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Tom Blundell

Blundell Tom 280306 crop
Blundell Tom 280306 crop Image: Wikimedia Commons. Photography & Graphics, Dept of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, UK / CC BY-SA 4.0

Sir Thomas Leon Blundell (born 7 July 1942) is a British biochemist, structural biologist, and science administrator. He is best known for his contributions to the structural biology of polypeptide hormones, growth factors and DNA repair processes, and for his role as a member of Dorothy Hodgkin's team that determined the first three-dimensional structure of the protein hormone insulin in 1969.

Key facts

Full name Sir Thomas Leon Blundell
Born 7 July 1942
Nationality British
Fields Biochemistry, structural biology, science administration
Notable work Structure of insulin (1969, with Dorothy Hodgkin's team)
Company co-founded Astex Therapeutics (1999)
Leadership role President, UK Science Council

Background

Blundell trained as a scientist in the United Kingdom and joined the research group of crystallographer Dorothy Hodgkin. As part of Hodgkin's team, he contributed to the determination of the structure of insulin in 1969, one of the early landmark achievements in protein crystallography.

Research contributions

Over his career, Blundell has worked on a wide range of topics in structural biology, including:

  • Polypeptide hormones and growth factors.
  • Receptor activation and signal transduction.
  • DNA double-strand break repair.

These areas are of significance to research on cancer, tuberculosis, and familial diseases. He has also developed software for protein modelling and for understanding the effects of mutations on protein function. This work has supported new approaches to structure-guided and fragment-based lead discovery in drug design.

Astex Therapeutics

In 1999, Blundell co-founded Astex Therapeutics, an oncology-focused company applying fragment-based drug discovery. The company has progressed ten drugs into clinical trials.

Science administration

Blundell has played central roles in the restructuring of British research councils. As President of the UK Science Council, he has been involved in developing professionalism in the practice of science.

Significance

Blundell's career bridges fundamental structural biology, translational drug discovery, and the institutional governance of science. His early contribution to the insulin structure remains a foundational result in protein crystallography, while his later work has influenced the methodology of modern computational and fragment-based drug design.

References