Nicholas Franks

Nicholas Peter Franks FRS FRSB (born 14 October 1949) has been Professor of Biophysics and Anaesthetics at Imperial College London since 1993. His research focuses on how general anaesthetics act at the cell and molecular levels as well as with neuronal networks. Franks holds patents on use of xenon gas as a neuroprotectant and has published research on the use of the anesthetic properties of xenon.

He was educated at Mill Hill School and King's College London (BSc 1972; PhD 1975). He was a lecturer in biophysics at Imperial College London from 1977 to 1989 and a reader in biophysics from 1989 to 1993.

Awards and honours

Along with being made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2011, Franks was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2004, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists in 2008. He was awarded the Gold Medal, Royal College of Anaesthetists in 2003, the Excellence in Research Award, American Society of Anesthesiologists in 2006 and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Montreal in 2011.

Selected publications

• Franks, N.P.; Lieb, W.R. (1978). "Where do general anaesthetics act?". Nature. 274 (5669): 339–342. doi:10.1038/274339a0.
• Franks, N.P.; Lieb, W.R. (1979). "The structure of lipid bilayers and the effects of general anaesthetics: An X-ray and neutron diffraction study". Journal of Molecular Biology. 133 (4): 469–500. doi:10.1016/0022-2836(79)90403-0.
• Franks, N.P.; Lieb, W.R. (1981). "Is membrane expansion relevant to anaesthesia?". Nature. 292 (5820): 248–251. doi:10.1038/292248a0.
• Franks, N.P.; Lieb, W.R. (1982). "Molecular mechanisms of general anaesthesia". Nature. 300 (5892): 487–493. doi:10.1038/300487a0.
• Franks, N.P.; Lieb, W.R. (1984). "Do general anaesthetics act by competitive binding to specific receptors?". Nature. 310 (5978): 599–601. doi:10.1038/310599a0.
• Franks, N.P.; Lieb, W.R. (1985). "Mapping of general anaesthetic target sites provides a molecular basis for cutoff effects". Nature. 316 (6026): 349–351. doi:10.1038/316349a0.
• Franks, N.P.; Lieb, W.R. (1986). "Partitioning of long-chain alcohols into lipid bilayers: implications for mechanisms of general anesthesia". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 83 (14): 5116–5120. doi:10.1073/pnas.83.14.5116. PMC 323901.
• Franks, N.P.; Lieb, W.R. (1988). "Volatile general anaesthetics activate a novel neuronal K+ current". Nature. 333 (6174): 662–664. doi:10.1038/333662a0.
• Franks, N.P.; Lieb, W.R. (1991). "Stereospecific effects of inhalational general anesthetic optical isomers on nerve ion channels". Science. 254 (5030): 427–430. doi:10.1126/science.1925602.
• Franks, N.P.; Lieb, W.R. (1993). "Selective actions of volatile general anaesthetics at molecular and cellular levels". British Journal of Anaesthesia. 71 (1): 65–76. doi:10.1093/bja/71.1.65.
• Franks, N.P.; Lieb, W.R. (1994). "Molecular and cellular mechanisms of general anaesthesia". Nature. 367 (6464): 607–614. doi:10.1038/367607a0.
• Franks, N.P.; Dickinson, R.; de Sousa, S.L.M.; Hall, A.C.; Lieb, W.R. (1998). "How does xenon produce anaesthesia?". Nature. 396 (6709): 324–324. doi:10.1038/24525.
• de Sousa, S.L.M.; Dickinson, R.; Lieb, W.R.; Franks, N.P. (2000). "Contrasting synaptic actions of the inhalational general anesthetics isoflurane and xenon". Anesthesiology. 92 (4): 1055–1066. doi:10.1097/00000542-200004000-00024.
• Nelson, L.E.; Guo, T.Z.; Lu, J.; Saper, C.B.; Franks, N.P.; Maze, M. (2002). "The sedative component of anesthesia is mediated by GABAA receptors in an endogenous sleep pathway". Nature Neuroscience. 5 (10): 979–984. doi:10.1038/nn913.
• Ma, D.; Wilhelm, S.; Maze, M.; Franks, N.P. (2002). "Neuroprotective and neurotoxic properties of the 'inert' gas, xenon". British Journal of Anaesthesia. 89 (5): 739–746. doi:10.1093/bja/aef258.
• Franks, N.P. (2008). "General anaesthesia: from molecular targets to neuronal pathways of sleep and arousal". Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 9 (5): 370–386. doi:10.1038/nrn2372.
• Zhang, Z.; Ferretti, V.; Güntan, İ.; Moro, A.; Steinberg, E.A.; Ye, Z.; Zecharia, A.Y.; Yu, X.; Vyssotski, A.L.; Brickley, S.G.; Yustos, R.; Pillidge, Z.E.; Harding, E.C.; Wisden, W.; Franks, N.P. (2015). "Neuronal ensembles sufficient for recovery sleep and the sedative actions of α2 adrenergic agonists". Nature Neuroscience. 18 (4): 553–561. doi:10.1038/nn.3957. PMC 4836567.

