Brian S. Hartley facts for kids

Brian Selby Hartley (born April 16, 1926 – died May 3, 2021) was a famous British scientist. He was a biochemist, which means he studied the chemistry of living things. He was a Professor of Biochemistry at Imperial College London from 1974 to 1991.

Learning and Degrees

Brian Hartley went to Queens' College, Cambridge for his university studies. He earned his first degree, a Bachelor of Arts, in 1947. Later, in 1952, he received a Master of Arts degree.

After Cambridge, he moved to the University of Leeds. There, he earned his PhD in 1952. A PhD is a very high degree that shows a person has done a lot of original research. His research was guided by two scientists, Malcolm Dixon and Bernard A. Kilby.

Career and Discoveries

Early Enzyme Work

From 1952 to 1964, Brian Hartley worked in Cambridge. He was a leader in studying an important enzyme called chymotrypsin. Enzymes are like tiny helpers in our bodies that make chemical reactions happen. He figured out how chymotrypsin works and what its parts are.

He also helped create a method called paper chromatography. This method was very important for separating tiny pieces of proteins called amino acids and peptides. It helped scientists understand what proteins were made of.

Molecular Biology Research

In 1965, Brian Hartley became a founding member of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB). This lab was a key place for new discoveries in biology. He worked with another scientist, David Mervyn Blow. Together, they studied the structure and function of chymotrypsin.

His team also found that many important enzymes in mammals, like those involved in blood clotting, were very similar. This showed that these enzymes likely came from a common ancestor over time. Hartley also studied other enzymes, including those involved in making fuel from plants.

Leading Biotechnology

In 1974, Brian Hartley became the head of the Biochemistry Department at Imperial College London. He changed the department to focus on molecular biology. This field studies how living things work at a very tiny, molecular level.

In 1982, he realized that a new field was needed: biotechnology. Biotechnology uses discoveries from molecular biology to create useful products. He left his department to start Imperial's Centre for Biotechnology. He also helped start a company called Biogen, which was one of the first companies to use genetic engineering.

Later, Hartley started companies to make cheap bioethanol. This is a type of fuel made from waste plant material, like hemicellulose. He used special microorganisms from compost heaps that were genetically engineered to do this.

Awards and Honors

Brian Hartley was recognized for his important work. In 1971, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honor for scientists in the United Kingdom.

His award recognized his studies on how enzymes work. He figured out the full sequence of parts in a protein called chymotrypsinogen. He also developed new ways to study proteins, like the "dansyl" method and the "diagonal" technique. These methods helped scientists understand how proteins are built and how they work.