After Mark completed his BSc in Neurobiology at the University of Sussex in 1984, he stayed on to complete postgraduate studies in Auditory Neurophysiology. This fed his burgeoning fascination with the neural basis of hearing that involved understanding not just the physiological and genetic basis of hearing, but also the mechanisms by which the auditory system can be surgically repaired. These interests led him, initially, towards a research career in neuroscience.

After gaining his PhD from University College London in 1996, he researched and published on auditory system neural growth and regeneration as a Senior Fellow at UCL’s Institute of Laryngology and Otology, which was later to become the UCL Ear Institute – the largest multidisciplinary centre in Europe for research into hearing and deafness.

However, even while Mark was revealing new insights into hearing, his attention was being drawn to a quite different aspect of his working life that was to have a profound impact on his career. During his postdoctoral studies at UCL, he greatly enjoyed teaching students on the MSc Audiology course, and it was here that he began reflecting on how educational learning might be understood in terms of brain function. It wasn’t long before his postgraduate teaching experience blossomed into a serious ambition to develop himself as an educator. In 2000, he enrolled on a PGCE course as a science teacher, and soon found himself working as a science teacher and then Director of Science at St George’s College of Technology in Lincolnshire. His subsequent achievements in educating children and young people at St George’s and other institutions included several years working in senior management. Eventually, however, his interests in the neural basis of educational learning resurfaced and he resolved to understand more about the links between neuroscience and education.

In 2016, Mark arrived at the University of Bristol and enrolled on the MScEd (Neuroscience and Education pathway) in the School of Education. As a mature student, Mark brought a uniquely valuable combination of experiences as both a published neuroscientist and an established educator. His potential as an academic in his area of study did not go unnoticed. After he excelled in every unit with flying colours and achieved a distinction, the School of Education quickly began to employ his talents as a lecturer whose authority and communication abilities were greatly valued.

Neuroscience and education is a new field of academic enterprise where hybrid professionals such as Mark have an immensely important role to play in building bridges between academic communities characterised by different priorities, concepts and language. With his bright floral shirts contributing to a larger-than-life presence in the lecture theatre, Mark was able to effortlessly traverse the gap between disciplines in a way that was accessible and engaging. Mark derived a great sense of satisfaction from his work as a lecturer and pleasure from teaching his students, with a genuine enthusiasm for his field and for teaching his students that was energising and inspiring for his colleagues.

But in addition to his exceptional teaching skills, Mark was a warm-hearted, cheerful and empathetic colleague who was a very selfless person in his dealings with others, always happy to pitch in and keen to see everyone around him achieve their full potential. Those who worked with or were taught by Mark will feel fortunate to have known him, and his positive and open approach to learning and to life will be greatly missed.