Leslie Iversen

Leslie Lars Iversen CBE FRS MAE (31 October 1937 – 30 July 2020), was a British pharmacologist, known for his work on the neurochemistry of neurotransmission.^[1]

Leslie Iversen CBE FRS MAE
Born	Leslie Lars Iversen (1937-10-31)31 October 1937 Exeter, England
Died	30 July 2020(2020-07-30) (aged 82)
Citizenship	United Kingdom
Spouse	Susan Iversen ​ (m. 1961)​
Awards	Ferrier Lecture
Scientific career
Fields	Pharmacology
Institutions	University of Oxford University of Cambridge

Early life

Of Norwegian descent, Iversen attended Hele's School, Exeter,^[2][3][4] and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a BA in natural sciences and a PhD in pharmacology.^[5]

Career and research

A Fellow of Trinity College from 1964 to 1984, Iversen was also Locke Research Fellow of the Royal Society at the University of Cambridge from 1967 to 1971.^[5] From 1971 to 1982, he was Director of the MRC Neurochemical Pharmacology Unit in Cambridge. Between 1982 and 1995 he worked as Director of the Merck, Sharp & Dohme Neuroscience Research Centre. In 1995 he became visiting professor of pharmacology at the University of Oxford.^[6]

In 2000, Iversen published the book The Science of Marijuana by Oxford University Press, Inc.^[7] In 2010 he was accused of plagiarism. Consequently, one of his books now credits the original author of the plagiarized work.^[8]

Awards and honours

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1980^[9][10] and gave the Society's Ferrier Lecture in 1983.^[11] He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours, "for services to pharmacology".^[12]

He died on 30 July 2020, survived by his wife of nearly 60 years, Susan Iversen.^[13]