References

1. ^ "Professor Nick Franks, FRS". Imperial College London. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
2. ^ Franks, Nicholas (2014). "The role of K2P channels in anaesthesia and sleep". European Journal of Physiology. 467 (5): 907–916. doi:10.1007/s00424-014-1654-4. PMC 4428837. PMID 25482669.
3. ^ Dickinson, R (2007). "Competitive inhibition at the glycine site of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor by the anesthetics xenon and isoflurane: evidence from molecular modeling and electrophysiology". Anesthesiology. 107 (5): 756–67. doi:10.1097/01.anes.0000287061.77674.71. PMID 18073551.
4. ^ Franks, Nicholas (1998). "How does xenon produce anaesthesia?". Nature. 396 (6709): 324. Bibcode:1998Natur.396..324F. doi:10.1038/24525. PMID 9845069. S2CID 4415640.
5. ^ "FRANKS, Prof. Nicholas Peter", Who's Who 2016, A & C Black, 2016
6. ^ "Nicholas Franks". The Royal Society. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
7. ^ "Fellow: Professor Nicholas Franks FRS FMedSci". Academy of Medical Sciences. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
8. ^ Criteria for Honours and Prizes (PDF) (Report). Royal College of Anaesthetists. November 2023. p. 14.
9. ^ "The Gold Medal". Royal College of Anaesthetists. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
10. ^ Evers, Alex S. (2006). "Nicholas P. Franks, Ph.D.: Recipient of the 2006 Excellence in Research Award". Anesthesiology. 105 (4): 649–651. doi:10.1097/00000542-200610000-00006.
11. ^ "Doctorats honoris causa 2011". Université de Montréal. Retrieved 4 January 2024.

External links

• Neuroprotexeon Scientific Advisory Board
• "Moderate hypothermia within 6 h of birth plus inhaled xenon versus moderate hypothermia alone after birth asphyxia (TOBY-Xe): a proof-of-concept, open-label, randomised controlled trial", The Lancet Neurology, volume 15, issue 2, p 145-153, 1 February 2016
• "Xenon Improves Neurologic Outcome and Reduces Secondary Injury Following Trauma in an In Vivo Model of Traumatic Brain Injury", Critical Care Medicine, January 2015, volume 43, issue 1, p 149-158, doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000000624

v t e Fellows of the Royal Society elected in 2011
Fellows	Robin Allshire Andrew Balmford Jeremy Baumberg Hagan Bayley Béla Bollobás Doreen Cantrell Stan Cowley Alan Cowman Alun Davies Nicholas Franks Ian Frazer Steven Gamblin John Goodby Alan Grafen Clare Grey Janet Hemingway Ian Horrocks Colin Humphreys Alex Kacelnik Robert Kennicutt Steffen Lauritzen Dennis Lo Ian Manners David Manolopoulos Gerhard Materlik James McKernan Tom McLeish David McMurtry Mervyn Miles Arthur Milner John Morton Sean Munro Werner Nahm Konstantin Novoselov Mark Pagel John Parkes Fiona Powrie Mark Randolph Len Stephens Patrick Tam Simon Tavaré Angela Vincent Mark Walport Robert Watson
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