and supportive academic teachers one can imagine." [2,4]
"He was the one who brought me into the fascinating pharmacognosy world and has great influence and support on my entire academic career." [2,4]
"What a great heart, brain, and spirit. Not only are elephants recognised for their wisdom, strength, and great courage." [2,4]
"His curiosity, kindness, and belief in his students shaped not only my career, but also my values as a scientist."[5]
The Peter Houghton Award
In honour of 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐧, King’s CICM is establishing the 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 to support early-career researchers working in the field of herbal medicine and botanical drugs, with a special emphasis on Chinese herbal medicine.
The award will offer practical support to undergraduate, MSc/MRes, PhD, and postdoctoral researchers, providing them with opportunities that Professor Houghton deeply valued—helping them 𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠, 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦.
Continue Peter's legacy
𝐌𝐫𝐬 𝐉𝐨𝐚𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐧 shared her thoughts:
"𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦."
"𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘴𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴."
"𝘐 𝘢𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱.”
To make this scholarship a reality, we cordially invite your support.
𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 £𝟏𝟎 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.
£𝟏𝟎 — Helps a student present their first research poster
£𝟓𝟎 — Covers lab consumables or analysis costs
£𝟏𝟎𝟎 — Supports a hands-on herbal extraction workshop and access to specialist equipment for plant compound analysis
£𝟏𝟓𝟎 — Covers the cost of a three-day training course in cutting-edge single-cell RNA-seq bioinformatics
£𝟐𝟎𝟎 — Funds conference travel for an early-career researcher
£𝟏,𝟎𝟎𝟎 — Supports a short research internship or BSc/MSc training project
£𝟓,𝟎𝟎𝟎-𝟏𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 — Funds the research cost of a postdoctoral fellow for 6-12 months
£𝟑𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 — Supports the research cost of a PhD student for three years
Donors will receive their 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 by email — please let us have your email address — and may opt to join the 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠'𝐬 𝐂𝐈𝐂𝐌 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞 to receive regular updates. If you have any questions or need our help, we will be happy to hear from you.
𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 to help nurture the scientific pioneers of tomorrow.
Qihe Xu, MD, PhD
qihe.xu@kcl.ac.uk
References
1. Tribute from Professors Amala Soumyanath and Clara Lau on behalf of Professor Peter Houghton’s former colleagues and students.
2. Tribute from Professor Michael Heinrich published in Pharmaceutical Biology 2024;62:527–528.
3. Tribute from Professor Jayne Lawrence on behalf of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences
4. Tribute from GA (Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research)
5. Dr Simon Jackson's LinkedIn post. In Memory of Professor Peter Houghton