03/13/2026
With great sadness we are sharing that one our most esteemed and longest tenured faculty, Dr. Alexander (Alastair) Brownie, has passed away at the age of 95. Dr. Brownie joined UB in 1963 after graduating from Edinburgh University (Ph.D. '55), serving as a research associate for six years at Dundee University and attending a NIH-sponsored Steroid Training Program at the University of Utah. He was an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Stockton Kimball Research awardee, a Dean's award recipient and was the first recipient of a 10-year NIH Merit Award at UB for his research on hypertension. Additionally, he was a Siegel Distinguished Teaching awardee and was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society.
But his greatest accomplishment was the education of thousands of medical and dental students at the Jacobs School of Medicine during his 60 plus years teaching and is one our most memorable professors. He loved teaching (and continued to do so through the end of 2025), interacting with students and his commitment was so deep that in 1997 during a leave from UB, he would commute from Scotland to teach Endocrinology & Metabolism before eventually deciding to return to the US (and UB) permanently.
Dr. Brownie chaired the Biochemistry department from 1977-1989 and recruited several faculty including Drs. Daniel Kosman, Murray Ettinger, Gail Willsky, Mary Taub and Mark O'Brian.
Dr. Brownie and his wife W***y started the international meeting on the adrenal cortex in 1984 with support from the NIH that has ran every two years and just had their 19th conference in 2024!
Above all, Dr. Brownie absolutely adored his family-his wife of 42 years W***y, and their son Alec. He loved cooking for them and made some amazing meals over the years!
More information regarding honoring Dr. Brownie's service and commitment to UB and the medical school will be forthcoming.
