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Authorised form of nameCrawford; Lionel Vivian (1932 - 2024); virologist and cancer expert
Dates1932 - 2024
NationalityBritish
Date of birth30 April 1932
Date of death3 August 2024
OccupationVirologist
Research fieldOncology
Molecular biology
ActivityEducation:
Rendcomb College, Cirencester, Gloucestershire 1941-1950; called up for National Service and returned to education at Emmanuel College, Cambridge 1952-55; PhD 1958
Career:
Visiting researcher at the University of California, Berkeley and the California Institute of Technology, at which point he became a researcher at the Glasgow Institute of Virology (1960-1968); head of the Department of Virology at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (1968); returned as a researcher to the University of Cambridge Pathology Department (1988).
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election17/03/1988
Age at election55
RSActivityMedals and prizes:
Gabor Medal 2005
OtherInfoMade important contributions to the molecular biology of oncogenic viruses.
The first to isolate RNA from Rous sarcoma virus and was a pioneer in early studies on polyoma virus DNA. With his colleagues, he carried out the first neoplastic transformation with isolated virus DNA. He discovered the first mouse parvovirus, MVM, and showed it to have a single-stranded DNA genome.
With David Lane, he elucidated the nature of the SV40 T-antigen binding protein p53, and showed it to be involved in many tumours. The protein was subsequently found to be central to the control of DNA replication, surveillance of DNA damage and cell death in both normal and malignant cells. With colleagues, he showed that production of SV40 large T and small t proteins are involved in RNA splicing and use alternative reading frames.
Later, Lionel's lab concentrated on papillomaviruses and work with Jian Zhou there, and later in Australia, laid the foundations of the in vitro production of virus coat protein and the development of cervical cancer vaccines.
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SourceThe Royal Society Fllows Directory, Dr Lionel Crawford FRS, [URL: https://royalsociety.org/people/lionel-crawford-11278/; last accessed: 12/02/2025]
The Biochemical Society, New Honorary Members for the Biochemical Society - Dr Lionel Crawford FRSE FRS, [URL: https://tinyurl.com/5c8nv92m]
CodeNA4050
Archives associated with this Fellow
RefNoTitleDate
EC/1988/08Crawford, Lionel Vivian: certificate of election to the Royal Society17 March 1988
IM/GA/GGRS/8510Crawford, Lionel Vivian1988
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