Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford

Last updated

Department of Biochemistry University of Oxford
New Biochemistry Building.jpg
Oxford Biochemistry Building
Established1923
Head of DepartmentFrancis Barr
Academic staff
49
Students450
Undergraduates 350
Postgraduates 100
Location
Oxford
,
UK

51°45′34″N1°15′17″W / 51.75943°N 1.25460°W / 51.75943; -1.25460
Website bioch.ox.ac.uk
Oxford-biochemistry-logo.png

The Department of Biochemistry of Oxford University is located in the Science Area in Oxford, England. It is one of the largest biochemistry departments in Europe. The Biochemistry Department is part of the University of Oxford's Medical Sciences Division, the largest of the university's four academic divisions, which has been ranked first in the world for biomedicine. [1]

Contents

History

The old biochemistry Rudolf Peters Building, demolished in 2006 Rudolph Peters Building, Oxford.jpg
The old biochemistry Rudolf Peters Building, demolished in 2006

The Department of Biochemistry at Oxford University began as the physiological chemistry section of the Physiology Department, and acquired its own separate department and building in the 1920s. [2] In 1920, Benjamin Moore was elected to the position of the Whitley Professor of Biochemistry, the newly established Chair of Biochemistry at Oxford University. [3] [4] He was followed by Rudolph Peters in 1923, and an endowment of £75,000 was soon granted by the Rockefeller Foundation for the construction of a new departmental building, purchase of its equipment, and its maintenance. The Biochemistry Department building opened in 1927. [5]

The New Biochemistry Building New Biochemistry building, University of Oxford (geograph 4184870).jpg
The New Biochemistry Building

In 1954, Hans Krebs was appointed the Whitley Chair of Biochemistry, and his appointment brought greater prominence to the department. He brought with him the Medical Research Council unit established to conduct research on cell metabolism. [6] In 1955, a second professorship in the department, the Iveagh Chair of Microbiology, was established with funding from Guinness and the sub-department of Microbiology created, with Donald Woods its first holder. [7] The eight-storey Hans Krebs Building was constructed in 1964 with funds from the Rockefeller Foundation. Krebs was succeeded by Rodney Porter in 1967. Genetics was brought into the Biochemistry Department when Walter Bodmer was appointed the first Professor of Genetics in 1970. [8] The Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, first established in the Zoology Department with support from Krebs and also linked to the Physical Chemistry Laboratory of the Chemistry Department, became part of the Biochemistry Department. It moved into the Rex Richards building built in 1984, with David Phillips the Professor in Molecular Biophysics. [2] The Oxford Glycobiology Institute, headed by Raymond Dwek and housed in the Rodney Porter Building, opened in 1991. [9]

The department is now part of the Medical Sciences Division of Oxford University, under the Divisional Boards formed in 2000. In 2006, two older biochemistry buildings were demolished, and another two including the Han Krebs Tower in 2014, to make way for the two-phase construction of the New Biochemistry Building. [10] [11] Francis Barr, the EP Abraham Professor of Mechanistic Cell Biology, is the head of the Biochemistry Department, replacing Mark Sansom, the David Phillips Professor in Molecular Biophysics, in January 2019. [12] [13]

Research

The department is sub-divided into the following research areas: [14]

Academic staff

There are around 400 research staff, with about 50 independent principal investigators who lead research groups that may range from a few people to forty or more. [14] Members of other departments also contribute to teaching, including lecturers in physiology, pathology, pharmacology, clinical biochemistry and zoology. The department hosts the Oxford University Biochemical Society, a graduate student association that invites speakers to the University of Oxford. The head of department is Professor Francis Barr. [15] Other members of the academic staff include Judy Armitage, Elspeth Garman, Jonathan Hodgkin, Kim Nasmyth, Neil Brockdorff, Rob Klose and Alison Woollard. [16]

Buildings

The department currently has two main buildings:

Until 2006, two older buildings housing genetics (the Walter Bodmer building) and biochemistry (the Rudolph Peters building) were also part of the department. However, these were demolished in 2006 to make way for the first phase of the construction of the New Biochemistry building, completed in October 2008. [17] Until 2008 biochemistry also occupied the Donald Woods building and the Hans Krebs Tower, which were demolished in 2014 for the second phase of the construction. [18] Until 2022 biochemistry also occupied the Rodney Porter building (Oxford Glycobiology Institute).

