John Avarinth

John Avarinth was a second-year medical student and was also the student storyteller for Edinburgh Medical School 300. 

John died unexpectedly in 2025. Director of Professionalism, Marti Balaam, offers the following in tribute

As a medical student, John brought an unusual depth of thought to his learning. He was inquisitive, not in a showy or forceful way, but in a sincere, deeply reflective one. He asked questions that showed he was thinking far beyond the immediate task. You could tell he wanted to understand people as much as he wanted to understand medicine.

John was inquisitive in the truest sense, never satisfied with surface answers, always wanting to understand the deeper “why” and “how.”  But alongside this he also acknowledged what it meant to be part of a shared human experience and the importance of caring for each other.  That curiosity and compassion was a perfect fit for the path he chose.  

In his role as a student storyteller as part of 300 years of Edinburgh Medical School John, a sometimes shy, young man with a subtle, cheeky sense of humour that would suddenly appear along with a twinkle in his eye, dry, quick, and completely delightful. He had a warmth that slowly unfolded, and an enthusiasm that was all the more powerful because it was meaningful and real.

We were looking forward to working with him more, to hearing more of his thoughts, to watching him grow into the remarkable doctor and writer he was clearly on his way to becoming.