Ralph Lainson
Ralph Lainson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 21 February 1927 Upper Beeding, West Sussex |
| Died | 5 May 2015 (aged 88) |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Education | Steyning Grammar School |
| Alma mater | London University |
| Awards | OBE Chalmers Medal (1971) Manson Medal (1983) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | parasitologist |
| Institutions | Instituto Evandro Chagas |
Ralph Lainson OBE, FRS (21 February 1927 – 5 May 2015) was a British parasitologist who studied leishmaniasis in Brazil. He was the first to publish a record of Chagas disease.
Life
[edit]Lainson was born in Upper Beeding, Sussex on 21 February 1927. His father, Charles Harry Lainson was a chemist for Portland Cement and his mother was Annie May née Denyer. He studied at Steyning Grammar School, before enlisting in the army for a short while.[1]
Upon leaving the army, Lainson studied at Brighton Technical College before studying at London University earning a BSc in 1951, a PhD in 1955, and a DSc in 1964.[1] He was a lecturer in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine from 1955 to 1959.[2]
Lainson established the Wellcome Trust Parasitology Unit, in the Instituto Evandro Chagas, Belém, Brazil, in 1965 and directed it until the unit was closed in 1992.[3] Under his direction, the unit focussed on parasitic diseases, especially, leishmaniasis. In 1969, Lainson recorded Chagas' disease for the first time, and in 1979, he proposed a classification system for different leishmania species.[1] He was awarded the Chalmers Medal (1971) and the Manson Medal (1983) by the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.[4] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1982[5][6] and awarded the OBE in the 1996 Birthday Honours.[1]
Lainson married twice, on 28 September 1957 to Ann Patricia Russell (they had three children together) and then in 1974 to Zeá Constante Lins. Lainson died on 5 May 2015 at the age of 88 at Hospital Beneficente Portuguesa.[7][1]
Works
[edit]- Flebotomíneos do Brasil , Editora Fiocruz, 2003
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Whitworth, Jimmy (10 January 2019). Lainson, Ralph (1927–2015). doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.110611. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help) - ^ "Ralph Lainson". The World Academy of Science - Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ Looi, Mun-Keat (31 May 2011). "Beautiful creatures: Ralph Lainson and his parasites". Wellcome Trust. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
- ^ "List of past medal holders". Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Archived from the original on 10 September 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
- ^ "Fellows details". Royal Society. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- ^ Shaw, Jeffrey Jon (2021). "Ralph Lainson. 21 February 1927—5 May 2015". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 70: 245–262. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2020.0032. S2CID 227240714.
- ^ Whitworth, Jimmy (17 May 2015). "Ralph Lainson obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
External links
[edit]- Jenny Bailey (17 January 2012). "Neglected tropical diseases: The Wellcome connection". Welcome Trust.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
- 1927 births
- 2015 deaths
- Academics of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Alumni of the University of London
- British parasitologists
- Fellows of the Royal Society
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- People educated at Steyning Grammar School
- Manson medal winners
- People from Upper Beeding
- British Army soldiers
- Military personnel from West Sussex
- 20th-century British Army personnel