| RefNo | EC/1990/37 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Williams, Alan Frederick: certificate of election to the Royal Society |
| Date | 1987 |
| Description | Citation typed |
| Citation | Williams is a pioneer and recognised authority in the rapidly expanding field of leukocyte differentiation antigens.
He made leading contributions to the development of immunological and biochemical methods used for the characterisation and subsequent isolation of cell surface molecules. His purification and sequence analysis of Thy-1 antigen (together with parallel studies on transplantation antigens by others) established the general approaches later applied to many other molecules. Subsequently he was the first to use monoclonal antibodies for those purposes. The characterisation of a rat T-helper specific antigen established a new approach to characterising such molecules and was the first of what became a flood of new leukocyte markers. He has remained as a major contributor to the field, purifying and sequencing a number of leukocyte antigens and extending the studies to the gene level. His early discovery that the Thy-1 gene was evolutionarily related to the immunoglobulin genes was fundamental to his development of the concept of an immunoglobulin super-family, as a group of surface molecules that embody structural variations of the polypeptide domains found on immunoglobulins, and that are involved in cell recognition phenomena of various kinds. A variety of surface molecules from different cell types have since been shown to conform to this concept. Williams's work has set standards in the field of cell surface antigens, and his ideas have greatly contributed to our present understanding of an area of great complexity. |
| AccessStatus | Closed |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA5416 | Williams; Alan Frederick (1945 - 1992) | 1945 - 1992 |