Guy Dodson. 13 January 1937—24 December 2012

Abstract

Guy Dodson's scientific reputation is based on his seminal contributions to linking chemistry and biology through analyses of three-dimensional structures elucidated by crystallography. He inspired and supported the development of new methods to determine structure, to relate structure to chemical mechanism and to embed structural insights into the lexicon of biological research. He began his career working with Dorothy Hodgkin, at the University of Oxford, and in later life he set up two very successful structural biology laboratories, at the University of York and then at the National Institute of Medical Research, Mill Hill. He is particularly remembered for his research into improving insulin therapy, based on modifications suggested by structural insights. He showed early recognition of how to build synergy in industrial collaborations that led both to fundamental scientific discoveries and to the development of new medicines and products to benefit society. He is also remembered for the enthusiasm he brought to these studies, for the pleasure he got, and gave, from the successes of others, and his generosity of spirit.