| Authorised form of name | Weatherall; Sir; David John (1933 - 2018) |
| Dates | 1933 - 2018 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Liverpool, England |
| Date of birth | 09/03/1933 |
| Date of death | 08/12/2018 |
| Activity | Honours:
Kt 1987
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE), 2017. 'For services to medicine'.
|
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 17/03/1977 |
| Age at election | 44 |
| RSActivity | Royal Society roles:
Council: 1989-1991; VP 1990-1991
Medals and prizes:
Royal Medal 1989; Buchanan Medal 1994
Lectures:
Rutherford Memorial 1993 |
| OtherInfo | David Weatherall was a haematologist and clinical researcher whose research focused on the genetics of blood disorders affecting haemoglobin, particularly thalassaemia. He was the first to describe thalassaemia outside the Mediterranean and his work led to the eradication of the disease in some parts of the world.
Through his work on thalassaemia, David demonstrated for the first time that a gene deletion could cause a human disease. He developed new methods for analysing haemoglobin and measuring the synthesis of alpha- and beta-haemoglobin chains. This provided the first clear evidence of how thalassaemia arises. In addition, David’s work made possible the detection of thalassaemia early in pregnancy, enabling antenatal diagnosis. His characterisation of the mutations causing thalassaemia led to numerous families being offered genetic counselling.
In 1989, David established the Oxford Institute of Molecular Medicine, which is now named in his honour. He was knighted in 1987. In 2010, he won the Lasker Award, a prestigious US medical research prize, and was the only scientist from outside the United States to win that year.
Sir David Weatherall GBE FRS died on 8 December 2018. |
| Source | References:
'Address of the President, Sir Michael Atiyah, OM, Given at the Anniversary Meeting on 30 November 1994' in NR 1995 vol 49 pp 141-151 |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/27126444 |
| Code | NA5411 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| IM/004824 | Weatherall, Sir David John | 13 July 1992 |
| IM/004825 | Weatherall, Sir David John | 1994 |
| IM/GA/JGRS/8014 | Weatherall, Sir David John | 1977 |
| EC/1977/37 | Weatherall, Sir David John: certificate of election to the Royal Society | 1975 |