Honoring Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin: Inaugural Lecture Explores Cutting-Edge Cryo-Electron Microscopy

Honoring Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin: Inaugural Lecture Explores Cutting-Edge Cryo-Electron Microscopy

In 2022, Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery and the Biochemistry Department came together to celebrate the opening of their shared home, the Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building, named in recognition of Dorothy’s ground-breaking research contributions to Medical Sciences and her role in turning Oxford into a centre for structural biology.

To honour these achievements, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Discovery and the Department of Biochemistry decided it would be fitting to hold a biennial Lecture in honour of Dorothy. The Inaugural Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Lecture took place on Monday 2nd October 2023, presented by Eva Nogales, Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology, and a Howard Hughes Investigator, at UC Berkeley.

Following in Dorothy’s footsteps, Professor Nogales described how cutting-edge cryo-electron microscopy can deliver insights into the structures and functions of even the largest protein complexes. The Lecture entitled: Structural Insights into the Regulation of the Gene Silencer PRC2’ was a huge success, with the Seminar Room packed to capacity with more people watching from outside.

Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin was a pioneering British chemist who made significant contributions to the field of structural biology. Her pioneering work in X-ray crystallography earned her several prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964. She was the third woman to receive a Nobel Prize in Chemistry and remains an inspirational figure in the history of science. Her contributions laid the foundation for modern structural biology, enabling scientists to explore the molecular structures of biological macromolecules, which is critical for understanding life processes and drug development.

Watch the video below to find out more about Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/KpI844-8SXs?si=lFxCAvnSTL31bhWX