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Authorised form of nameRadda; Sir; George Karoly; biochemist
Other forms of nameGyörgy Károly
Dates1936 - 2024
NationalityHungarian
British
Place of birthGyőr, Hungary, Europe
Date of birth09 June 1936
Place of deathOxford, England
Date of death13 September 2024
DatesAndPlacesPlace of funeral: Merton College Chapel, Oxford, England (25 October 2024)
OccupationBiochemist
Research fieldPhysiology
Molecular cardiology
Medicine
Biochemistry
ActivityEducation:
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 categoryFellow
Date of election20/03/1980
Age at election43
RSActivityRoyal Society roles:
Council: 1990-1992
Medals and prizes:
Buchanan Medal 1987
RelationshipsParents: 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
PublishedWorksRCN 20040
OtherInfoBiochemist 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.
SourceThe 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]
CodeNA5461
Archives associated with this Fellow
RefNoTitleDate
EC/1980/27Radda, Sir George Karoly: certificate of election to the Royal Society1975
IM/GA/SGRS/8334/1Radda, Sir György Károly1984
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