Anne Dell facts for kids

Anne Dell (born 11 September 1950) is an amazing Australian scientist. She is a biochemist, which means she studies the chemistry of living things. Her special area is called glycomics. This field looks at the tiny sugar structures, known as carbohydrates, that are found on proteins.

Professor Dell's work helps us understand how tiny invaders, like certain viruses, can sometimes hide from our body's defense system, called the immune system. This knowledge could help us understand how our bodies work, even before we are born. She also helped create new, super-sensitive ways to study these sugar structures. These methods use a technique called mass spectrometry. Anne also started a special research center called GlycoTRIC at Imperial College London. This center helps scientists learn more about how these sugar structures work in medicine. She is currently a Professor at Imperial College London. Anne Dell was also given a special honor, becoming a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), in 2009 for her important work in science.

Early Life and School

Anne Dell was the youngest of seven children. She grew up on a farm in the Australian outback. For her first eleven years, her mother taught her at home using special lessons sent by mail.

Later, she went to the University of Western Australia. There, she earned a top degree in Organic Chemistry. After that, she moved to the UK to study for her PhD at the University of Cambridge. She then joined Imperial College London, where she still works today. Anne also has a daughter, who was born in 1984.

Her Amazing Research

After getting her excellent degree in Organic Chemistry, Anne Dell received a special scholarship. This allowed her to study for her PhD at the University of Cambridge. In 1975, she earned her PhD. Her professor, Howard R. Morris, then moved to Imperial College London and invited Anne to join him. She has been at Imperial College ever since.

Anne Dell has received many important honors for her work. In 2002, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists. In 2009, she was made a CBE because of her great contributions to science. She is also a member of the Academy of Medical Sciences and the European Academy of Science. She has also received special honorary doctorates from the University of Western Australia and the University of Waterloo in Canada.

In 2017, Professor Dell and her team made an important discovery. They found that a certain type of sugar attachment, called O-linked glycosylation, is not always needed for some viruses to copy themselves. Her work also helps scientists understand how different enzymes, which are like tiny helpers in our bodies, attach these sugars.

Anne Dell has also helped write a very important textbook called "Essentials of Glycobiology." She wrote a chapter that explains how to study the structure of these sugar molecules, called glycans. This includes how to find out what they are made of and how they are connected to other molecules. The chapter also covers advanced methods like nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS). These techniques allow scientists to see the detailed structures of these sugars. This helps us learn more about Glycobiology, which is the study of sugars in living things.

Awards and Honors

• Tate and Lyle Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry (1986)
• Whistler Award, International Carbohydrate Organisation (2000)
• FRS (2002)
• Haworth Memorial Lectureship, Royal Society of Chemistry (2003)
• International Glycoconjugate Organization Award (2005)
• Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (2008)
• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2009)