Frank Dickens (biochemist) facts for kids

Frank Dickens was a brilliant scientist called a biochemist. He was born on December 15, 1899, and passed away on June 15, 1986. He is famous for his important work at the Courtauld Institute of Biochemistry. There, he worked with another scientist, Edward Charles Dodds. They studied something called the pentose phosphate pathway. This pathway helps living things create energy and important molecules like NADPH.

Frank's Early Life and Education

Frank Dickens was born in Northampton, England. He went to Northampton Grammar School. His family owned a leather factory, but Frank loved science. In 1918, he won a special scholarship to Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Before starting college, he joined the army in 1919. He became a second lieutenant in the Northamptonshire Regiment. Luckily, he did not have to go into battle. He graduated from Cambridge in 1921. After that, he went to Imperial College, London. There, he earned his PhD, which is a very high degree in organic chemistry.

A Career in Science and Discovery

Working on Important Medicines

In 1923, Frank Dickens started his research career. He worked at the Middlesex Hospital in London. He teamed up with Edward Charles Dodds. Their first big project was working on insulin. Insulin is a medicine that helps people with diabetes. They worked hard to make it available for patients who needed it.

Later, they worked together to find a female hormone. This hormone was called stilboestrol. Their work helped scientists create this hormone in a lab by 1938.

Researching Cancer and Energy

In 1929, Frank Dickens traveled to Berlin. He spent a year working with a famous scientist named Otto Heinrich Warburg. Warburg studied how cells get energy. Frank later translated Warburg's important book about how tumors (cancers) use energy.

From 1933 to 1946, Frank led the Cancer Research Laboratory. This lab was at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne. After that, Edward Charles Dodds invited him back to the Courtauld Institute.

There, Frank became a professor. He researched how living things get energy from carbohydrates. This process is known as the "pentose phosphate pathway." He also studied how this pathway was connected to how fast tumors grow.

Frank's Personal Life

In 1925, Frank married Molly Jelleyman from Northampton. They had two daughters, named Jane and Diana. They also had eight grandchildren. In 1946, Frank Dickens became a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK. He passed away in Ferring, a small village in West Sussex.