Britton Chance, MD, PhD, D.Sc. was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA on July 24, 1913 and died on November 16, 2010. During his teenage, his family moved to Haverford, PA where he developed a passion for sailing and a talent for invention. Although he was in his teenage, he invented an automatic ship-steering device that was tested in a commercial freighter. His passion for sailing never waned. He was an accomplished competitive sailor, famous for his dramatic come-from-behind victory in the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Men’s 5.5-meter Class competition to win the Gold Medal.
Although his success in sailing was notable, it is a distant second to his impact as a scientist. Brit started his academic career by earning a bachelor’s in chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania in 1935. He went on to receive his master’s degree in 1936 and his PhD in physical chemistry in 1940, both from the University of Pennsylvania. He went to Cambridge University to continue his work on enzyme kinetics and earned a second PhD in biology and physiology from Cambridge University in 1942. After returning from England, Brit joined the M.I.T. Radiation Laboratory to work on developing radar (radio detection and ranging) as part of the US war effort. In 1949, he returned to Philadelphia to join the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania as a professor of biophysics and biophysical chemistry and as a director of the Johnson Foundation. In 1964, he was named the Eldridge Reeves Johnson Professor of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry.
Brit was a pioneer in the study of how cells make and use energy. Although focused around the concept of energetics, he had a major scientific influence across several fields including enzyme kinetics, in vivo MR spectroscopy, and near-infrared spectroscopy and imaging. In the 1950s and 1960s, he worked to study enzyme kinetics related to cellular energetics. He was the first to demonstrate the presence of an enzyme–substrate complex, which was long hypothesized. He demonstrated many of the components of cellular respiration including his seminal work defining the energetic states of oxidative phosphorylation. Brit also identified the key role that quantum mechanical tunneling played in the electron transport chain, a critical component of photosynthesis, and oxidative phosphorylation. Brit recognized the potential for wide-bore MR magnets to enable the study of energetics in vivo. He led the application of in vivo MRS to study metabolic disease, stroke, and cancer. Toward the end of his career, Brit turned his attention back to optics, which was so important to his early work. He led efforts to develop near-infrared instruments to measure oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin in vivo, envisioning clinical application to study stroke, heart disease, cancer, and neurologic function.
Throughout his scientific career, Brit was as much an inventor as a scientist. He leaves a legacy of instruments that have had major influences in biophysics. Early in his career, he developed the stopped-flow apparatus that was critical to study enzyme kinetics. The dual-wavelength spectrophotometer that he developed was the predecessor for modern analytic instruments, such as the glucometers. He also contributed to the use of MR spectroscopy and near-infrared imaging as in vivo biomarkers, capable of studying physiology and treatment response in patients.
Brit was incredibly productive throughout his extended scientific career. He published over 1500 articles. It is notable that his peak productivity was in the late 1980s, when he was in his mid 70s. He also published an average of five articles a year in his early 90s. In addition, his laboratory was continuously funded for over 70 years. Brit received many awards in recognition of his scientific contributions including the Franklin Medal from the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia; the Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics from the Netherlands Academy of Science and Letters; the Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences from the American Philosophical Society; the Christopher Columbus Discovery Award in Biomedical Research from the National Institutes of Health; the Gold Medal from the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine; and the National Medal of Science.
In summary, Dr. Britton Chance was among the most influential scientists of the 20th century. He discovered much of what we know today about how the body makes, stores, and uses energy. He has left a legacy of invention that is still influencing modern diagnostics. He was able to do all these, although he pursued his passion to become a world-class yachtsman and contributed his work on radar to the Allies war effort in World War II. Those who have had the privilege to work with Brit will remember his creativity, his relentless pursuit of discovery, and his generous commitment to friends and colleagues Figure 1 .
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Figure 1
Britton Chance undergoing a calf 31P spectroscopy examination in the early 1980s.