Prof. Chris Cooper, FRSB FRSC
Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry University of Essex, School of Life Sciences and School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences
Honorary Professor, UCL, Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering

Talk Title: Measurements of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase with Near Infrared Spectroscopy – an ISOTT magical mystery tour?

Chris Cooper obtained a BSc. in Biochemistry (Bristol, UK 1985) and a PhD in Biophysics (Guelph, Canada, 1989) focussing on the mitochondrial enzyme cytochrome c oxidase. From 1989-1992 he studied electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy at King’s College London.

In 1992 as an MRC Fellow at University College London he developed non-invasive methods of measuring cytochrome oxidase redox state changes in the brain using Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS). Following a Wellcome Trust Award (1995) Cooper moved to the University of Essex where he demonstrated that nitric oxide was a reversible competitive inhibitor of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase in vivo.

Cooper maintains diverse interests on oxygen transport and utilisation in biology and medicine. A blood substitute project aims to develop new therapeutics delivering oxygen to hypoxic tissue; genetic modifications enhance the efficacy of recombinant hemoglobin as a component of an extracellular oxygen carrier. NIRS research in brain and muscle focuses on medicine and elite sport; new methods are being developed to aid interpretation of NIRS measurements of cytochrome oxidase. He was awarded Fellowships of the Royal Society of Biology in 2014 and the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2015.

Cooper has written popular science books on Blood (Blood: A Very Short Introduction) and drugs in sport (Run, Throw, Swim, Cheat). Currently Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry and Sports Science at the University of Essex and Honorary Professor in the UCL Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, he spent two terms on the ISOTT executive committee and won its Melvin Knisely Award in 1997.