David Weatherall
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.jpg) Weatherall (left) and Jeremy Farrar (right) in 2014 | |
| Born | David John Weatherall 9 March 1933[1] Liverpool, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 8 December 2018 (aged 85) Oxford, England, United Kingdom |
| Alma mater | University of Liverpool |
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Sir David John Weatherall,
Early life and education
David Weatherall was born in Liverpool.[8] He was educated at Calday Grange Grammar School and then attended Medical School at the University of Liverpool where he served as Treasurer of the Liverpool Medical Students Society in 1954.[citation needed]
He graduated from medical school in 1956. After house staff training, he joined the Army for 2 years, as part of the national service and was stationed in Singapore. There he treated the daughter of a Gurkha soldier with thalassemia, which sparked a lifelong interest in this disease. He used car batteries and filter paper for electrophoresis while there.[8]
Career
Returning from military service, he took a fellowship at Johns Hopkins University.[citation needed] He returned to Liverpool, where he rose to the rank of Professor of Haematology. His research concentrated on the genetics of the haemoglobinopathies and, in particular, a group of inherited haematological disorders known as the thalassemias that are associated with abnormalities in the production of globin, the protein component of haemoglobin. Weatherall was one of the world's experts on the clinical and molecular basis of the thalassemias and the application for their control and prevention in developing countries.[9] [10] [11] [12]
In 1974, Weatherall moved to Oxford, as he was appointed Nuffield Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Oxford. He worked with the biochemist John Clegg until his retirement in 2000. They were able to separate the α and β chains of haemoglobin and to demonstrate that the relative lack of production of these proteins resulted in α and β thalassaemia.[8]
In 1989, Weatherall founded the Institute of
He was a member of the
In 2002, Weatherall wrote a major report on the application of genomics for global health for the World Health Organization.[14] During this year, he also became Chancellor of Keele University.[when?]. Weatherall was a Distinguished Supporter of Humanists UK.[citation needed]
In 2009, a working group report under Weatherall's Chairmanship concluded that there was a strong scientific case to maintain biomedical research activities using non-human primates in carefully selected areas.[15]
Awards and honours
He was
In 1989 he was awarded the Royal Medal by the Royal Society for his work on the thalassaemias.[citation needed]
In 1995 he was awarded the
In 1998 he was awarded the Manson Medal by the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene for his contributions to the field of tropical medicine and hygiene.[17]
In 2005 he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.[18]
In 2010 he was awarded a Lasker Award, the most significant US prize for medical research with many past award winners subsequently going on to receive Nobel prizes.[citation needed] He was the only person outside America to win the award that year.[citation needed]
In 2012, Keele University named the Medical School building on the Keele Campus the David Weatherall Building in honour of Sir David. The MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine (WIMM) is named in his honour.[19]
He was an honorary member of the British Society for Immunology.[20]
References
- ^ a b "WEATHERALL, Sir David (John)". Who's Who. Vol. 2014 (online edition via Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Higgs, Douglas R. (2023). "Sir David John Weatherall. 9 March 1933—8 December 2018". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 76.
- ^ "Professor Sir David Weatherall obituary: 'iconic' scientist dies - BioNews". www.bionews.org.uk. 10 December 2018.
- S2CID 205967479.
- ^ David Weatherall's publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database. (subscription required)
- PMID 23245607.
- ^ "burkes-peerage.net - This website is for sale! - burke Resources and Information". www.burkes-peerage.net. 23 January 2023.
{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ a b c Geoff Watts. David John Weatherall. Obituary. The Lancet| Volume 393, ISSUE 10169, P314, January 26, 2019, DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30113-8
- S2CID 34967961.
- PMID 16862731.
- PMC 1182249.
- PMID 15053011.
- ^ "Higher Education in the learning society: Main Report". Education England. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
- ^ CMH
- ^ NHP Study Archived 6 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "No. 61962". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2017. p. B7.
- ^ "List of past medal holders". Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Archived from the original on 10 September 2011.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
- ^ "Homepage — MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine". www.imm.ox.ac.uk.
- ^ "Honorary members - British Society for Immunology". www.immunology.org.
External links
- Hemoglobal: A Charitable Organization that Sir David Weatherall provides aid to children with Thalassemia
- David Weatherall on the History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group website
- Portraits of David Weatherall at the National Portrait Gallery, London
- |title=David Weatherall interviewed on Web of Stories
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