Dai Rees (biochemist)

Sir David Allan "Dai" Rees, FRS[4] (28 April 1936 – 10 June 2021)[5] was a British biochemist and science administrator who was chief executive of the Medical Research Council between 1987 and 1996.[1]

Sir

Dai Rees

FRS
Born
David Allan Rees

(1936-04-28)28 April 1936[1]
Silloth, Cumberland, England
Died10 June 2021(2021-06-10) (aged 85)[2]
Alma materUniversity College of North Wales, Bangor (BSc, PhD)
Spouse
Myfanwy Margaret Parry Owen
​
​
(m. 1959)​
[1]
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsBiochemistry
Institutions

Early life and education

Rees was born in Silloth, Cumberland[5] but educated in Wales: he attended Hawarden Grammar School[1][6] and received his BSc and PhD degrees in chemistry from University College of North Wales, Bangor.[7]

Career

Rees was a lecturer in chemistry at the University of Edinburgh from 1960 until 1970, researching carbohydrate conformation and structure.[3][8] He then joined Unilever, where he rose to become Principal Scientist. He left in 1982 to become director of the National Institute for Medical Research before serving as chief executive of the Medical Research Council from 1987 to 1996. He was president of the European Science Foundation between 1994 and 1999.[5]

Honours and awards

Rees received a DSc degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1969.[9] In 1970, Rees was awarded both the Carbohydrate Chemistry Award by the Chemical Society and the Colworth Medal by the Biochemical Society.[3] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1981 and delivered the Royal Society's Philips Lecture in 1984. He was knighted in the 1993 Birthday Honours.[5] He was one of the 58 founding fellows of the Learned Society of Wales in 2010.[10]

References
  1. "REES, Sir David Allan, (Sir Dai Rees)". Who's Who. Vol. 2015 (online Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. "The Times e-paper web". epaper.thetimes.co.uk. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  3. Rees, DA (1972). "Shapely polysaccharides: The eighth Colworth Medal Lecture". Biochemical Journal. 126 (2): 257–273. doi:10.1042/bj1260257. PMC 1178377. PMID 4561024.
  4. Lawson, Chris; Lillford, Peter (2023). "Sir David Allan (Dai) Rees. 28 April 1936—10 June 2021". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 74: 387–402. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2022.0043. S2CID 256416921.
  5. "Sir Dai Rees, FRS". Debrett's People of Today. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  6. "Honorary degrees at Leicester University" (PDF). Leicester University Bulletin. April 1997. p. 18.
  7. "Sir Dai Rees". The Irish Times. 13 October 2003. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014.
  8. "Sir Dai Rees FRS FMedSci FLSW". Fellows directory. Academy of Medical Sciences.
  9. Polysaccharide structure, shape, and function. WorldCat. OCLC 1064002735.
  10. "Founding Fellows". The Learned Society of Wales. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
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