At the start of the interview Kenneth Reid, professor of immunochemistry at the University of Oxford since 1993, talks of his childhood and schooling in Peterhead, north-east Scotland. He particularly enjoyed chemistry, and its biological aspects, at school and went on to study biochemistry at Aberdeen University. The discussion then moves on to his PhD research, based at Patrick Grant's new Fisheries Biochemical Research Unit, on the structure and biosynthesis of cod insulin. He speaks of coming close to discovering proinsulin in the course of his research, and meeting Margery, his future wife. Having finished his doctorate Professor Reid continued working on cod insulin at the unit, but he soon decided to focus on human biochemistry and in 1969 moved to Oxford to work with Professor Rodney Porter in the MRC Immunochemistry Unit. Initially this was to be a two-year ICI fellowship, but Professor Reid has remained at the unit to this day. Next, the interview turns to the unit's research on complement proteins. Work on complement was first introduced to the unit by Newton Hyslop, an American visiting scholar, and was taken on by Professor Reid, and for many years it was to be the main thrust of the unit's work. The unit focussed mainly on the activation and control of the initial phases of the classical pathway of the complement system. In the early seventies this involved detailed characterisations of the different proteins, and by the mid-seventies the team was using recombinant DNA techniques to clone and expressing complement components. In this section of the interview Professor Reid also reflects generally on subjects such as the workings of the complement system - its classical and alternative pathways - and research elsewhere, and Rodney Porter's methods of managing the unit. Part One concludes with Professor Reid describing his first research students: Bob Sim and Diane Low.
Biochemistry at Aberdeen University; Patrick Grant; Fisheries Research Unit, Torry; cod insulin; MRC Immunochemistry Unit, Oxford; Rodney Porter; complement system - classical pathway; control proteins; C1; C3; recombinant DNA work; Bob Sim; Diane Low. Part Two Main subjects: MRC Immunochemistry Unit, University of Oxford; Bob Sim; Duncan Campbell; Alex Law; lung surfactant proteins.
Biochemistry, Allergy and immunology,
vid-177, MSVA_156
Permanent link to this resource: https://doi.org/10.24384/000175
Reid, KennethBlythe, Max
Learning Resources
Original artefact: 1997 RADAR resource: 2017
Oxford, UK
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