Previous Fora / 2003
Speakers
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Professor Sir George K. Radda |
| Chief Executive Medical Research Council United Kingdom |
Professor Radda has been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Medical Research Council since 1996. Prior to becoming CEO, he was Honorary Director of the MRC Biochemical and Clinical Magnetic Resonance Unit at Oxford. Professor Radda began his career as a chemistry student in Budapest, Hungary. In 1956 he left Hungary and arrived in England, where he finished his first class degree at Merton College before going on to complete his PhD. Professor Radda completed his postdoctoral work and a student fellowship in California, and then returned to England for a lectureship at Oxford in 1969. In recognition of his pioneering research, which opened up the study of the workings of the living body, Radda was given a chair in 1984 by the British Heart Foundation, a post he still holds. By 1996, he had built up a formidable mass of administrative and research experience and was asked to take the position of CEO at the Medical Research Council.
Professor Radda's main research interests center on the biochemical basis and cellular functions in heart disease, and, appropriately, he is a British Heart Foundation Professor of Molecular Cardiology at the University of Oxford. Professor Radda has been associated with the University for most of his scientific career, and is a Fellow of Merton College. Professor Radda is also a non-executive Director of British Technology Group (BTG), and Chairman of the National Cancer Research Institute.
The following is an excerpt from an article Professor Radda published in The Times Higher Education Supplement (17 January 1997) titled "The doctors' fairy godmother".
The Medical Research Council plays a crucial role in advancing clinical practice in the United Kingdom. At the cutting edge of clinical research, it supports some 150 clinical trials to evaluate screening and treatment methods and other medical interventions. It funds and develops all aspects of clinical research alone and through partnerships with the health departments, industry and charities to fulfill its mission to advance knowledge in science to improve human health. ... But another crucial part of the MRC's mission is to maintain the flow of excellent new minds trained to keep up the momentum. To this end the MRC provides a comprehensive portfolio of personal award schemes for every stage of clinical and non-clinical research careers. ... The MRC funds promising and established excellent researchers to nurture their ideas from their formative stages through to their establishment as the star achievers in the academic firmament. It also develops initiatives to ensure its researchers are prepared to meet the demands of a modern research career. Their work with our support continues to feed new technologies, better practices and other advances into clinical practice that bring benefits to patients and the public health.
Professor Radda clearly outlines the vast scope of The Medical Research Council and it's dedication to the dissemination of knowledge. It is his goal to have exceptional research make real impacts on individual and societal Quality of Life.
Resources on the Web
Medical Research Council:
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/
The House Magazine_ article on stem cell research by
George K. Radda
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/index/public-interest/public-topical_issues/public-stem_cells/public-stem_cells_house_article.htm
George K. Radda_ speech on DNA research
http://www.mrc.ac.uk/index/public-interest/public-events/public-events-dnaspeech.htm
Articles
Radda, Sir George. Max Ferdinand Perutz 1914?2002. Nature Medicine, Mar2002, Vol. 8 Issue 3, p205, 1p
Abstract: Presents an obituary for a scientist of Addenbrooke's Biomedical campus in England Max Ferdinand Perutz who died on February 6, 2002.
Cleland, John G F; Leaver, Peter K; Rowlands, David;Ramrakha-Jones, Vandana S; Blaxill, Mark F; Greenhalgh, Trisha; Wright, Patricia; Murray, Elizabeth; Haines, Andy; See Tai, Sharon; Davis, Hilary; Gray, Alastair; Coulter, Angela; Dexter, T Michael; Radda, George; Pattison, John; Parkinson, Simon; Miller, Keith; Rhodes, Anthony; et al. Letters. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 2/2/2002, Vol. 324 Issue 7332, p295, 7p, 1 chart
Abstract: Presents letters to the editor concerning previous medical articles appearing in this magazine as of February 2, 2002. Effectiveness of chronic aspirin; Revalidation of retired doctors; Need for transplant patients to be made aware of skin cancer risk; Others.
Radda, George. Biomedical Research and International Collaboration. Science, 01/18/2002, Vol. 295 Issue 5554, p445, 2p
Abstract: Focuses on the need for an improved collaboration and strategic coordination in European research. Role of the European Research Council; Establishment of the National Cancer Research Institute; Creation of a European Clinical Trials Platform.
Weeks, Margaret R.; Clair, Scott; Singer, Merrill; Radda, Kim; Schensul, Jean J.; Wilson, D. Scott; Martinez, Maria; Scott, Glenn; Knight, Glenn. HIGH RISK DRUG USE SITES, MEANING AND PRACTICE: IMPLICATIONS FOR AIDS PREVENTION. Journal of Drug Issues, Summer2001, Vol. 31 Issue 3, p781, 28p, 4 charts
Abstract: Examines the high risk drug use sites, meaning and practice for AIDS prevention models in Hartford, Connecticut. Use of ethnographic, epidemiological and social work methods in the study; Promotion of satellite distributors for HIV prevention.
Boehm, Ernest A.; Jones, Barney E.; Radda, George K.; Veech, Richard L.; Clarke, Kieran. Increased uncoupling proteins and decreased efficiency in palmitate-perfused hyperthyroid rat heart. American Journal of Physiology, Mar2001 Part 2 of 2, Vol. 280 Issue 3, pH977, 7p, 2 charts, 5 graphs
Abstract: Examines increased uncoupling proteins (UCP) and decreased efficiency in palmitate-perfused hyperthyroid rat heart. Effects of thyroid hormones on the heart; Association of increased mitochondrial UCP in the hyperthyroid heart with increased uncoupling and decreased myocardial efficiency in the presence of palmitate.
