Originally trained in tropical medicine, he spent time working in what was then the Belgian Congo.
[1] After his return to England in 1923, he became interested in radiology and radiobiology.
As a member of the Medical Research Council, he was involved in the decision to continue work at Strangeways Research Laboratory following the 1926 death of founder Thomas Strangeways.
[2] While at Strangeways he conducted experiments on the effects of radiation on cells and tissues, particularly tissue cultures derived from cancers.
[3]: 254 He was known for forceful rhetoric in support of the then-controversial field of tissue culture and its potential in informing clinical practice.