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