- Tom Blundell
Sir Tom Leon Blundell, FRS (born
1942-07-07 ) is a Britishbiologist and science administrator.His MA and
DPhil are from theUniversity of Oxford , working with Dorothy Hodgkin. His early posts were at the University of Oxford and theUniversity of Sussex . In 1976, Blundell joined the Department of Crystallography atBirkbeck, University of London , becoming head of department in 1978.In 1991, he moved into science administration, as Director General of the
Agricultural and Food Research Council (1991–94) and then the founding Chief Executive of theBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) (1994–1996). Other administrative posts include Chairman of theRoyal Commission on Environmental Pollution (1998–2005). He is the current President of theBiosciences Federation (2004 –date).In 1995 he became the fifth
Sir William Dunn Professor of Biochemistry and head of the Department of Biochemistry at theUniversity of Cambridge ; he currently also holds the Chair of the School of Biological Sciences at that university. He is a fellow of Sidney Sussex College.He is the co-founder of two drug discovery companies, Astex Technology Ltd and
Biofabrika .He was made a fellow of the
Royal Society in 1984 and knighted in 1997, and has also received numerous awards and medals.Research interests
Blundell's research interests lie in elucidating macromolecular structure using methods from
biochemistry , protein crystallography,bioinformatics , and structure-based drug design. Systems studied includeDNA repair ,hormones andgrowth factors , cellular signalling,crystallin s (lens proteins),renin andHIV protease. His group has also written several bioinformatics programs.ource
* [http://www-cryst.bioc.cam.ac.uk/~tom/ Dept of Biochemistry, Cambridge] -- includes CV and publications list
External links
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/desertislanddiscs_20070603.shtml Desert Island Discs: Tom Blundell]
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