David James Purslove Barker (29 June 1938 – 27 August 2013) was an English physician and epidemiologist and originator of the
Barker Hypothesis
Thrifty phenotype refers to the correlation between low birth weight of neonates and the increased risk of developing metabolic syndromes later in life, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Although early life undernutrition is th ...
that foetal and early infant conditions have a permanent conditioning effect on the body's metabolism and chronic conditions later in life.
[Cooper C (2013]
David Barker 1938–2013
Nature 502(7471), 304.[Pincock S (2013]
David Barker
The Lancet 382(9899), 1170.
He was born in London the son of Hugh Barker, an engineer, and Joye, a concert cellist. At
Oundle School, he developed an interest in Natural History and was given special access to the biology classrooms to study his finds. The
Natural History Museum later asked him to mount an expedition to collect plant specimens from the Icelandic offshore island of
Grimsey.
[Cooper C (2013]
David Barker Obituary
The Guardian Wednesday 11 September 2013.
He studied medicine at
Guy's Hospital, London, but maintained his interest in Natural History, and had his first paper published in
Nature in 1961. After qualifying in 1962, he became a research fellow in the department of social medicine at
Birmingham University. In 1969, with a grant from the
Medical Research Council, Barker moved with his family to Uganda, to research
Mycobacterium ulcerans infection ("Buruli ulcer"), demonstrating that it was caused, not by mosquitos, but by wounds caused by the razor-sharp reeds growing near the River Nile.