Anne Ethel Beloff-Chain, Lady Chain (26 June 1921 – 2 December 1991) was a British

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

. She worked at the

Istituto Superiore di Sanità The ''Istituto Superiore di Sanità'' (Italian National Institute of Health, literally 'Higher Health Institute'), also ISS, is an Italian public institution that, as the leading technical-scientific body of the Italian National Health Service ( ...

(1948–1964),

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

(1964–1986) and the

University of Buckingham The University of Buckingham (UB) is a non-profit private university#United Kingdom, private university in Buckingham, England, and the oldest of the country's six private universities. It was founded as the University College at Buckingham (U ...

(1986–1991). Her research focused on

carbohydrate metabolism Carbohydrate metabolism is the whole of the biochemistry, biochemical processes responsible for the metabolic anabolism, formation, catabolism, breakdown, and interconversion of carbohydrates in life, living organisms. Carbohydrates are central t ...

and the hormones involved in diabetes and obesity.

Early life

Anne Ethel Beloff was born in 1921 in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

to Semion (Simon) Beloff (born Semion Rubinowicz) and Maria (Marie) Katzin. Her parents were of Russian–Jewish background, and her siblings included the historian

Max Beloff, Baron Beloff Max Beloff, Baron Beloff, (2 July 1913 – 22 March 1999) was a British historian and Conservative peer. From 1974 to 1979 he was principal of the University College of Buckingham, now the University of Buckingham. Early life Beloff was born ...

, the psychologist

John Beloff John Beloff (19 April 1920 – 1 June 2006) was an English psychology professor at Edinburgh University and parapsychologist. Biography Beloff was born and brought up in London, and was from a Russian Jewish family. His parents were Semion ...

, the journalist Nora Beloff, and the politician Renee Soskin. Her paternal great-grandmother was Leah Horowitz-Winograd, the sister of Eliyahu Shlomo Horowitz-Winograd and a descendant of the Hasidic master, Shmelke Horowitz of Nikolsburg (1726–1778). She earned a degree in chemistry from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

in 1942 before completing a PhD in the biochemistry of skin burns with

Rudolph Peters Sir Rudolph Albert Peters MC MID FRS HFRSE FRCP LLD (13 April 1889 – 29 January 1982) was a British biochemist. He led the research team at Oxford who developed British Anti-Lewisite (BAL), an antidote for the chemical warfare agent lewisite. ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. She visited

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

in 1946 to perform research and returned to the UK in 1948. In the same year she married

Ernst Boris Chain Sir Ernst Boris Chain (19 June 1906 – 12 August 1979) was a German-born British biochemist and co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on penicillin. Life and career Chain was born in Berlin, the son of Marg ...

, a biochemist who had won the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...

in 1945, and moved with him to Rome.

Career

Beloff-Chain worked at Italy's

(National Institute of Health) with Chain from 1948 to 1964, and held the position of chief research scientist. Her research focused on

and the mechanism of action of

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

in hormonal control of

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and obesity. One of her most significant discoveries was that levels of beta-cell-tropin, an insulin

secretagogue In endocrinology, secretagogue is a substance that causes another substance to be secreted. The word contains the suffix '' -agogue'', which refers to something that ''leads'' to something else; a secretagogue thus leads to secretion. One example ...

hormone, were elevated in the blood of obese individuals. In 1964, Beloff-Chain and her husband were recruited by

and her family returned to London, where she took up a biochemistry teaching post at Imperial College London. She was promoted to professor of biochemistry in 1983, but she decided to leave with her research team in 1985. A £250,000 new laboratory was built and she became a professor at the

in 1986. At Buckingham, she received funding from the Clore Foundation to establish and head the Department of Biochemistry, where she worked until her death.

Death and legacy

Beloff-Chain died on 2 December 1991 in

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

, in northwest

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She is best remembered for her significant discovery that levels of beta-cell-tropin, an insulin

hormone, were elevated in the blood of obese individuals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beloff-Chain, Anne 1921 births 1991 deaths English biochemists British women biochemists 20th-century English women scientists People from Hampstead Alumni of University College London Alumni of the University of Oxford Academics of Imperial College London Academics of the University of Buckingham British people of Russian-Jewish descent

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...

English expatriates in Italy Wives of knights