Jonathan Ashmore facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jonathan Ashmore
FRS FMedSci FRSB
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Jonathan Ashmore at the Royal Society in 2017
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| Born |
Jonathan Felix Ashmore
1948 (age 76–77) |
| Education | Westminster School |
| Alma mater | University of Sussex (BSc) Imperial College London (PhD) University College London (MSc) |
| Awards | Croonian Lecture (2017) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Hearing Biophysics |
| Institutions | University College London University of Bristol International Centre for Theoretical Physics |
| Thesis | Aspects of quantum field theory (1972) |
| Doctoral advisor | Tom Kibble |
| Other academic advisors | |
| Doctoral students | Dan Jagger |
Jonathan Ashmore, born in 1948, is a British scientist. He is a professor at University College London, where he studies biophysics. Biophysics is a field that uses physics to understand how living things work. Professor Ashmore is famous for his research into how we hear.
Contents
Early Life and Studies
Jonathan Ashmore's parents were famous! His dad, Peter Ashmore, was a theatre director. His mom, Rosalie Crutchley, was a well-known actress.
He went to Westminster School as a special scholar. Later, he studied math and physics at the University of Sussex. He earned his PhD in theoretical physics from Imperial College London in 1971. His PhD research was about quantum field theory, a complex area of physics.
Career and Hearing Research
After his PhD, Professor Ashmore worked in Italy for a short time. He then decided to study how the body works, a field called physiology. He earned another degree from University College London (UCL) in 1974.
He became a lecturer at the University of Bristol in 1983. In 1993, he moved back to UCL.
How We Hear
Professor Ashmore has spent his career studying how we hear. He looks closely at a part of the inner ear called the organ of Corti. This structure is found in the cochlea, which is shaped like a snail shell.
His research showed that special cells, called outer hair cells, are key to our hearing. These cells help us hear very soft sounds and tell the difference between different sounds. They act like a "cochlear amplifier" inside our ears.
When sound waves reach the ear, outer hair cells react. They quickly change their length, getting shorter and then longer. This movement is powered by tiny electrically charged particles called ions, like potassium. This action helps to make sounds louder and clearer.
Professor Ashmore was the first to record this amazing process on film. He called his video Rock Around the Clock Hair Cell.
Advanced Research Methods
To understand hearing better, Professor Ashmore uses special tools. He uses a method called patch clamp to study the tiny electrical signals in cells. He also uses confocal microscopy to get detailed pictures of cells.
He combines these methods with computational modelling. This means using computers to create models of how the ear works. His discoveries are helping scientists understand why some people have deafness or tinnitus (ringing in the ears).
His research has received funding from important science groups. He has also guided many students through their PhD studies.
Awards and Recognitions
Professor Ashmore has received many honors for his work:
- He became a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1996. This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK.
- In 2017, he gave the Croonian Lecture at the Royal Society. This is a famous lecture about new discoveries in science. His talk was about the science of deafness.
- He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci).
- He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB).
Professor Ashmore has also helped lead important scientific organizations. He was the president of The Physiological Society from 2012 to 2014. He is also a trustee for the Hearing Research Trust, which supports research into hearing problems.
Personal Life
When he was seven years old, Jonathan Ashmore acted in a film! He played the character Joe in the 1955 movie A Kid for Two Farthings. The film was based on a book by Wolf Mankowitz.
Through his mother's family, he is related to some historical figures. This includes the 1st Earl of Leicester and Lady Anne Amelia Keppel, who was a descendant of Charles II of England.
