Nicholas Franks Explained

Nicholas Peter Franks FRS FRSB (born 14 October 1949) has been Professor of Biophysics and Anaesthetics at Imperial College London since 1993.^[1] His research focuses on how general anaesthetics act at the cell and molecular levels as well as with neuronal networks.^[2] Franks holds patents on use of xenon gas as a neuroprotectant ^[3] and has published research on the use of the anesthetic properties of xenon.^[4]

He was educated at Mill Hill School and King's College London (BSc 1972; PhD 1975).^[5] 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,^[6] Franks was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2004,^[7] and a Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists in 2008.^[8] He was awarded the Gold Medal, Royal College of Anaesthetists in 2003,^[9] the Excellence in Research Award, American Society of Anesthesiologists in 2006^[10] and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Montreal in 2011.^[11]

Selected publications

• Franks . N.P. . Lieb . W.R. . 1978 . Where do general anaesthetics act? . Nature . 274 . 5669 . 339–342 . 10.1038/274339a0 . none .
• 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 . 10.1016/0022-2836(79)90403-0 . none.
• Franks . N.P. . Lieb . W.R. . 1981 . Is membrane expansion relevant to anaesthesia? . Nature . 292 . 5820 . 248–251 . 10.1038/292248a0 . none.
• Franks . N.P. . Lieb . W.R. . 1982 . Molecular mechanisms of general anaesthesia . Nature . 300 . 5892 . 487–493 . 10.1038/300487a0 . none.
• Franks . N.P. . Lieb . W.R. . 1984 . Do general anaesthetics act by competitive binding to specific receptors? . Nature . 310 . 5978 . 599–601 . 10.1038/310599a0 . none .
• 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 . 10.1038/316349a0. none.
• 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 . 10.1073/pnas.83.14.5116 . free . none . 323901 .
• Franks . N.P. . Lieb . W.R. . 1988 . Volatile general anaesthetics activate a novel neuronal K⁺ current . Nature . 333 . 6174 . 662–664 . 10.1038/333662a0 . none .
• Franks . N.P. . Lieb . W.R. . 1991 . Stereospecific effects of inhalational general anesthetic optical isomers on nerve ion channels . Science . 254 . 5030 . 427–430 . 10.1126/science.1925602 . none .
• 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 . 10.1093/bja/71.1.65 . free . none.
• Franks . N.P. . Lieb . W.R. . 1994 . Molecular and cellular mechanisms of general anaesthesia . Nature . 367 . 6464 . 607–614 . 10.1038/367607a0 . none.
• 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 . 10.1038/24525 . free . none .
• 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 . 10.1097/00000542-200004000-00024 . free . none .
• 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 GABA_A receptors in an endogenous sleep pathway . Nature Neuroscience . 5 . 10 . 979–984 . 10.1038/nn913 . none .
• 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 . 10.1093/bja/aef258 . free . none .
• Franks . N.P. . 2008 . General anaesthesia: from molecular targets to neuronal pathways of sleep and arousal . Nature Reviews Neuroscience . 9 . 5 . 370–386 . 10.1038/nrn2372 . none .
• 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 . 10.1038/nn.3957 . free . none . 4836567 .

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Professor Nick Franks, FRS. Imperial College London. 15 March 2016.
2. Franks. Nicholas. 2014. The role of K2P channels in anaesthesia and sleep. European Journal of Physiology. 10.1007/s00424-014-1654-4. 25482669. 467. 5. 907–916. 4428837.
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. 10.1097/01.anes.0000287061.77674.71. 18073551. 107. 5. 756–67. free.
4. Franks. Nicholas. 1998. How does xenon produce anaesthesia?. Nature. 10.1038/24525. 9845069. 396. 6709. 324. 1998Natur.396..324F. 4415640. free.
5. "FRANKS, Prof. Nicholas Peter", Who's Who 2016, A & C Black, 2016
6. Web site: Nicholas Franks . The Royal Society . 4 January 2024 .
7. Web site: Fellow: Professor Nicholas Franks FRS FMedSci . Academy of Medical Sciences . 4 January 2024 .
8. Criteria for Honours and Prizes . November 2023 . Royal College of Anaesthetists . 14 .
9. Web site: The Gold Medal . Royal College of Anaesthetists . 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 . 10.1097/00000542-200610000-00006 . free .
11. Web site: Doctorats honoris causa 2011 . Université de Montréal . 4 January 2024 .