Dame Barbara Evelyn Clayton (2 September 1922 – 11 January 2011) was an English
pathologist
Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in t ...
who made a significant contribution to clinical medicine, medical research and public service. She was latterly Professor of Clinical Pathology at
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospit ...
, London.
Biography
Clayton was born in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
on 2 September 1922 to Constance Evelyn (née Caine) and William Clayton, a food scientist who is credited with inventing
salad cream
Salad cream is a creamy, pale yellow condiment based on an emulsion of about 25–50 percent oil in water, emulsified by egg yolk and acidulated by spirit vinegar. It is somewhat similar in composition to mayonnaise and may include other ing ...
. She was educated at St Nicholas Preparatory School in
Orpington
Orpington is a town and area in south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross.
On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Ma ...
and
Bromley County School for Girls, where she was head girl. She went on to study medicine at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, qualifying in 1946. Her interest in research took her to the
Medical Research Council clinical
endocrinology
Endocrinology (from '' endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental event ...
unit in Edinburgh. In 1949 she received a PhD for her research into
oestrogens in 1949.
Later that year she moved to London to become the Holden research fellow at
St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, a position she held until 1956 when she became a chemical pathology lecturer at the School. Her research on hormones and the development of new biochemical techniques brought her recognition.
In 1959, she moved to Great Ormond Street Hospital to become a consultant pathologist. There she researched genetic
metabolic disorder
A metabolic disorder is a disorder that negatively alters the body's processing and distribution of macronutrients, such as proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Metabolic disorders can happen when abnormal chemical reactions in the body alter t ...
s suffered by newborn babies. She developed a new, less invasive test to diagnose
phenylketonuria
Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inborn error of metabolism that results in decreased metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine. Untreated PKU can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioral problems, and mental disorders. It may also re ...
- the test and the special diet that Claydon also designed continue to be in common use today.
Over her career, Clayton published more than 200 academic papers. Concerned with the
high levels of lead found in children's blood she co-authored, with five others, the article ‘Lead poisoning in children’ (''Arch dis child'' 1964, 39, 1–13) and while a member of the
Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in the United Kingdom was created under Royal Warrant in 1970 to advise the Queen, Government, Parliament and the public on environmental issues. It was closed on 1 April 2011, as part of the Coali ...
in the 1980s, campaigned and lobbied the UK government to enforce a ban on lead in petrol, paint and other products.
In 1978 she became the
University of Southampton's first female professor when she took up the position of Professor of Chemical Pathology and Human Metabolism. She was Dean of Medicine at the university from 1983 to 1986, and honorary consultant chemical pathologist at the
Southampton General Hospital
Southampton General Hospital (SGH) is a large teaching hospital in Southampton, Hampshire, England run by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.
History
The hospital was founded in 1900 as the Southampton Union Infirmary in Shi ...
. In 1987 she was appointed Honorary Research Professor in Metabolism and researched the nutritional needs of the elderly, particularly those in care homes.
She served on the
Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution
The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution in the United Kingdom was created under Royal Warrant in 1970 to advise the Queen, Government, Parliament and the public on environmental issues. It was closed on 1 April 2011, as part of the Coali ...
from 1981 to 1996 and chaired the enquiry into the
Camelford water pollution incident
The Camelford water pollution incident involved the accidental contamination of the drinking water supply to the town of Camelford, Cornwall, in July 1988. Twenty tonnes of aluminium sulphate was inadvertently added to the water supply, raising ...
in 1988.
Personal life
She met chemist
William Klyne
William Klyne (March 23, 1913, in Enfield, Middlesex – November 13, 1977) was an organic chemist known for his work in steroids and stereochemistry — a field in which he was a "pioneer", and in which Ernest Eliel and Norman Allinger descr ...
in 1947 while they were both employed at the
Medical Research Council in Edinburgh. They married in 1949, and remained married until William Klyne's death in 1977. Together they had two children.
[Barbara Evelyn Clayton](_blank)
at ''the Lancet
''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823.
The journal publishes original research articles, ...
'', Volume 377, Issue 9775, p. 1402, 23 April 2011(doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60564-3); by Caroline Richmond; retrieved 29 May 2013.
Awards
* 1999: Received the Gold Medal of the
British Medical Association.
* 1988: Named Dame Commander of the
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1988 for her contributions to science.
Profile in ''Who's Who''
ukwhoswho.com; accessed 26 March 2014.
* 1983: Named Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
.
Significant positions held
* 1999 - 2007 Honorary President of the British Nutrition Foundation
The British Nutrition Foundation is a British registered charity. The British Nutrition Foundation's vision is that 'Everyone can access healthy, sustainable diets' and the charity contributes to this through its mission of ‘Translating eviden ...
* 1988 - 1998 Chair of the Department of Health's Standing Committee on Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education.
* 1995 - 1997 President of the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Pollution.
* 1993 - 1996 Led the Nutrition Task Force for the Health of the Nation, on behalf of the Department of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
* 1984 - 1987 President of the Royal College of Pathologists
The Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) is a professional membership organisation.
Its main function is the overseeing of postgraduate training, and its Fellowship Examination (FRCPath) is recognised as the standard assessment of fitness to pr ...
.
* 1981 - 1982 President of the Biomedical Science Section of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.
* 1981 - 1982 President of the Society for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism.
* 1977 - 1978 President of the Association of Clinical Biochemists.
References
External links
Royal College of Pathologists website
Profile at University of Southampton website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Barbara
1922 births
2011 deaths
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
British pathologists
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians
Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom)
People from Bromley
Place of death missing
20th-century British women scientists
Women pathologists
Women biochemists