Humphrey Rang (born 1936) held the Chair of Pharmacology from 1979 to 1983.
Rang qualified in medicine at UCL and had worked in H.O.Schilds laboratory while a medical student. He was the author of the first successful ligand-binding experiment of the modern era. This was based on his PhD work in Oxford, under William D.M. Paton. Rang had previously been the Professor of Pharmacology at Southampton and at St. Georges Hospital Medical School. He brought with him David Colquhoun who was also returning to the department, having been appointed in 1964 as an assistant lecturer by H.O. Schild. These appointments greatly strengthened the interests and achievements of the department in fundamental aspects of pharmacology, particularly the study of ion channels and receptors.
In collaboration with M. Maureen Dale (also appointed during Schilds Headship), Rang prepared the first edition of Pharmacology, the successor to Wilson & Schilds  Applied Pharmacology.
In 1983 Rang was offered and accepted the Directorship of the Sandoz Institute of Medical Research, a division of  Sandoz, then an independent pharmaceutical company. The new Institute was located in UCL and developed a close relationship with the department, both in teaching, to which members of the Institute contributed, and in research.