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Tributes paid after death of pioneering human geneticist

ONE of Northern Ireland's best known scientists whose groundbreaking work dramatically reduced the number of babies born with Spina Bifida has died at the age of 79.

Professor Norman C Nevin was internationally renowned as a leading light in genetic research - and a driving force in the establishment of the hugely successful regional service at Belfast City hospital.

A deeply Christian man, he was also famed for his writings on science and creationism, and was the president of the north's Boys Brigade.

His most famous protege and the person who worked with him for the longest period, Professor Patrick Morrison, last night led tributes to his "great teacher".

"He had great passion...and when he got an idea he just ran with it. He wasn't afraid to embrace change and always had patients at the very heart of what he was doing," said Professor Morrison, a consultant in genetics medicine at the Belfast Trust and honorary Professor of Human genetics at Queen's University.

"He had a great way of explaining complex concepts to patients in a simple way."

Born in June 1935 in Agnes St close to the Shankill Road in Belfast, Professor Nevin worked as a doctor in the 1950s before going to London for a training fellowship in human genetics in 1965.

On his return to Belfast in 1967 he set up a medical genetics service and research unit at the Royal Victoria hospital. Eleven years later he was appointed as the first Professor of Medical Genetics at Queens University.

But it was a pioneering research trial in the mid 1970s that led to him becoming a household name.

At that time, an alarming one in 100 children in Northern Ireland were born with Spina Bifida, a disorder that causes faults in the development of the spine and spinal cord.

Professor Nevin embarked on a big clinical study that involved giving women folic acid before they conceived - the results were hugely successful. Around one in 1,000 children in the north are now born with Spina Bifida - a tenth of the 1970s figure.

Professor Morrison said the introduction of folic acid into food - from breakfast cereals to burgers - is testament to his teacher's work.

"You couldn't get into a taxi without someone commenting on his work," added Professor Morrison.

He was also credited for his influential work on pre-natal diagnosis of Down Syndrome and making testing widely available.

Professor Nevin retired in 2001 but still maintained a keen interest in research papers and was in regular contact with his colleagues at the City hospital.

He passed away last Saturday and is survived by his wife Jean and children Glyniss and Paul. The funeral will take place today at the Crescent Church, University Road in Belfast.