Sir David Philip Lane (born 1 July 1952) is a British immunologist,

molecular biologist Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

and

cancer research Cancer research is research into cancer to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. Cancer research ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the performance of clinical trials to evaluate ...

er. He is currently working in the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology at the

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; ; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden and one of the foremost medical research institutes globally ...

and i
Chairman of Chugai Pharmabody
He is best known for the discovery of

p53 p53, also known as tumor protein p53, cellular tumor antigen p53 (UniProt name), or transformation-related protein 53 (TRP53) is a regulatory transcription factor protein that is often mutated in human cancers. The p53 proteins (originally thou ...

, one of the most important tumour suppressor genes.

Education

Lane attended

The John Fisher School The John Fisher School is a Roman Catholic voluntary-aided boys' faith school based at Peaks Hill, near Purley, South London. The school is located in and funded by the London Borough of Sutton. It occupies the former site of the 19th-century ...

in Purley, South London. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at

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 ...

where he studied auto-immunity under the supervision of Avrion Mitchison.

Career and research

Lane carried out

postdoctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

research first at the

Imperial Cancer Research Fund Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and ...

(ICRF) in London with

Lionel Crawford Lionel Vivian Crawford (30 April 1932 – 3 August 2024) was a British cancer expert and virologist. Life and career Crawford was born on 30 April 1932. He was educated at Rendcomb College between 1941 and 1950 before being called up for Natio ...

and then at the

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) is a private, non-profit institution with research programs focusing on cancer, neuroscience, botany, genomics, and quantitative biology. It is located in Laurel Hollow, New York, in Nassau County, on ...

in New York with Joseph Sambrook. On returning to the UK, Lane set up his own laboratory with

Cancer Research Campaign Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

(CRC) funding at

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 ...

, then moving to the ICRF laboratories at Clare Hall before moving in 1990 to the University of Dundee to help establish the CRC laboratories there. He has played an active part in UK science, sitting at various times on the scientific committee of the CRC, the Cell Board of the MRC, and on the council of the ICRF. He is dedicated to the successful translation of research for patient benefit and participated in the early discussions around the scientific benefits of the merger of ICRF and CRC, before serving as chief scientist to their successor,

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

, until 2010. Lane founded the Dundee-based Biotechnology company, Cyclacel Ltd and was the chief scientific officer from 1996 to 2004. From 2004 to 2007, he was the executive director of the Institute of Molecular & Cell Biology (IMCB) in Singapore. Sir David was chief scientist of Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR, Singapore). He is also professor of tumour suppressor biology at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology at the

, where he is headin
a research group
Lane has published more than 350 research articles that have bee
cited over 100,000 times
and is internationally recognised for his original discovery of the

p53 protein p53, also known as tumor protein p53, cellular tumor antigen p53 (UniProt name), or transformation-related protein 53 (TRP53) is a regulatory transcription factor protein that is often mutated in human cancers. The p53 proteins (originally thou ...

SV40 T antigen complex and for his many subsequent contributions to the p53 field. The p53 gene is the most frequently altered gene in human cancer with more than half of all cancers having mutant p53. He is co-author with Ed Harlow of the most successful practical guide to the use of immunochemical methods. The "Antibodies" manual has sold over 40,000 copies.

Awards and honours

Lane is a member of the

European Molecular Biology Organization The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 2,100 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...

(EMBO), and in 1996 was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

, the UK's premier Academy. He is also a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

, the

Royal College of Pathologists The Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) is a professional membership organisation. Its main function is the overseeing of postgraduate training, and its Fellowship Examination (FRCPath) is recognised as the standard assessment of fitness to p ...

, the

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

and a founder member of the

Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academy, National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. Its ...

. He has won many international prizes for his work including the Joseph Steiner Prize, the

Meyenburg Prize The Meyenburg Prize is awarded for outstanding achievements in cancer research by the Meyenburg Foundation in support of the German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (DKFZ), which is the largest biomedical research institution in Germany. The pri ...

(1995), the Yvette Mayent Prize, the

Paul Ehrlich Prize The Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize is an annual award bestowed by the since 1952 for research in medicine. It carries a monetary prize of 120,000 Euro. The prize ceremony is traditionally held on the 14th of March, the birthday of Nob ...

and the Cancer Research UK Lifetime Achievement Prize (2012). He has been awarded honorary degrees from the Universities of Toulouse, Birmingham, Aberdeen, Stirling, Abertay, Brno and Nottingham. He has also been recognized for his business acumen with the award of Emerging Entrepreneur of the year. On 29 September 2016,

opened the Sir David Lane building. In 2018, he became a laureate of the

Asian Scientist 100 The Asian Scientist 100 is an annually published list of 100 prize-winning Asian researchers, academicians, innovators and business leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region and a range of scientific disciplines. Recipients "must have received ...

by the ''

Asian Scientist ''Asian Scientist'' is an English language science and technology magazine published in Singapore. History and profile ''Asian Scientist'' was launched as a blog in March 2011 by Juliana Chan. The blog's popularity eventually led to a partnersh ...

''. He was knighted for his contribution to cancer research in the New Year honours list in January 2000.

References

External links

Homepage at the University of Dundee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, David 1952 births Living people Alumni of University College London British cancer researchers Knights Bachelor Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Dundee Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Fellows of the AACR Academy People educated at The John Fisher School