Dame Barbara Evelyn Clayton (2 September 1922 – 11 January 2011) was an English

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, 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 us ...

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 Hospital ...

, 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 popul ...

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 ingredie ...

. 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 Estrogen or oestrogen is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics. There are three major endogenous estrogens that have estrogenic hormonal acti ...

in 1949. Later that year she moved to London to become the Holden research fellow at

St Thomas's Hospital Medical School St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London was one of the oldest and most prestigious medical schools in the UK. The school was absorbed to form part of King's College London. History It was part of one of the oldest hospitals in London, ...

, 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 the ...

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 resu ...

- 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 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. 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 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
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 The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

. * 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 ...

in 1988 for her contributions to science.Profile in ''Who's Who''
ukwhoswho.com; accessed 26 March 2014. * 1983: Named Commander of the

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 evidenc ...

* 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 The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...

. * 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