From its earliest days the LMB has attracted and trained first class scientists from around the world – creating a diverse community for the exchange of ideas and technical innovation. The LMB provides excellent opportunities for early career and established researchers – people with the potential to lead their field. A high percentage of LMB students and post-docs stay in research or science related fields after they leave the LMB. The LMB supports the wider scientific community by supplying highly trained scientific leaders. They leave the LMB to develop and support molecular biology both in the UK and throughout the world.
Ruth Lehmann receives Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science
LMB 1987-1988, Postdoctoral Visitor, Cell Biology
Ruth Lehmann is the 2022 recipient of the Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science, given to women with outstanding research accomplishments and established history of mentorship of women in science. Ruth was a Postdoctoral Visitor with Michael Wilcox and Peter Lawrence in the Cell Biology Division, and is now the Director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her research specialises in the biological origins of germ cells and how they transmit organism potential to daughter cells. More…
Sidney Altman 1939 – 2022
LMB 1969-1971, 1978, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Scientific Visitor, Cell Biology
Sidney Altman was a ground-breaking scientist in the field of RNA biology, whose discovery of catalytic properties of RNA led to the award of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1989. His first steps to this discovery began at the LMB, where he worked alongside Sydney Brenner and Francis Crick, research that led to the discovery of RNaseP. After moving to Yale, Sidney and his colleagues unveiled the enzymatic properties of the RNA subunit of that enzyme. He remained a friend to many at the LMB and in Cambridge. More…
Stephen Wallace is the 2023 recipient of The Colworth Medal from The Biochemical Society
LMB 2012-2013, Career Development Fellow, PNAC
Stephen Wallace has been awarded The Colworth Medal, given by The Biochemical Society to recognise outstanding research by a biochemist within 10 years of PhD completion. Stephen was a Career Development Fellow in Jason Chin’s group in the LMB’s PNAC Division, and now is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Biotechnology at the University of Edinburgh. His research uses a multidisciplinary approach to convert renewable feedstocks into industrial chemicals. More…
Kiyoshi Nagai. 25 June 1949 – 27 September 2019
LMB 1974-1976, Scientific Staff; 1981-1984 Postdoctoral Fellow; 1984-2019, Group Leader; 2000-2010, Joint Head of Division of Structural Studies
Kiyoshi Nagai was a preeminent researcher at the LMB for over thirty years during which he was a global leader in the field of spliceosome research. His work culminated in a comprehensive understanding of how the spliceosome catalyses the intrinsic process of gene splicing within eukaryotic cells. His Royal Society Biographical Memoir, written by Andy Newman and Ben Luisi has recently been published. The authors also highlight Chris Oubridge, a Senior Scientist who worked alongside Kiyoshi throughout his tenure at the LMB, and who made essential contributions to deciphering the full reaction mechanism of pre-mRNA splicing. More…
Thomas Arthur Steitz. 23 August 1940 – 9 October 2018
LMB 1967-1970, Postdoctoral Scientist, Structural Studies
Thomas Steitz was among the foremost of the generation that was responsible for an explosion in our understanding of the structure and function of biological macromolecules. His research career was one of sustained excellence over six decades, and spanned the range from determining the structures of important metabolic enzymes to understanding the structural basis of how genetic information residing in our DNA is used to make the proteins they encode. This latter effort culminated in the structure of the ribosome, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009. Thomas’ Royal Society Biographical Memoir, written by Venki Ramakrishnan and Richard Henderson, has recently been published. More …
Michael Webster joins the John Innes Centre as a Group Leader
LMB 2013-2018, PhD student, scientific staff, and post-doctoral scientist, Structural Studies.
Michael Webster shares insights into his research, scientific interests and career so far as he joins the John Innes Centre as a Group Leader. Michael completed his PhD and first postdoc in Lori Passmore’s group in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division. He was drawn to the LMB for its historical importance in the determination of biomolecular structures and genetic information. He worked on solving molecular structures using cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) during the ‘resolution revolution’. His work will now focus on studying the molecular machinery behind photosynthetic gene expression. More…