The Department of Biochemistry of

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

is located in the Science Area in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England. It is one of the largest biochemistry departments in Europe. The Biochemistry Department is part of the University of Oxford's Medical Sciences Division, the largest of the university's four academic divisions, which has been ranked first in the world for biomedicine.

History

The Department of Biochemistry at Oxford University began as the

physiological chemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology a ...

section of the Physiology Department, and acquired its own separate department and building in the 1920s. In 1920, Benjamin Moore was elected to the position of the

Whitley Professor of Biochemistry The position of Whitley Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford is one of the permanent chairs of the university, and the first in the field of biochemistry at the university. It is associated with a fellowship at Trinity College, Oxf ...

, the newly established Chair of Biochemistry at Oxford University. He was followed by

Rudolph Peters Sir Rudolph Albert Peters MC MID FRS H FRSE FRCP LLD (13 April 1889 – 29 January 1982) was a British biochemist. He led the research team at Oxford who developed British Anti-Lewisite (BAL), an antidote for the chemical warfare agent lewisite ...

in 1923, and an endowment of £75,000 was soon granted by the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

for the construction of a new departmental building, purchase of its equipment, and its maintenance. The Biochemistry Department building opened in 1927. In 1954, Hans Krebs was appointed the Whitley Chair of Biochemistry, and his appointment brought greater prominence to the department. He brought with him the Medical Research Council unit established to conduct research on cell metabolism. In 1955, a second professorship in the department, the Iveagh Chair of Microbiology, was established with funding from Guinness and the sub-department of Microbiology created, with

Donald Woods Donald James Woods (15 December 1933 – 19 August 2001) was a South African journalist and Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the ''Daily Dispatch'', he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Bik ...

its first holder. The eight-storey Hans Krebs Building was constructed in 1964 with funds from the Rockefeller Foundation. Krebs was succeeded by

Rodney Porter Prof Rodney Robert Porter, CH, FRS FRSE HFRCP (8 October 1917 – 6 September 1985) was a British biochemist and Nobel laureate. Education and early life He was born in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, England, the son of Joseph Lawrence Po ...

in 1967. Genetics was brought into the Biochemistry Department when

Walter Bodmer Sir Walter Fred Bodmer (born 10 January 1936) is a German-born British human geneticist. Early life Bodmer was born in Frankfurt, Germany. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School and went on to study the Mathematical Tripos at the Uni ...

was appointed the first Professor of Genetics in 1970. The Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, first established in the Zoology Department with support from Krebs and also linked to the Physical Chemistry Laboratory of the Chemistry Department, became part of the Biochemistry Department. It moved into the Rex Richards building built in 1984, with David Phillips the Professor in Molecular Biophysics. The Oxford Glycobiology Institute, headed by

Raymond Dwek Raymond Allen Dwek CBE FRS FRSC (born 10 November 1941) is a scientist at the University of Oxford and co-founder of the biotechnology company Oxford GlycoSciences Ltd., Biography Dwek was educated at Carmel College, and the University of Manc ...

and housed in the Rodney Porter Building, opened in 1991. The department is now part of the Medical Sciences Division of Oxford University, under the Divisional Boards formed in 2000. In 2006, two older biochemistry buildings were demolished, and another two including the Han Krebs Tower in 2014, to make way for the two-phase construction of the New Biochemistry Building. Francis Barr, the EP Abraham Professor of Mechanistic Cell Biology, is the head of the Biochemistry Department, replacing Mark Sansom, the David Phillips Professor in Molecular Biophysics, in January 2019.

Research

The department is sub-divided into the following research areas: *Cell Biology, Development and Genetics *Chromosomal and RNA Biology *Infection and Disease Processes *Microbiology and Systems Biology *Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics

Academic staff

There are around 400 research staff, with about 50 independent principal investigators who lead research groups that may range from a few people to forty or more. Members of other departments also contribute to teaching, including lecturers in physiology, pathology, pharmacology, clinical biochemistry and zoology. The department hosts the Oxford University Biochemical Society, a graduate student association that invites speakers to the University of Oxford. The head of department is Professor Francis Barr. Other members of the academic staff include Judy Armitage,

Elspeth Garman Elspeth Frances Garman is professor of molecular biophysics at the University of Oxford and a former President of the British Crystallographic Association. She is also Senior Kurti Research Fellow at Brasenose College, Oxford. The "Garman limit" ...

, Jonathan Hodgkin,

Kim Nasmyth Kim Ashley Nasmyth (born 18 October 1952) is an English geneticist, the Whitley Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford, a Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford, former scientific director of the Research Institute of Molecular Path ...

, Neil Brockdorff, Rob Klose and

Alison Woollard Alison Woollard (born 1968) is a British biologist. She is a lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford where she is also a Fellow of Hertford College, Oxford. Early life Woollard was born in 1968 in Kingston-upo ...

Buildings

The department currently has three main buildings: * The New Biochemistry building * The Rex Richards building (housing the NMR facility in the basement) * The

building (

Glycobiology Defined in the narrowest sense, glycobiology is the study of the structure, biosynthesis, and biology of saccharides (sugar chains or glycans) that are widely distributed in nature. Sugars or saccharides are essential components of all living thing ...

) Until 2006, two older buildings housing

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

(the

building) and biochemistry (the

building) were also part of the department. However, these were demolished in 2006 to make way for the first phase of the construction of the New Biochemistry building, completed in October 2008. Until 2008 biochemistry also occupied the

building and the Hans Krebs Tower, which were demolished in 2014 for the second phase of the construction. The New Biochemistry building houses interdisciplinary research in the biosciences, including physiology, chemistry, biochemistry, and clinical neurosciences. The department moved into the purpose-built new biochemistry building during the autumn of 2008 which was designed to promote interaction and collaboration as well as provide facilities for all staff. The New Biochemistry building houses a substantial amount of contemporary art. ;Former departmental buildings Image:Hans Krebs Building, Oxford.jpg, Hans Krebs Tower, demolished 2014 Image:Walter Bodmer Building, Oxford.jpg, Walter Bodmer Building, demolished 2006 Image:Biochemistry Department, looking towards South Parks Road 2006.jpg, Donald Woods Building to the right, demolished 2014

References

Biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

Research institutes in Oxford

History

Research

Academic staff

Buildings

References

External links