The New Biochemistry building houses interdisciplinary research in the biosciences, including physiology, chemistry, biochemistry, and clinical neurosciences. The department moved into the purpose-built new biochemistry building during the autumn of 2008 which was designed to promote interaction and collaboration as well as provide facilities for all staff. The New Biochemistry building houses a substantial amount of contemporary art. [19]

Former departmental buildings

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biophysics</span> Study of biological systems using methods from the physical sciences

Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. Biophysical research shares significant overlap with biochemistry, molecular biology, physical chemistry, physiology, nanotechnology, bioengineering, computational biology, biomechanics, developmental biology and systems biology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Krebs (biochemist)</span> British biochemist (1900–1981)

Sir Hans Adolf Krebs, FRS was a German-born British biologist, physician and biochemist. He was a pioneer scientist in the study of cellular respiration, a biochemical process in living cells that extracts energy from food and oxygen and makes it available to drive the processes of life. He is best known for his discoveries of two important sequences of chemical reactions that take place in the cells of nearly all organisms, including humans, other than anaerobic microorganisms, namely the citric acid cycle and the urea cycle. The former, often eponymously known as the "Krebs cycle", is the sequence of metabolic reactions that allows cells of oxygen-respiring organisms to obtain far more ATP from the food they consume than anaerobic processes such as glycolysis can supply; and its discovery earned Krebs a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1953. With Hans Kornberg, he also discovered the glyoxylate cycle, a slight variation of the citric acid cycle found in plants, bacteria, protists, and fungi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry</span> Research institute

The Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, also known as the Karl-Friedrich Bonhoeffer Institute, was a research institute of the Max Planck Society, located in Göttingen, Germany. On January 1, 2022, the institute merged with the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen to form the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences.

Raymond Allen Dwek CBE FRS FRSC is a scientist at the University of Oxford and co-founder of the biotechnology company Oxford GlycoSciences Ltd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leibniz Prize</span> German research award

The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, in short Leibniz Prize, is awarded by the German Research Foundation to "exceptional scientists and academics for their outstanding achievements in the field of research". Since 1986, up to ten prizes are awarded annually to individuals or research groups working at a research institution in Germany or at a German research institution abroad. It is considered the most important research award in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Kornberg</span> British-American biochemist (1928–2019)

Sir Hans Leo Kornberg, FRS was a British-American biochemist. He was Sir William Dunn Professor of Biochemistry in the University of Cambridge from 1975 to 1995, and Master of Christ's College, Cambridge from 1982 to 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Lowther Edson</span>

Norman Lowther Edson, FRSNZ, FNZIC, was the first Professor of Biochemistry (1949–1967) in the University of New Zealand based at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand where he founded a department of biochemistry. Edson made contributions to the understanding of, ketone body metabolism in mammals and birds, metabolic pathways of Mycobacteria and specificity rules for polyol dehydrogenases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences</span>

The College of Biological Sciences (CBS) is one of seven freshman-admitting colleges at the University of Minnesota. Established in 1869 as the College of Science, the College of Biological Science is now located across both the Minneapolis and the St. Paul campuses. The current interim dean is David Greenstein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory Petsko</span> American biochemist and academic

Gregory A. Petsko is an American biochemist and member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He is currently Professor of Neurology at the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. He formerly had an endowed professorship in Neurology and Neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medical College and is still an adjunct professor of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University, and is also the Gyula and Katica Tauber Professor, Emeritus, in biochemistry and chemistry at Brandeis University.

Franz-Ulrich Hartl is a German biochemist and Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry. He is known for his pioneering work in the field of protein-mediated protein folding and is a recipient of the 2011 Lasker Award along with Arthur L. Horwich.

Joseph Stewart Fruton, born Joseph Fruchtgarten, was a Polish-American biochemist and historian of science. His most significant scientific work involved synthetic peptides and their interactions with proteases; with his wife Sofia Simmonds he also published an influential textbook, General Biochemistry. From 1970 until his death, Fruton worked extensively on the history of science, particularly the history of biochemistry and molecular biology.

Several universities have designed interdisciplinary courses with a focus on human biology at the undergraduate level. There is a wide variation in emphasis ranging from business, social studies, public policy, healthcare and pharmaceutical research.

