Staff took considerable risks in early research: investigating
plague in
India in the early 20th century the method of transmission was established when a female worker put her hand into a flea cage and saw how high the fleas jumped.
Joseph Arthur Arkwright FRS (great-grandson of
Richard Arkwright) joined the institute in 1906 and studied
typhus, amongst other things, by allowing himself to be bitten by infected lice. He survived, two others did not. The institute was significant in helping to set up tuberculosis eradication programmes. In 1903, Sir
Charles James Martin, became the first director of the institute. He made outstanding contributions to the study of plague and its transmission and he created a new post of resident statistician for
Major Greenwood, the first of its kind in Britain. Greenwood conducted statistical investigations of
tuberculosis,
infant mortality and hospital fatality rates. Major also interpreted data from the institute's epidemiological study of
bubonic plague in India.
First World War Tetanus antiserum production at Elstree was increased. Improved large-scale methods for antisera were introduced by
Annie Homer. The bacteria causing
gas gangrene of infected wounds were identified.
Inter-war years The discovery of
co-enzymes by
Sir Arthur Harden FRS and his colleagues was recognised by the co-award to him of the
Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1929. The institute played a major part in defining the role of vitamins in post-war nutritional deficiency diseases that were widespread in Europe and elsewhere.
Emmy Klieneberger-Nobel pioneered the study of
mycoplasma and in 1935 discovered and cultured unusual strains of bacteria that lacked a cell wall, naming them
L-form bacteria after the institute where she worked. The first director, Sir Charles Martin, appointed in 1903, retired in 1930.
Second World War The war made heavy demands on the Lister for production of antisera and vaccines. There was also need for expertise in nutrition. In 1943, Sir
Alan Nigel Drury FRS became director serving until 1952. During the war, departments had been widely dispersed. He began a successful reintegration and incorporated some
Medical Research Council (MRC) units. As a result, it became a national centre for research on blood transfusion and the provision of blood products for clinical use.
Post war to 1970s The institute took some time to settle after wartime upheaval. In 1952
Ashley Miles was appointed as director. The institute remained an important manufacturer of vaccines and antitoxins. It produced the 'triple vaccine' for
diphtheria,
tetanus and
pertussis (commonly called whooping cough) and vaccines for
cholera,
typhoid,
rabies vaccines and smallpox. It also produced antisera for
diphtheria, tetanus, gas gangrene, rabies and
scorpion venom. There were also further important research activities:
Biochemistry • the role of enzymes in the metabolism of plant and animal carbohydrates was elucidated • the first synthesis of
adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by
Alexander Todd PRS in 1949 • the structure of
co-enzyme A was defined by
James Baddiley, together with other workers at
Harvard Medical School and
Massachusetts General Hospital • Discovered that
immunological specificity of bacteria is conferred by certain
oligosaccharides on their surfaces • Determined the chemical nature of the human A, B, H and
Lewis blood group antigens, their biosynthesis and genetic control
Blood and blood products • Invented the ether method for
fractionating blood plasma to obtain
fibrinogen,
thrombin,
albumin,
immunoglobulins and others for clinical use • Large-scale production of dried human plasma • First clinically effective
Factor VIII concentrate prepared for the treatment of
haemophilia by
Ralph Kekwick • First
anti-D immunoglobulin for treating
rhesus negative mothers • Development of radio
immunoassay to screen blood for
hepatitis B • Blood group genetics
Microbiology and immunology • Established life cycles of
trypanosomes (
Muriel Robertson FRS). • Devised a method for identifying the blood meals of
insect vectors • Discovered that sequential
mutations in surface antigens hinder development of protective immunity • First isolations of
chlamydias affecting the eye and
genital tract • Discovery of the 'Vi' antigen of
Salmonella typhi • Motility of
flagellated salmonella strains used to study
phage transduction • First description of the bacterial sex
pilus and exploitation for studying bacterial plasmids, including
antibiotic resistance Vaccines and antitoxins •
Medical Research Council field trials of
pertussis vaccines • Development of the freeze-dried heat-stable vaccine used in the
smallpox eradication programme
Nutrition • Demonstration of roles of sunlight and cod liver oil in treating and preventing
rickets due to vitamin D deficiency (Dame
Harriette Chick). ==Locations==