British biochemist, who shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine with Sir Alexander Fleming and Sir Howard W. Florey for their discovery and synthesis of penicillin.
Background
He was born in Berlin to Russian-German parents. His grandfather was an Orthodox Jew and a tailor who spent most of his spare time studying Jewish literature. His father emigrated from Russia at the end of the 19th century and became a successful chemical engineer in Berlin; his mother was a relative of a leading Bavarian politician. His parents instilled in him the conviction that the only worthwhile occupation in life was the pursuit of intellectual activities and that any career that was not a university career was unthinkable.
Education
As a youth he loved music, especially the piano, at which he was highly proficient, to the extent that he even considered making it his career. He was, however, persuaded by a cousin to forego music for a scientific career, and, during his studies in the chemistry department of the Pathological Institute in Berlin, was impressed by the biological approach to chemistry. He received his Ph.D. from the Pathological Institute in 1927.
Career
He worked on the optical specifity of esterases in enzymes. In 1929 Alexander Fleming, in England, announced his discovery of penicillin. This event, together with Hitler’s rise to power, prompted Chain to leave Germany for England and he went to work with Howard Florey in Oxford.
At first he worked on a substance, lysosyme, which he discovered to be an enzyme, but he later turned his attention to the industrial development of penicillin. This goal became especially important during World War II, during which Chain was involved in a serious ethical argument as to whether the enemy should be allowed knowledge of penicillin development for humanitarian rea-sons. His superior, Florey, was persuaded to withhold the information demanded by the Red Cross in Switzerland and traveled to the United States to investigate the possibilities of developing penicillin commercially in collaboration with the Americans. Chain was not informed of this decision until hours before Florey left. This event initiated a long period of ill-feeling and disagreement between Chain and Florey that was resolved only when, in 1948, Chain took up a post in Rome, Italy, where he created the first International Center for Antibiotic Research.
Religion
Chain was a committed Jew and was active in the Jewish communities in which he moved. He was an ardent Zionist and in 1946-1947 Chaim Weizmann approached him to take up a senior position in Palestine at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot. Chain gave this proposal serious consideration but eventually rejected the offer, giving preference to Italy, since he did not believe that the newly formed State of Israel could or would have the means to become a major producer of penicillin. He visited Israel frequently as a member of the Board of Governors of the Weizmann Institute.
Personality
Chain described himself as a “temperamental Continental” who influenced the role that the British government was to play in medical research, developing the relationship between industry and the universities. He also became involved in the ethical problems which arose as human beings began to take more control over matters of life and death.
Chain described himself as a “temperamental Continental” who influenced the role that the British government was to play in medical research, developing the relationship between industry and the universities. He also became involved in the ethical problems which arose as human beings began to take more control over matters of life and death.