John Bell (physician) facts for kids

Sir John Irving Bell (born July 1, 1952) is a well-known Canadian-British scientist. He is an immunologist, meaning he studies how our bodies fight off diseases. He is also a geneticist, which means he studies genes and how traits are passed down.

Sir John has held many important jobs. From 2006 to 2011, he was the President of the Academy of Medical Sciences in the United Kingdom. Since 2002, he has been the Regius Professor of Medicine at the famous University of Oxford. He also helped guide health research in the UK and was part of the Vaccine Taskforce. This taskforce worked on finding vaccines, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Education and Early Career

Sir John Bell was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. His parents both worked in healthcare. He went to Ridley College in Ontario.

He graduated from the University of Alberta in 1975. After that, he won a special award called a Rhodes Scholarship. This scholarship allowed him to study medicine at Magdalen College, Oxford in England. In 1978, he even rowed for the Oxford University team against Cambridge!

In 1982, Sir John moved to Stanford University in the United States. There, he worked as a Clinical Fellow in Immunology. He studied how the body's immune system works and how it can sometimes cause diseases.

Return to Oxford and Key Roles

In 1987, Sir John Bell came back to Oxford. He joined the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine. In 1992, he became the Nuffield Professor of Clinical Medicine. Later, in 2002, he took on the very important role of Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford.

Sir John also helped start the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford University in 1994. He has been a senior member of the Oxford University Women's Boat Club and a part of Christ Church, Oxford. Since 2011, he has been a champion for life sciences in the UK.

Working with Companies and Charities

Sir John Bell has worked with several important companies and charities. Since 2001, he has been a non-executive director at Roche, a large pharmaceutical company. He also served on the board of Genentech and used to advise AstraZeneca.

He helped start three biotechnology companies: Oxagen, Avidex, and Powderject. These companies work on developing new medicines and technologies.

Sir John also dedicates his time to many charity positions. He chairs the science committee for the UK Biobank, which collects health information for research. He also leads the Global Health Scientific advisory board for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This foundation works to improve health around the world. He is a trustee for the Rhodes Trust and a member of Cancer Research UK. He has advised governments in many countries on biomedical research.

Important Research

Sir John Bell's research has made a big difference in understanding diseases. He has found genes that make people more likely to get diseases like diabetes mellitus type 1 and rheumatoid arthritis. He also studied multiple sclerosis.

His work has helped us understand how immune cells interact to fight off sickness. He has also used advanced technologies to study genes. He was directly involved in applying genetics in healthcare. He helped develop the 100,000 genome project for Genomics England. This project aims to sequence 100,000 genomes to help diagnose and treat rare diseases and cancers.

Awards and Honours

Sir John Bell has received many awards for his important work.

• In 1998, he became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci).
• The University of Alberta gave him an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 2003.
• He was the President of the Academy of Medical Sciences from 2006 to 2011.
• In 2008, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), which is a very high honour for scientists.
• He was knighted in 2008, becoming Sir John Bell, for his services to medicine.
• He has received honorary degrees from many universities, including York, Warwick, Glasgow, and Toronto.
• In 2015, he was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE). This is one of the highest honours in the UK.
• In 2023, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) for his contributions to medicine and public health.