Ralph Lainson

OBE 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 ...

, FRS (21 February 1927 – 5 May 2015) was a British

parasitologist Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it f ...

who studied

leishmaniasis Leishmaniasis is a wide array of clinical manifestations caused by parasites of the trypanosome genus ''Leishmania''. It is generally spread through the bite of phlebotomine sandflies, ''Phlebotomus'' and ''Lutzomyia'', and occurs most freq ...

in Brazil. He was the first to publish a record of

Chagas disease Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a tropical parasitic disease caused by ''Trypanosoma cruzi''. It is spread mostly by insects in the subfamily ''Triatominae'', known as "kissing bugs". The symptoms change over the cou ...

Life

Lainson was born in

Upper Beeding Upper Beeding is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the northern end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles (6.4 km) north of Shoreham-by-Sea and has a land area of 187 ...

, Sussex on 21 February 1927. His father, Charles Harry Lainson was a chemist for

Portland Cement Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in the early 19th c ...

and his mother was Annie May née Denyer. He studied at

Steyning Grammar School Steyning Grammar School is a coeducational day and boarding, senior school and sixth form, located in Steyning, West Sussex, England. The school has two lower school sites catering for Years 7 and 8. The original site was located in Church Str ...

, before enlisting in the army for a short while. Upon leaving the army, Lainson studied at Brighton Technical College before studying at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

earning a BSc in 1951, a PhD in 1955, and a DSc in 1964. He was a lecturer in the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

from 1955 to 1959. Lainson established the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glaxo ...

Parasitology Unit, in the

Instituto Evandro Chagas The Evandro Chagas Institute (Portuguese ''Instituto Evandro Chagas'', or IEC) is a non-profit organization which promotes public health in Brazil named after Evandro Chagas. History In the 1940s fisherman Henrique Penna from the Rockefeller Found ...

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in t ...

, Brazil, in 1965 and directed it until the unit was closed in 1992. Under his direction, the unit focussed on parasitic diseases, especially,

. In 1969, Lainson recorded

Chagas' disease Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a tropical parasitic disease caused by ''Trypanosoma cruzi''. It is spread mostly by insects in the subfamily ''Triatominae'', known as "kissing bugs". The symptoms change over the cou ...

for the first time, and in 1979, he proposed a classification system for different leishmania species. He was awarded the

Chalmers Medal The Chalmers Medal is the major mid-career award of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. The Chalmers Medal was initially awarded biennially, then annually, "in recognition of research of outstanding merit contributing to our knowle ...

(1971) and the

Manson Medal The Manson Medal (full name Sir Patrick Manson Medal, originally the Manson Memorial Medal), named in honour of Sir Patrick Manson, is the highest accolade the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene awards. Started in 1923, it is awarded tri ...

(1983) by the

Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, more commonly known by its acronym RSTMH, was founded in 1907 by Sir James Cantlie and George Carmichael Low. Sir Patrick Manson, the Society's first President (1907–1909), was recognised as "th ...

. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1982 and awarded the

in the

1996 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supple ...

. 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.

Works

*''Flebotomíneos do Brasil '', Editora Fiocruz, 2003

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lainson, Ralph 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