Professor Donald Jeffries (29 August 1941 – 7 December 2011) was a British

virologist Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, their ...

and academic. He was a leading expert on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that causes

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

Education

Jeffries was educated at the William Ellis Grammar School in Highgate, North London, and then did medical training at the Royal Free Hospital School, from where he qualified in 1966.

Career

Jeffries began his career at

St Mary's Hospital Medical School St Mary's is the youngest of the constituent schools of Imperial College London, founded in 1854 as part of the new hospital in Paddington. During its existence in the 1980s and 1990s, it was the most popular medical school in the country, wit ...

in Paddington as senior registrar in microbiology. He remained at St Mary’s until 1990, by when he had become a reader in virology and the director of clinical studies. Whilst at St Mary’s Jeffries led a team which developed the antiretroviral drug Saquinavir, the first protease inhibitor used for HIV treatment, in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company

Roche F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche, is a Swiss multinational healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX S ...

. In 1990 Jeffries moved to St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College, where he was appointed University of London Professor of Virology. At St Bartholomew’s Jeffries focused on the development of vaginal microbicides which could prevent the sexual transmission of HIV. In 1998 Jeffries was appointed academic and clinical head of Microbiology and Virology for the Barts and The London School of Medicine. He remained as head of service for Microbiology/Virology until his retirement from academic life in 2006. Jeffries served as vice-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 ...

from 1999 to 2002, as chairman of the Expert Advisory Group on Aids from 2003 to 2005, and as chairman of the Association of British Insurers' Expert Working Group on HIV from 2005 to 2008.

Publications

Jeffries' publications included ''Lecture Notes on Medical Virology'' (1987). He was joint-editor of the first two volumes of ''Current Topics in Aids'' (1987 and 1989) and co-editor of ''Viral Infections in Obstetrics and Gynaecology'' (1999).

Awards

Jeffries was appointed a

CBE 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 2007.

Personal life

Jeffries married Mary Bray, in 1966, with whom he had two sons and a daughter. Jeffries' leisure interests included fly fishing, gardening and hill walking.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffries, Donald 1941 births 2011 deaths British virologists Alumni of University College London Alumni of the UCL Medical School