Nicholas Franks

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. 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 GABA_A 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.