John Gaddum

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Sir John Gaddum
FRS FRSE
German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina[2]
Scientific career
FieldsPharmacology
InstitutionsCairo University
University College London
University of Edinburgh
Porton Down

Sir John Henry Gaddum

pharmacologist who, along with Ulf von Euler, co-discovered the neuropeptide Substance P in 1931.[1] He was a founder member of the British Pharmacological Society and first editor of the British Journal of Pharmacology.[3]

Early life and education

He was born in Hale (now part of Manchester) the son of silk merchant, Henry Edwin Gaddum and his wife Phyllis Mary Barratt.[4] He was educated at Moorland House School, Heswall, Cheshire; Rugby School; and Trinity College, Cambridge.[4]

He completed his BSc in Physiology at the University of Cambridge in 1922, and his MD at University College London in 1925.[4] His first role was to assist J. W. Trevan at the Wellcome Physiological Research Laboratories.[5]

Career

From 1927–33, Gaddum worked under

autonomic ganglia.[4]

From 1933 to 1935, Gaddum was professor of pharmacology at the

Second World War he advised the War Office on potential use of toxins and biological weapons. He was given the rank of Lt Colonel.[3]

Gaddum was professor of pharmacology at the University of Edinburgh from 1942 to 1958.[4]

In 1943 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of London.[6]

He was director of the Institute of Animal Physiology (later Babraham Institute) from 1958 to 1965.[4]

In the New Year Honours 1964 Gaddum was made appointed a Knight Bachelor.[7] and invested by The Duke of Edinburgh.[4][8]

In experiments with

lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), Gaddum explained how it causes mental disturbances by blocking the stimulating effects of serotonin.[4] He was the first scientist to postulate that 5-HT might have a role in mood regulation.[9]

In 1962 he was elected a Member of the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.[2]
Edinburgh University
awarded him an honorary doctorate (LLD) in 1964.

He died in Cambridge on 30 June 1965.[6] There is a plaque commemorating Gaddum on the wall behind Babraham church which backs onto the Babraham Institute site.

Publications

  • "Gaddum's Pharmacology" (1948) considered a definitive work for decades.[4]

Military service

Gaddum served in the British Army from 1940 to 42, rising to lieutenant colonel.[4]

Personal life

In 1929, Gaddum married Iris Mary Harmer[4] in Royston, Hertfordshire. They had three daughters: Susan M. Gaddum (born 1930), Ann R. Gaddum (born 1932), and Phyllis L. Gaddum (born 1937).[10]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.1098/rsbm.1967.0003
    .
  2. ^ a b "List of Members". Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina.
  3. ^ a b "Sir John Gaddum". British Pharmacological Society.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "John H. Gaddum". NNDB. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  5. doi:10.1111/j.1476-5381.1966.tb01803.x
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  7. ^ "No. 43200". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 31 December 1963. pp. 1–34.
  8. ^ "No. 43250". The London Gazette. 18 February 1964. p. 1563.
  9. S2CID 37825790
    .
  10. ^ "Person Page". thepeerage.com.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Gaddum&oldid=1160631657"