Wayne Masterson PhD (1960–1991) was a British scientist who made a breakthrough in research into

sleeping sickness African trypanosomiasis, also known as African sleeping sickness or simply sleeping sickness, is an insect-borne parasitic infection of humans and other animals. It is caused by the species ''Trypanosoma brucei''. Humans are infected by two typ ...

. Masterson won a scholarship to Magdalen College School and later was an undergraduate at Magdalen College, Oxford studying biology. His main area of interest became

insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...

and his doctoral thesis at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

was on the life cycle of the

tsetse fly Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies), are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Glos ...

. He was then awarded a post-doctorate research position at the

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

where he made a breakthrough in synthesis of the trypanosome that carries sleeping sickness in the tsetse fly. In 1989, Masterson was diagnosed with Melanoma. Despite attempts at treatment the cancer had spread to his bowel and lungs leading to his eventual death.

References

1960 births 1991 deaths English entomologists People educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Johns Hopkins University faculty Deaths from melanoma 20th-century British zoologists {{UK-scientist-stub