Kodicek, Egon

Biographical and bibliographical items; laboratory notebooks of work at the Dunn Nutritional Laboratory, Cambridge, 1950s-1960s, and writings on nutrition research; some correspondence and photographs.

1934-1982

1 box

These papers were given to the Contemporary Medical Archives Centre by Dr Jindra Kodicek in 1983 and 1984. Additional early laboratory note-books and notes were given by his assistant at the Dunn Nutritional Laboratory, Peter Wilson, in July 1984.

Egon Kodicek's key posts are covered in Who's Who, and the collection contains additional biographical material. After fleeing Nazi Czechoslovakia in 1939 he came to Cambridge and worked at the Dunn Nutritional Laboratory until 1973 when he retired. For the last ten years there he was Director of the Laboratory, and he was known mainly for the research on metabolism and function of Vitamin D. Kodicek strove to break through the barrier which saw nutrition as a limited medical science, envisaging rather that it was an essential part of biochemical research.

Correspondence with C E Dent, 1950s, can be found among Dent's papers, CMAC:PP/CED It should be noted that a tape recording of Dr Kodicek being interviewed, mainly about his wartime experiences, has been made by the Imperial War Museum.