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Robert Steven Ledley (born 1924) pioneered the use of digital electronic computers in biology and medicine. In 1959 he wrote two influential articles in the journal Science: "Reasoning Foundations of Medical Diagnosis" (with Lee B. Lusted) and "Digital Electronic Computers in Biomedical Science". Both articles encouraged biomedical researchers and physicians to adopt computer technology. In 1960 he established the National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the use of computers and electronic equipment in biomedical research. At the NBRF Ledley pursued several major projects: the early 1960s development of the Film Input to Digital Automatic Computer (FIDAC), which automated the analysis of chromosomes; the creation in 1964 of the Atlas of Protein Sequence and Structure (edited by Margaret O. Dayhoff); the invention of the Automatic Computerized Transverse Axial (ACTA) whole-body CT scanner in the mid 1970s; and the establishment of the Protein Information Resource in 1984. Ledley also served as editor of several major peer-reviewed biomedical journals. In 1990, Ledley was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Bill Clinton in 1997. He is currently president and research director of the NBRF.
