Iain Macintyre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Iain Macintyre
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| Born |
Iain Macintyre
30 August 1924 Glasgow, Scotland
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| Died | 19 September 2008 (aged 84) London, England
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| Nationality | British |
| Education | Jordanhill College School University of Glasgow |
| Occupation | Professor of Chemical Pathology |
| Known for | Research into calcium metabolism Sequencing of calcitonin Research into nitric oxide |
| Medical career | |
| Institutions | Royal Postgraduate Medical School, London William Harvey Research Institute, London |
| Sub-specialties | Endocrinology |
| Research | Calcium metabolism Nitric oxide |
| Awards | Gairdner International Award Buchanan medal |
Iain Macintyre (born August 30, 1924 – died September 18, 2008) was a British scientist. He was an endocrinologist, which means he studied hormones and how they affect the body.
Iain Macintyre made very important discoveries about how our bodies control calcium. Calcium is a mineral that helps make our bones strong. He also helped us understand how bones work.
One of his biggest achievements was finding and studying a hormone called calcitonin. This hormone helps control calcium levels in the blood. His team was the first to figure out exactly what calcitonin was made of. They also showed that it came from a special part of the thyroid gland. Later, he also studied how nitric oxide affects our bones.
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Early Life and Learning
Iain Macintyre was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1924. He was the oldest son of John and Margaret Macintyre. He went to school at Jordanhill College School in Glasgow. He was a very good student there.
After school, he went to the University of Glasgow. He studied medicine and became a doctor in 1947.
Amazing Discoveries
After finishing medical school, Iain Macintyre worked in Glasgow. Then, he started training to become a pathologist in Sheffield. A pathologist studies diseases and how they affect the body. While there, he worked with a famous scientist named Hans Adolf Krebs. Krebs later won a Nobel Prize. Working with Krebs helped Macintyre decide to focus on chemical pathology. This field combines chemistry and medicine.
In 1954, he joined the Royal Postgraduate Medical School in London. He became a research fellow. This allowed him to focus on scientific research. He worked on understanding how the body uses chemicals.
Understanding Calcium
Iain Macintyre designed a special machine called a flame photometer. This machine could measure tiny amounts of blood calcium and magnesium in the blood. Magnesium is another important mineral. His work helped doctors understand problems caused by not having enough magnesium.
Finding Calcitonin
A scientist named Douglas Harold Copp had just discovered a hormone called calcitonin. Macintyre's team then made a huge breakthrough. They showed that calcitonin was made in the parafollicular cells of the thyroid gland. This was different from what Copp had first thought.
In 1967, both Copp and Macintyre received a special award for their work on calcitonin. Macintyre's lab also cleaned and studied calcitonin from pigs and humans. They figured out its exact structure. His team also found another related substance called calcitonin gene-related peptide. They also figured out its structure and how it works.
Big Conferences
While working at the Hammersmith Hospital, Iain Macintyre did a lot for education. He organized big international meetings about endocrinology. These meetings happened every two years from 1967 to 1981. Leading scientists from all over the world came to share their research.
Later Research
In 1967, he became a professor. In 1982, he became the director of the Wellcome Endocrine Unit. His research then also looked at how vitamin D helps bones. After he retired from Hammersmith Hospital, he became a research director at the William Harvey Research Institute. There, he focused on how nitric oxide affects bone health.
Awards and Recognition
Iain Macintyre received many important awards for his work.
- In 1967, he won the Canada Gairdner International Award (shared with Douglas Harold Copp).
- In 1996, he was chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK.
- In 2006, the Royal Society gave him the Buchanan Medal.
His Family
Iain Macintyre married Mabel (Mabs) Wilson Jamieson on July 14, 1947. They got married at the University of Glasgow. Mabel passed away in 2003. They had one daughter named Fiona Bell Macintyre.
Iain Macintyre died in London in 2008.
