Merton Sandler

Merton Sandler (28 March 1926 – 24 August 2014) was a British professor of chemical pathology and a pioneer in biological psychiatry.

Education and career
Sandler grew up in an observant Jewish family in Salford. He studied at the Manchester Grammar School having won a scholarship, before studying medicine at the University of Manchester. Following his qualification in 1949, Sandler served two years of National Service in the Royal Army Medical Corps at Shoreham-by-Sea, attaining the rank of Captain. With his prior pathology training, he managed a small hospital laboratory during this period. In 1951 Sandler was appointed consultant chemical pathologist at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital. In 1959, he suggested a link between depression and monoamine deficiency in the brain, which led to the development of antidepressants. Sandler was Professor of Chemical Pathology at the University of London from 1973 to 1991, and Fellow Emeritus of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology

Private life
Sandler married Lorna Grenby in 1961 and they had four children. He was an active Freemason initiated in 1954 in the In Arduis Fidelis Lodge (London), and two years later in the Holy Royal Arch. He belonged to several lodges and chapters, and held office in the United Grand Lodge of England.

Awards

 * Anna Monika Prize for research on biological aspects of depression (1973)
 * Gold Medal British Migraine Association (1974)
 * British Association for Psychopharmacology Lifetime Achievement Award (1999)
 * CINP Pioneer Award for lifetime contribution to monoamine studies in human health and disease (2006)