Prostaglandins In Bone Resorption

Wilson Harvey is Principal Biochemist and Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Dental Surgery, London University. His first degree was in Applied Biology, Brunei University, awarded in 1970. An interest in tissue culture led to a Ph.D. in 1974 at the Department of Medicine, Guy's Hospital Medical School, investigating the effects of antiarthritic drugs on fibroblast metabolism. This interest in connective tissue was continued during a postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Southern California School of Medicine on the changes in collagen types synthesized by chondrocytes in culture. He returned to Guy's Hospital in 1976 to continue research in the control of fibroblast activity, and then in 1979 joined the Department of Oral Surgery where he has helped to build up a program of basic and applied connective tissue research. His main publications have been in the field of bone resorption - notably the role of prostaglandins, the interaction of ultrasound with cells and tissues, and mechanisms which lead to collagen accumulation in oral submucous fibrosis, a scarring disease of the mouth. Alan Bennett has the unique position of Professor of Pharmacology in the Department of Surgery in King's College Hospital School of Medicine and Dentistry. He received a B. Pharm. with First-Class Honours from London University in 1958, and was awarded a Ph.D. in Pharmacology in 1963 by the same University. In 1976 he received the degree of D.Sc. from the University of London for his work in Pharmacology. The title of Professor of Pharmacology was conferred on him in 1976, and in 1984 he was awarded a Fellowship of the Pharmaceutical Society. Prof. Bennett's interest in prostaglandins dates back to the mid-1960s, and has ranged over several areas. Initially the work was restricted to the gastrointestinal tract, but in 1971 he studied the ability of prostaglandins to resorb bone, and this led to research on the role of prostaglandins in the formation of bone metastases in breast cancer. Subsequent studies concerned prostaglandins and their synthesis inhibitors in malignancy in other human tumors, in animal cancers, and malignant cells in culture. Work in gastroenterology continued simultaneously, particularly in regard to gastrointestinal motility, innervation, prostaglandins and various other substances. His main scientific contributions have been studies on the control of gastrointestinal motility, the actions of prostaglandins and their antagonists in various tissues, and several aspects of cancer. Prof. Bennett is on the editorial board of several specialist journals. He is on the Committee of the Society for Drug Research, and was previously Chairman. He is a member of the British Pharmacological Society, the British Society of Gastroenterology, the Physiological Society, and the British Association for Cancer Research.