Background
Baddiley was born and brought up in Manchester. His father was director of research at the Imperial Chemical Industries dyestuffs division in Blackley.
biochemist university professor
Baddiley was born and brought up in Manchester. His father was director of research at the Imperial Chemical Industries dyestuffs division in Blackley.
Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with 1st class honors, University Manchester, 1941. Master of Science, University Manchester, 1942. Doctor of Philosophy, University Manchester, 1944.
Doctor of Science, University Manchester, 1954. Doctor of Science (honorary), Heriot-Watt University, 1979. Doctor of Science (honorary), Bath University, 1986.
Doctor of Science, University Cambridge, 1986.
Todd"s group did fundamental work on the chemistry of nucleosides, nucleotides and nucleic acids. This formed the base for subsequent work on the role of these compounds in cell biology and heredity. In 1944 he moved with Todd to Cambridge University and was awarded an Imperial Chemical Industries research fellowship.
His work culminated in the first synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (Association of Tennis Professionals).
He then joined the Wenner-Gren Institute (now the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research) in Stockholm with a fellowship from the Swedish Medical Research Council. Later at the Lister Institute in London he established the structure of several nucleotide coenzymes, in particular coenzyme A (CoA).
He then attended Harvard with a Rockefeller fellowship. From 1954 to 1977 he was Professor of Organic Chemistry at King"s College, University of Durham, now part of Newcastle University.
From 1975 to 1983 he was Professor of Chemical Microbiology at Newcastle where he established the Microbiological Chemistry Research Laboratory (MCRL).
The focus of his work was the biosynthesis, structure and biological function of various biochemical compounds, especially the discovery of teichoic acids, major components of cell wall structure of gram-positive bacteria. After Newcastle he was awarded a senior research fellowship by the Science and Engineering Research Council, and moved to the biochemistry department at Cambridge. This led to the establishment of the Institute of Biotechnology of which he was the first chairman and he was also appointed a fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge.
Member of advisory board British National Committee for Biochemistry, 1961-1966, Government Grant Board Royal Society, 1962-1966, council, 1977-1979, also. Member of advisory committee Chemical Industries Basel and Chemical Industries Basel-GEIGY. Fellow Royal Society, 1961 (Leeuwenhoek lecturer 1967, Davy medal 1974), Royal Society Edinburgh, Royal Society Chemistry (past
Member Biology-chemical Society (com.1964), Society General Microbiology (council 1973-1975), American Society Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (honorary). Researcher numerous publications on nucleosides, penicillin, pyridoxal phosphate, active methionine, biosynthesis, nucleotide coenzymes, carbohydrates, discovered teichoic acids inbacterial cell walls and membranes, microbiology.
Married Hazel Mary Townsend, September 20, 1944. 1 child, Christopher James.