| Administrative History | John Vane (1927 - 2004) entered the University of Birmingham in 1944 and entered Professor Harold Burn's department at Oxford in 1946 to be trained in pharmacology. Vane received a 'BSc. in pharmacology and then spent a few months in Sheffield University as a research worker in the pharmacology department. [He] returned to Oxford to the Nuffield Institute for Medical Research in order to study for a D. Phil. with Dr. Geoffrey Dawes. In 1951 [he] was awarded the Stothert Research Fellowship of The Royal Society, which enabled [Vane] to complete his doctorate in 1953'. |
| Description | Correspondence in the file was written whilst Vane was at the Department of Pharmacology, Royal College of Surgeons of England, London, 1963 - 1972, whilst he was based at The Wellcome Research Laboratories, Beckenham, Kent, 1974 - 1983, and when he was Director of The William Harvey Research Institute, 1986.
Correspondence, dated April - May 1963 relating to Vane reading Mr. Gyang's thesis and the possibility of him proceeding to a Ph.D. degree at Aberdeen. N.B. ?letter dated 26 April 1963 remains closed under data protection legislation.
N. B. ?letter dated 5 November 1965 remains closed under data protection legislation.
Includes a handwritten letter, dated 21 February 1967, from Vane to Kosterlitz, mentioning that he is a committee member and a Gaddum trustee. Letter thanks Kosterlitz for nominating Vane for the first Gaddum lecturer and explains that Vane was not chosen. N. B. ?remains closed under data protection legislation.
Letter, dated 22 May 1968, from Vane to Mr. J. G. N. Fraser, University of Aberdeen, saying that Vane will be happy to act as examiner for Mrs Cowie's thesis. Letter is annotated in pencil, 'Phoned John Vane Frid 9th October for oral ex'.
Letter, dated 26 November 1968, from Kosterlitz to Vane, saying that he had 'discussed the possible dates for the oral examination of Mrs Cowie with Laurence Malcolm'. Also, letter mentions that Kosterlitz will return Hughes' Thesis 'in a day or two'.
Short letter, dated 30 April 1968, from Kosterlitz to Vane, says, 'This note is to confirm that I shall be able to be in London on Tuesday, 24 September. I hope that this will be a suitable date for the viva'.
Letter, dated 24 September 1968, from Vane to Kosterlitz, enclosing a possible draft of the Examiner's statement on Mr. Gilmore's thesis. N.B. ?remains closed under data protection legislation.
Letter, dated 16 October 1968, from Vane to Kosterlitz, enclosing [not present in file] a copy of Mr Gilmore's thesis.
Letter, dated 19 August 1969, from Kosterlitz to Vane, saying that Bill Paton [?of the British Journal of Pharmacology] asked Kosterlitz to design a questionnaire for referees and to consult fellow editors about it. Letter asks Vane to look at the enclosed draft and provide Kosterlitz with his comments.
Letter, dated 4 November 1970, mentions that John Gilbert has joined the Department of Pharmacology, Aberdeen, this session as lecturer in Biochemical Pharmacology.
N.B. ?letter dated 7 December 1972, relating to Vane's examination fee, remains closed under data protection legislation.
Letter, dated 7 June 1974, from Kosterlitz to Vane, confirming that John Hughes and Kosterlitz intend to give a seminar at The Wellcome Research Laboratories in 'Direct and Indirect Evidence for the Presence of an Endogenous Morphine - like Substance in the Nervous System'.
Brief correspondence, dated April 1975, between Vane and Kosterlitz & Hughes, regarding misunderstandings on the nature of their collaboration. Vane writes that he understood this collaboration to mean that Wellcome would supply Kosterlitz with pigs heads so that Hughes 'could bring to a state of purity a small sample of the endogenous morphine - like compound', and then the sample would return to Wellcome for 'characterization'.
Two letters, dated October 1975, relate to Kosterlitz sending to Vane the sample of naloxone hydrochloride. Correspondence relates to the sending of other scientific samples, as well as Kosterlitz's scientific results.
Letter, dated 25 October 1978, from Vane to Kosterlitz, congratulating him on the Lasker Award.
Letter, dated 24 October 1983, from Vane to Kosterlitz, asking whether Professor Sergeio Ferreira [Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirao Preto, Universidade de Sao Paulo] could speak briefly about the 'peripheral analgesic effects of opiates' at Kosterlitz's symposium on 'Pain Mechanisms' for the next International Congress.
Includes Kosterlitz's reply, dated 28 October 1983, which is in the affirmative, and letter, dated 14 November 1983, from Ferreira, thanking Kosterlitz. Letter from Ferreira is annotated with 'Read 24/11/83 xerox copy passed to Sandy 24/11/83, also Prof. Gillespie'.
Letter, from 22 July 1986, from Vane to Kosterlitz, telling him 'what has been happening since I resigned from the Wellcome Foundation in September 1985'. Letter says that Vane has done 'a lot of travelling and lecturing' and gives details of ideas he has for the future. 'One [idea] which was discussed fairly widely was to start a scientific consulting company which would put together "Scientific Assessment Panels" for different pharmaceutical houses ... The idea, therefore, was to offer to Research or Commerical management, through the consulting company, a chance to have their R & D [Research & Development] projects and programmes reviewed by groups of external scientists of international repute, chosen to match the Company's portfolio, who would give objective opinions on the quality of the science and on the likelihood that the scientific portfolio would lead to successful results ... However, the reason that the idea did not take off was a pragmatic one in that the man who was going to act as the marketing leader for the group suddenly became a corporate slave and was unable to participate'.
Letter talks about his other idea, which was to continue to direct scientific research. Letter details Vane's possible career paths, his decision to work at St. Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College (Barts) and the founding of the William Harvey Research Institute.
There are a number gaps in the correspondence: between May 1963 and November 1965; November 1965 and February 1967; February 1967 and April 1988; February - August 1969; September 1969 and July 1970; July - November 1970; November 1970 and December 1972, December 1972 and June 1974; June 1974 and April 1975; April - October 1975; October 1975 and January 1976; January - November 1976; November 1976 and January 1977; January 1977 and October 1978; November 1978 and January 1980; January 1980 and October 1983, and November 1983 and July 1986. |