Judith Patricia Armitage is a British molecular and cellular biochemist at the University of Oxford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belarusian State University Faculty of Biology</span>

Faculty of Biology of the Belarusian State University was founded in 1931. It is a major biology research and teaching establishment in the country, which includes nine Departments and nine Research Laboratories. The Dean is Vadim V. Demidchyk, Docent, Doctor of Sciences

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MSU Faculty of Biology</span>

MSU Faculty of Biology is a faculty of Moscow State University, created in 1930. There are about 1500 employees, including over 100 professors, 140 associate professors and teachers, 700 research associates. The Faculty Dean is - Mikhail Kirpichnikov, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Mary Jane Osborn was an American biochemist and microbiologist known for her research on the biosynthesis of lipopolysaccharide, a key component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, and discovering the mechanism of action of the anti-cancer drug methotrexate. She headed the Department of Molecular Biology and Biophysics at the University of Connecticut Health Center and served as president of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

The Professorship of Genetics at the University of Oxford is a professorship that is attached to a fellowship at Keble College, Oxford. It was established in 1969 to address the relative lack of genetics available to undergraduate students at the University and has contributed to the development of genetics as an academic discipline there. The decision to create the position came at a time when notable geneticists at the university – the ecological geneticist Edmund Brisco Ford and the Sherardian Professor of Botany Cyril Darlington – had retired or were about to retire. The University created a lecturer and a demonstrator post in the discipline at the same time.

Pauline Rudd is a British biochemist and Professor at the Microbiome Institute, University College Cork. She is a founder of Wessex Biochemicals, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and was awarded the James Gregory Medal in 2010.

References

  1. ↑ "Oxford named world's best for Medicine for seventh consecutive year". 8 November 2017.
  2. 1 2 Robert Joseph Paton Williams; Allan Chapman; John Shipley Rowlinson (6 November 2008). Chemistry at Oxford: A History from 1600 to 2005. Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 277. ISBN   978-0854041398.
  3. ↑ "The New School of Biochemistry at Oxford". Nature. 120 (634–635): 634–635. 29 October 1927. doi: 10.1038/120634a0 .
  4. ↑ T. W. Goodwin. "Chapter 1: The Emergence of Biochemistry in the United Kingdom" (PDF). History of the Biochemical Society 1911-1986. The Biochemical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  5. ↑ Brian Harrison, ed. (7 April 1994). The History of the University of Oxford: Volume VIII: The Twentieth Century: The Twentieth-century. Clarendon Press (7 April 1994. p. 321. ISBN   978-0198229742.
  6. ↑ "Oh to be in Oxford now that Krebs is there…!" (PDF). The Biochemist. The Biochemical Society. October 2010.
  7. ↑ Quayle J. R. (1982). "Sir Hans Krebs, 1900-1981" (PDF). Journal of General Microbiology. 128: 2215–2220. doi: 10.1099/00221287-128-10-2215 . PMID   6759612.
  8. ↑ "Sir Walter Bodmer and the Department of Genetics at Oxford University". The Bodleian Library. 18 October 2012.
  9. ↑ Raymond Dwek (June 2006). "Glycobiology at Oxford: A personal view" (PDF). The Biochemist. Biochemical Society.
  10. ↑ "Proposal: Demolition of Walter Bodmer, Donald Woods, Rudolph Peters and Hans Krebs Buildings, plus associated outbuildings" (PDF). Oxford City Council. 14 February 2006.[ permanent dead link ]
  11. ↑ "University Science Area: Masterplan" (PDF). Oxford City Council. 16 January 2013.
  12. ↑ "Key Personnel". Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford.
  13. ↑ "Professor Francis Barr announced as the new Head of the Department of Biochemistry". Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford. 14 December 2018.
  14. 1 2 "About the Department". Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford.
  15. ↑ "Professor Francis Barr announced as the new Head of the Department of Biochemistry". www.bioch.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  16. ↑ "Research Groups Section - Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford". www.bioch.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  17. ↑ Will Hunter (19 June 2009). "Hawkins Brown's Oxford University's biochemistry research facilities, Oxford". bdonline.
  18. ↑ Matt Oliver (22 August 2014). "'Ugliest building' in Oxford comes down". Oxford Times.
  19. ↑ "Salt Bridges". Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.