Book of Remembrance of

Gloria

Professor Gloria Rudenko

Gloria was a truly exceptional person who had dedicated twelve years to Imperial. She first joined the Department of Life Sciences in January 2010, as a Reader in Molecular Microbiology before being promoted to Professor of Molecular Microbiology on 1 September 2015. She touched so many lives and has been described as exceedingly caring, popular member of staff who was a gifted, inspirational scientist and teacher.

Book Owner: Pat Evans
View Condolences (Max 200)
Add New Condolence Message

Eva Gluenz

Gloria was a remarkable woman and inspirational scientist. What I admired most about her was that she was unafraid to tackle hard questions and to pursue them with the utmost determination and scientific rigour. She also had a great sense of humour and I admired her no-nonsense approach. I remember her as a wonderful collaborator and a great mentor and role model. She will be missed. …

Daniel Davis

I’m so sorry to hear that Gloria has passed away. I knew Gloria from the time I last worked at Imperial College, just over ten years ago, around the time she joined. She was a strong-willed and robust scientist. Her work was always of an exceptionally high standard, rigorous and respected. I’m especially sad that I never got to meet her again when I re-joined Imperial College 3 months ago, back in my office almost directly above hers. I had so looked forward to catching up with Gloria, to learn from her again, both in the science itself and in how best to do science. She will be hugely missed in our Department, and by me personally. …

Kathrin Witmer

It made me very sad to hear of Gloria’s passing. I have only spent 2 years in her lab but have a lot of fond memories of that time. Gloria was one of the most meticulous scientists I ever met, and she will be greatly missed. My thoughts are with her and her family and friends. …

Nadina Wand

I was shocked and saddened to find out that Gloria has passed. She always seemed like such a constant in her dedication to science and the field of trypanosome research, in particular. I completed my DPhil in her laboratory in 2011 while she was still in Oxford and I was always grateful to her for the opportunity to discover the fascinating world of trypanosome biology, which remains my first scientific love. Her attention to detail and her perfectionism have made a profound impact on my approach to my work, as I am sure is the case for many others. Those final years in Oxford were a difficult time for Gloria, who, despite it all, continued to work and never allowed anything to slow her down. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to work in Gloria’s team at that time and forge bonds that continue even now. My deepest condolences to Gloria’s family and friends. …

Derek Nolan

It was with real shock and sadness that I learned of the sad news of the passing of Gloria. I first met Gloria many years ago while she was in Piet Borst’s laboratory and I was with Etienne Pays;  subsequently we followed a similar career path afterwards as Wellcome Trust Fellows. Gloria was an excellent scientist, her papers were always a pleasure read, rigourous, beautifully written and so clear. I had the pleasure of acting as external examiner for one of her PhD students and it was a lovely exerience. I will rememeber Gloria as a kind and generous colleague; her passing is such sad news. …

Alister Craig

I was saddened to hear of Gloria’s death and I know the community that she worked with will miss her. I had the privilege and pleasure to work with her on the Wellcome Trust grants panel for several years and what came through in her activities was her rigour, fairness and straightforwardness in reviewing applications and taking part in the discussions.  She was fearless in challenging ‘pomp’ and bias, and a champion of good science, as well as being a lively and interesting colleague when the panel was running out of energy.  …

Mani Shankar Narayanan

I look back at my time in Gloria’s lab with a lot of fondness and warmth. Many wonderful memories come flooding back to me when I think of her and her lab. Two particular incidents come to mind and these demonstrate just how good a leader she was. First, early in my time in her lab I somehow managed to drop several boxes of cryogenic tubes containing tryps directly into a tank of liquid N2, creating an awful mess and potentially setting the lab back by years in lost samples. On hearing the news which I delivered to her with the greatest trepidation, she was silent for a few seconds (likely thinking dark thoughts about myself, which I can hardly blame her for) before calmly working out a plan to retreive the situation and then spending hours alongside me elbow deep in N2 fishing out and cataloguing tubes. Another memory is of her being livid with an examiner after my end-of-year-one viva – because she thought he’d given me a hard time – and I knew she had my back when it mattered.  With hindsight I realise just how clueless I was on first arriving at her lab for …

Cristina Lo Celso

I was very sad to hear of Gloria’s passing. She was a model of strenght and rigour at work and in life, a very supportive colleague, and a very collegial lab neighbour. Gloria will be missed and remembered for a long time. …

Fatemah Kassamali

I was incredibly fortunate to spend some time in Gloria’s lab as an MRes student. Her unwavering support, stemming from the immense wealth of knowledge and passion for molecular parasitology that she possessed, all culminated in guidance beyond compare. Memories that will stick with me particularly include her effortless narration of the most intricate and insightful stories, enough to brighten up even the greyest of our pandemic days. Like many, I owe a great deal of my academic outlook, resillience, and ambitions in large part to her wonderful supervision; I will miss her very dearly.      …

Klaus Ersfeld

Gloria was the most pleasant and reliable scientist I have ever collaborated with. A massive loss to our community. …