King, Linda M.; Sidell, Robert J.; Wilding, James R.; Radda, George K.; Clarke, Kieran. Free fatty acids, but not ketone bodies, protect diabetic rat hearts during low-flow ischemia. American Journal of Physiology, Mar2001 Part 2 of 2, Vol. 280 Issue 3, pH1173, 9p, 3 charts, 12 graphs
Abstract: Examines whether the effects of fatty acids on the diabetic heart during ischemia involve altered glycolytic adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and proton production. Suggestion that fatty acids, but not ketone bodies, protect the diabetic heart by decreasing ATP depletion, with no detrimental effects on the normal heart during low-flow ischemia.
Boehm, Ernest A.; Radda, George K. Increased uncoupling proteins and decreased efficiency in palmitate-perfused hyperthyroid rat heart. American Journal of Physiology: Heart & Circulatory Physiology, Mar2001, Vol. 49 Issue 3, pH977, 7p, 2 charts, 5 graphs
Abstract: Provides information on a study which tested the hypothesis that increased uncoupling proteins would have physiological effects in isolated mitochondria and in the intact heart of a rat. Methods used in the study; Results and discussion.
Willott, C.A.; Young, M.E.; Leighton, B.; Kemp, G.J.; Boehm, E.A.; Radda, G.K.; Clarke, K. Creatine uptake in isolated soleus muscle: kinetics and dependence on sodium, but not on insulin. Acta Physiologica Scandinavica, Jun99, Vol. 166 Issue 2, 4 graphs
Abstract: The increased use of creatine by athletes as a dietary supplement to improve their physical performance assumes that increased serum creatine levels will increase intracellular skeletal muscle creatine. Despite this common assumption, skeletal muscle creatine uptake awaits full characterization. Consequently, we have investigated [sup14]C-labelled creatine uptake in isolated, incubated rat soleus (type I) muscle preparations at 37 ˇC. We found that the apparent K[subm] for creatine uptake was 73 ?M and the V[submax] was 77 nmol h[sup1] gww[sup1]. Creatine uptake was 82% inhibited by 2 mM -guanidinopropionic acid, the structural analogue of creatine. In addition, a decrease in buffer Na[sup+] concentration, from 145 to 25 mM, reduced the rate of [sup14]C-labelled creatine uptake by 77%, indicating that uptake is largely Na[sup+]-dependent in soleus muscle. Insulin had no effect on the rate of creatine uptake in vitro. The total creatine content was 34% lower, but the rate of creatine uptake in the presence of 100 ?M extracellular creatine was 45% higher, in soleus than in extensor digitorum longus (type II) muscle. However, at 1 mM extracellular creatine, the maximal rate of uptake was not significantly different for the two muscle types, implying that soleus muscle has a lower K[subm] for creatine uptake. We suggest that intracellular creatine levels may play a role in the regulation of skeletal muscle creatine uptake.[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Radda, George K. Introduction to magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and positron emission tomography (PET) for... Biofactors, 1998, Vol. 7 Issue 3, p247, 3p
Abstract: Presents information on magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and position emission tomography (PET). What are MRS and PET used for; Details on mitochondrial activity; Reference to studies which were conducted using MRS and PET. Conclusions reached.
Radda, George K. The study of mitochondrial diseases using magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Biofactors, 1998, Vol. 7 Issue 3, p251, 2p
Abstract: Presents a study on patients with mitochondrial disorders. Methodology used to conduct the study; Results of the study; Conclusions based on the results.
Radda, George. Medical research council funding: Partnerships and long-term commitment. Lancet, 07/05/97, Vol. 350 Issue 9070, p54, 2p, 1 graph
Abstract: Reports on the prospects for transforming health care and delivering benefits to patients in Great Britain. The role of the Medical Research Council (MRC) in the training and career development of researchers; Strengths possessed by the MRC; Myths about the MRC. INSET: Clinical research career opportunities with the MRC. Radda, George. The doctor's fairy godmother. Times Higher Education Supplement, 1/17/97 Issue 1263, p29, 3/5p, 1 chart, 1bw
Abstract: Focuses on the evolving financial relationship between the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the academia in Great Britain. Role of MRC in advancing clinical practice; Funding of research training of country's top graduates and postgraduates; Challenges posed by the Calman report on clinical training of young hospital doctors.
Moorcraft, J.; Bolas, N.M.; Ives, N.K.; Sutton, P.; Blackledge, M.J.; Rajagopalan, B.; Hope, P.L.; Radda, G.K. Spatially Localized Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of the Brains of Normal and Asphyxiated Newborns. Pediatrics, Mar91, Vol. 87 Issue 3, p273, 10p
Abstract: Phase-modulated rotating frame imaging is a modification of magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which uses a linear radiofrequency field gradient to obtain spatially localized biochemical information. Phase-modulated rotating frame imaging was used to study regional cerebral energy metabolism in the brains of 9 normal newborns and 25 newborns after birth asphyxia. Relative concentrations of phosphorus-containing metabolites and intracellular pH were determined for brain tissue at three specified depths below the brain surface for all neonates. Wide variations in metabolite ratios were seen among normal neonates, and considerable metabolic heterogeneity was demonstrated in individual neonates by depth-resolved spectroscopy. Asphyxiated neonates with severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and a poor neurodevelopmental outcome showed the expected rise in inorganic orthophosphate and fall in phosphocreatine concentrations in both global and spatially localized spectra. Phase-modulated rotating frame imaging showed that metabolic derangement was less in superficial than in deeper brain tissue. The inorganic orthophosphateadenosine triphosphate ratio from 1 to 2 em below the brain surface was more accurate than any global metabolite ratio for the identification of neonates with a poor short-term outcome. These data are consistent with the known vulnerability of subcortical brain tissue to hypoxic-ischemic injury in the full-term neonate.[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]