Professor Frank McCapra

Frank McCapra was born in Glasgow in 1934, and received his first degree from the University of Glasgow, and his PhD from Imperial College, London, in 1959.

His first postdoctoral year, at Johns Hopkins University, working in WD McElroy's laboratory with Emil White, saw the structural elucidation and synthesis of the first luciferin, that of the firefly.

After four years as Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia, he returned to England, becoming Professor of Organic Chemistry in 1980 at the University of Sussex, and concentrated his research on the mechanisms of chemiluminescence and bioluminescence, suggesting and determining the most effective route to light emission in organic compounds- the reactions of dioxetanes - and providing the now fully accepted mechanism of light emission in the better known luminescent organisms.

In 1979, he collaborated with Professor AK Campbell in applying the discovery of the acridinium esters to immunoassay, and subsequently formed the company London Diagnostics (based in Minneapolis) with two former students and an associate to exploit these compounds.

A principal virtue of chemiluminescence in analysis, the high sensitivity, led to the first demonstration of the value in medicine with the development of the so-called third generation TSH assay.

Now Professor Emeritus at the University of Sussex, he has been a member of the Chemistry Committee of the Science and Engineering Research Council, Chairman of the School of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences at the University of Sussex.

He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence and currently President of the Society for Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence.

He is a recipient of the Corday-Morgan Medal and Prize of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Industrial connections include Chief Scientific Officer, Vice President and Chairman of the Board of London Diagnostics and consultant for several clinical diagnostic companies.

For the past five years, he has been an Academic Associate with Nichols Institute Diagnostics Inc.(now Quest), and has generated 14 patents.