Dorothy & Colin Whitehead (at some VIP function)!

​

Colin Whitehead’s CV

 

After my BSc graduation I stayed on to do a PhD with Gerald Aspinall as supervisor. During my 1st year, Gerald got a job as Head of the Chemistry Department at Trent University in Ontario. Most of his group moved with him then but I stayed on at KB for a further year with Dai Rees taking over my supervision. During this year I married Dorothy and we both went out to Canada for my 3rd year. Whilst there, I was interviewed by the UK North American Recruiting Team and subsequently, to my surprise, got a job offer from the Poultry Research Centre (PRC) back at KB. So I took this job and we moved back to Edinburgh in late 1969. My role at PRC was to carry out research on poultry nutrition. This gradually extended to cover a wide range of nutrients, though vitamins became a speciality. My research also moved into areas of breeding and veterinary topics and latterly I ran the bone biology team. Over the years the organisation of the institute changed several times so that it ultimately became Roslin Institute (home of Dolly, though I had nothing to do with that). I travelled the world to meetings and conferences, often taking the family with me to the more exotic locations, and wrote many scientific papers and popular articles. I was Vice President of the World’s Poultry Science Association, a Visiting Professor at Glasgow University Vet School and also acquired a DSc. Along the way, Dorothy and I had 3 children and we now have 7 grandchildren. I was a keen squash player up till my retirement, though that activity subsequently necessitated two new hips. I retired at age 60, as per my contract, but continued for many years as a consultant in the poultry industry. I am now fully retired and enjoy life in the garden, on the golf course and in a range of other pursuits; I keep the books for the Scottish Rhododendron Society and the East Scotland Branch of Butterfly Conservation. We continue still to travel widely, though Dorothy is now spared having to look at chickens or listen to lectures.