Professor Sir Graham Teasdale
Anne Mackintosh
2006 portrait in oils

World-renowned neurosurgeon Sir Graham Teasdale was President of the College between 2003 and 2006 and is widely known for his involvement in the invention of the Glasgow Coma Scale (or GCS) along with Professor Bryan Jennett. This is used in every hospital throughout the world to give a reliable and objective way to measure the conscious state of a patient.

Sir Graham was born in County Durham in 1940. He qualified from Durham Medical School, Newcastle upon Tyne, in 1963 and later moved to Glasgow to train in neurosurgery in 1967. Sir Graham’s research has been invaluable to the understanding of cerebral ischaemia, the place of neuro-protective agents and the genetic aspects of brain damage in head injuries. He is also the author of over 400 publications, has received numerous prestigious awards and is involved with many societies in the UK and abroad, including the European Brain Injury Consortium and the American College of Surgeons. In 2006 he was knighted for his contribution to neurosurgery.

His portrait was commissioned by the College in 2006 and was painted by Anne Mackintosh, who has painted several of the more recent College Presidents including Mr James McArthur and Professor Ross Lorimer. She studied botany at Glasgow University, gaining a PhD in Plant Physiology and later attended non-diploma classes at Glasgow School of Art. She has painted royalty such as the Duchess of York and politicians such as Margaret Thatcher and Donald Dewar.