Edith Sim is a British researcher who is an emeritus professor at

Kingston University Kingston University London is a Public university, public research university located within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in South London, South West London, England. Its roots go back to the Kingston Technical Institute, founded ...

and 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 was awarded the 2012

British Pharmacological Society The British Pharmacological Society is the primary UK learned society for Pharmacology, pharmacologists, concerned with research into drugs and the ways in which they work. Members work in academia, industry, regulatory agencies, and the health se ...

John Vane Medal and a lifetime achievement award in 2015 from the Arylamine N-acetyltransferases Workshop Group.

Early life and education

Sim was born and raised in Hilltown, Dundee. Her father Joe ran his own company repairing mechanical office equipment and her mother Edith Snr had worked as a seamstress before joining her husband in helping to run his business. She was an only child, and her grandmother died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. She attended

Morgan Academy Morgan Academy is a Secondary School, secondary school in the Stobswell area of Dundee, Scotland. Morgan Academy was founded in 1889 and is the second oldest state school in Dundee behind Harris Academy. History The building was designed in 18 ...

, where she was the only girl in her chemistry class. She eventually attended a short course at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in biochemistry, which motivated her to apply for an undergraduate degree. She moved to the

as a doctoral researcher. After earning her doctorate she moved to

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, where she worked as a postdoctoral researcher.

Research and career

Sim's research is at the intersection of chemistry and biology. She joined the faculty at Oxford in 1983, where she was made Head of Pharmacology in 2000. She dedicated her career to understanding the enzyme in

. She identified the structure of arylamine N-acetyltransferase and defined the mechanism of action using a catalytic triad. In 2010, Sim moved to

as dean of science, Engineering and Computing. In 2012, Sim was awarded the

John Vane Medal. She was appointed to the governing body of

Abertay University Abertay University () is a public university in the city of Dundee, Scotland. In 1872, Sir David Baxter, 1st Baronet of Kilmaron, left a bequest for the establishment of a mechanics' institute in Dundee and the Dundee Institute of Technology w ...

in 2022.

Awards and honours

* 2012 John Vane Medal * 2015 Lifetime achievement award from the Arylamine N-acetyltransferases Workshop Group

Selected publications

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sim, Edith Living people Year of birth missing (living people) British pharmacologists Women pharmacologists People educated at Morgan Academy Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Oxford Academics of Kingston University Fellows of St Peter's College, Oxford 20th-century British scientists 20th-century British women scientists 21st-century British scientists 21st-century British women scientists Scientists from Dundee