| Authorised form of name | Radda; Sir; George Karoly; biochemist |
| Other forms of name | György Károly |
| Dates | 1936 - 2024 |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| British |
| Place of birth | Győr, Hungary, Europe |
| Date of birth | 09 June 1936 |
| Place of death | Oxford, England |
| Date of death | 13 September 2024 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Place of funeral: Merton College Chapel, Oxford, England (25 October 2024) |
| Occupation | Biochemist |
| Research field | Physiology |
| Molecular cardiology |
| Medicine |
| Biochemistry |
| Activity | Education:
Pannonhalma, Hungary; Eorvos University, Budapest; Merton College Oxford (BA Cl.1, Chemistry, 1960; DPhil 1962)
Career:
Resident Associate, University of California (1962-3); Lecturer in Organic Chemistry, St. John's College, Oxford (1963-4); Fellow and Tutor in Organic Chemistry Merton College Oxford (1964-84); Colworth Medal, Biochemical Society (1969); British Heart Foundation Prize and Gold Medal for Cardiovascular research (1982); Feldberg Prize, Feldberg Foundation (1982; CIBA Medal and Prize, Biochemical Society (1983); Gold Medal, Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (1984); British Heart Foundation Professor of Molecular Cardiology, University of Oxford (since 1984) (on leave of absence); Professorial Fellow, Merton College Oxford (since 1984); Visiting Professor, Cleveland Clinic (1987); International Lecturer and Citation, American Heart Association (1987); Medical Research Council Member (1988-92); Skinner Lecture and Medal, RCR (1989); Rank Prize in Nutrition (1991); Head of Dept. of Chemistry University of Oxford (1991-6); Chairman, Human Genome Directed Programme Committee (1992-6); Chief Executive, Medical Research Council (since 1996).
Honours:
CBE 1993; KB 2000
Awards/Medals:
Colworth Medal (1969)
The British Heart Foundation Gold Medal (1982)
Medal of Merit of the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences (2006)
Semmelweis Budapest Award (2011)
Lifetime Achievement Award of the BioSpectrum Asia Exellence Awards (2013)
Hungarian Order of Merit (2016)
Hungarian Corvin Chain (2018) |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 20/03/1980 |
| Age at election | 43 |
| RSActivity | Royal Society roles:
Council: 1990-1992
Medals and prizes:
Buchanan Medal 1987 |
| Relationships | Parents: Dr Gyula Radda and Dr Anna Bernolak
Spouse: 1) (m. 1961) Mary O'Brien (marriage dissolved 1995); 2) (m. 1995) Sue Bailey
Children: 2 sons 1 daughter from first marriage |
| PublishedWorks | RCN 20040 |
| OtherInfo | Biochemist who researched the structure and function of biological membranes and enzymes and has a specific interest in the molecular and cellular basis of heart disease. Through developing techniques for his research, George pioneered the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in biological imaging.
Early in his career, George developed fluorescent probes to further his work on cell membranes and enzymes. He then became interested in NMR and published the first paper on using phosphorus NMR to study tissue metabolites. This led to the creation of the first clinical NMR unit in the world and paved the way for the worldwide use of MRI scanning in human disease diagnosis. |
| Source | The Royal Society Fellows Directory, Sir George Radda CBE FMedSci FRS, [ULR: https://royalsociety.org/people/george-radda-12132/; last accessed: 01/04/2025]
Merton College Oxford, Professor Sir George Radda 1936 - 2024, Tuesday 17 September 2024, [URL: https://www.merton.ox.ac.uk/news/professor-sir-george-radda-1936-2024; last accessed: 01/04/2025] |
| Code | NA5461 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| EC/1980/27 | Radda, Sir George Karoly: certificate of election to the Royal Society | 1975 |
| IM/GA/SGRS/8334/1 | Radda, Sir György Károly | 1984 |