Professor Geoffrey Laurent was the director of the Centre for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Western Australia and an Honorary Fellow at University College London. Prior to his appointment at the University of Western Australia in June 2012, he was the vice dean of enterprise and head of the Department of Internal Medicine at University College London. Prof Laurent published over 300 peer reviewed articles in international journals of biomedical research and was awarded the European Respiratory Societies Presidential Award for his contribution to lung science. He was the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology and has edited several books including a four-volume Encyclopaedia of Respiratory Medicine. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and past president of the British Association for Lung Research. Prof Laurent passed away in August 2018.