Jonathan Hodgkin facts for kids

Jonathan Alan Hodgkin, born in 1949, is a famous British scientist. He is a biochemist, which means he studies the chemistry of living things. He is also a Professor of Genetics at the University of Oxford. This means he teaches and researches how living things inherit traits from their parents. He is also a retired fellow from Keble College, Oxford.

Education and Early Studies

Jonathan Hodgkin went to the University of Oxford and finished his first degree in 1971. Later, he earned his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1974. His PhD research focused on the genetics of a tiny worm called Caenorhabditis elegans. He studied how the genes of this worm work.

Career and Research Discoveries

Hodgkin worked as a scientist at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. He was one of the first scientists to study how genes control the development of the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans.

Understanding Worm Development

Most Caenorhabditis elegans worms are hermaphrodites. This means they can fertilize themselves and have both male and female parts. They have two X chromosomes. However, some worms are males with only one X chromosome. These males can appear naturally, which allows scientists to do genetic crosses.

Hodgkin used changes in the worm's genes, called mutations, to understand how they develop. He figured out the steps that control whether a worm becomes a male or a hermaphrodite. This research helped create a model for understanding development in other living things too.

Studying Worm Immunity

Since the year 2000, Hodgkin has focused on how these worms fight off attacks from bacteria. He has explored how their bodies defend themselves. These defense methods are similar to how other animals, including humans, fight off sickness.

He used a method called microarray analysis to find special substances the worm produces. These substances can fight bacteria and might even lead to new antibacterial medicines. He also found new types of pathogenic bacteria that attack nematodes. These bacteria could potentially be used to control harmful worms as a type of biological pest control.

Awards and Honours

Jonathan Hodgkin has received several important awards for his scientific work.

• In 1990, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK.
• In 2011, he received a medal from The Genetics Society.
• He was also a member of the Faculty of 1000, a group that highlights important scientific research.
• In 2017, he was given the Edward Novitski Prize by the Genetics Society of America.

Family Life

Jonathan Hodgkin is part of a family of notable people. His father was Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, who won a Nobel Prize. His mother was Marni Hodgkin, an editor.