| Hal Dixon | |
|---|---|
Hal Dixon
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| Born | May 16, 1928 Dublin |
| Died | July 30, 2008 Cambridge |
| Institutions | University of Cambridge |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Doctoral advisor | Frank Young |
Dr Henry Berkeley Franks Dixon D.Sc., known as Hal Dixon (16 May 1928–30 July 2008) was a biochemist and Life Fellow of King's College Cambridge.[1][2] Born in Dublin, the youngest son of Henry Horatio Dixon, he was interested in science from a young age; his discovery of an optical illusion arising from binocular vision was described by his father in Nature Magazine[3] when he was only nine years old.[1]
After education at Shrewsbury School he was awarded a scholarship in 1946 to study Natural Sciences at King's College Cambridge where his elder brother Kendal was a fellow,[4] achieving firsts in Part I and Part II and specialising in biochemistry. He remained at King's for his graduate studies on peptide hormones[1][2], supervised by Frank Young[1], and was awarded a Ph.D. in 1954.[4]
In 1953 he was elected to a Life Fellowship at King's,[4] where he remained for the whole of his academic career, holding the positions of Financial Tutor (1956-1959), Director of Studies in Natural Sciences (1961-1981), Vice Provost (1981-1986) and Praelector (1989-1992), as well as co-editor of the College Register.[5] In 1954 he was appointed as University Demonstrator in biochemistry, and in 1959 was promoted to University Lecturer.[5] His research in chemistry and biochemistry led to 136 published papers.[6] From 1964-1965 he worked at the Institute of Molecular Biology in Moscow as part of a UK-USSR exchange program.[1][5] His particular interest in applications of methods from organic chemistry to biochemistry[2] led to a proposed treatment for Wilson's disease.[1]
Dixon was an editor of The Biochemical Journal, and was Deputy Chairman of the Editorial Board from 1977-1982.[1][5] He was secretary of the Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry from 1977-1982[5] and chairman[1] from 1983-88,[5] and after his retirement remained an advisory member.[2]