John Hilton Edwards (26 March 1928 – 11 October 2007) was a British medical geneticist. Edwards reported the first description of a syndrome of multiple congenital malformations associated the presence of an extra chromosome. The extra chromosome belonged to the E group of chromosomes which consisted of chromosomes 16, 17 and 18. The condition is now known as Edwards syndrome or trisomy 18 syndrome.[2]

John Hilton Edwards
FRS
Born(1928-03-26)26 March 1928
Died11 October 2007(2007-10-11) (aged 79)
EducationTrinity Hall, Cambridge[1]
Known forDescription of trisomy 18 syndrome (Edwards syndrome)
SpouseFelicity Claire Toussaint[1]
ChildrenFour: Vanessa, Conrad, Penelope and Matthew[1]
Parents
RelativesA.W.F. Edwards (brother)
Scientific career
FieldsMedical genetics
InstitutionsUniversity of Birmingham, Oxford University, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia[1]
Academic advisorsLancelot Hogben
His original description incorrectly showed trisomy seventeen.

In 1979, Edwards was elected to fellowship of the Royal Society.[1][3] He was a Fellow of Keble College, Oxford, and Professor of Genetics at Oxford from 1979 to 1995.[4]

He was the son of the surgeon Harold C. Edwards. His brother is the geneticist and statistician A.W.F. Edwards. Early in his career, he worked under Lancelot Hogben, and was sometimes distinguished from the brother as "Hogben's Edwards".

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Ferguson-Smith, Malcolm A. (19 April 2017). "John Hilton Edwards. 26 March 1928 – 11 October 2007". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 63: 215–242. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2017.0005. ISSN 0080-4606.
  2. ^ Edwards, J.; Harnden, D. G.; Cameron, A. H.; Crosse, V. M.; Wolf, O. H. (1960). "A New Trisomic Syndrome". The Lancet. 275 (7128): 787–790. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(60)90675-9. PMID 13819419.
  3. ^ Royal Society Certificate of Election
  4. ^ "Edwards, Prof. John Hilton". Who Was Who 1920–2008. Oxford University Press. December 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
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Further information

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Obituaries

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