Sir Tom Blundell, FRS
Tom Blundell has been Sir William Dunn Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge since 1995. He has research interests in the molecular architecture of living organisms. He has worked on enzymes involved in hypertension and AIDS and on vertebrate lens proteins involved in cataract. His research is now focused on growth factors, receptor activation and signal transduction, important in cancer and other diseases. After research and teaching positions in Oxford and Sussex Universities, he was appointed in 1976 Professor of Crystallography in Birkbeck College, University of London and in 1989 Honorary Director, Imperial Cancer Research Fund Unit of Structural Molecular Biology.
His research work has been recognised by the Alcon Award for Vision Research, Gold Medal of Institute of Biotechnology, Krebs Medal of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies, Ciba Medal of Biochemical Society, Feldberg Prize in Biology and Medicine, the Annual Medal of the Society for Chemical Industry and was the first recipient of the European Award for Innovation in Biomedical Sciences. He is a member of Academia Europaea, a Fellow of the Royal Society and Fellow of Academy of Medical Sciences. He has Honorary Fellowships at Linacre and Brasenose Colleges, Oxford University, and a Professorial Fellowship at Sidney Sussex, Cambridge. He has Honorary Doctorates from thirteen universities.
Tom Blundell has taught in Biology, Chemistry and Physics in Oxford, Cambridge, Sussex and London Universities.
Tom Blundell has played an active role in national science policy. In the 1980s he was a member of the advisory group to the Prime Minister (ACOST). He has been a member of the Royal Society Council and is currently a member of the Advisory Committee of the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology, POST. He has had a long involvement in the research councils, culminating in his appointment as Director General, Agricultural and Food Research Council (1991-1994) and Chief Executive, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, BBSRC (1994-1996). He won the National Equal Opportunities Award for his work at the research councils in 1995.
Tom Blundell has been Chairman of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution since 1998, producing report on 'Energy, the Changing Climate' in 2000 and on 'Environmental Planning' in March 2002.
Tom Blundell advises pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. He is currently a non-executive director and chairman of the science advisory board of Celltech. In 1999 he co-founded a company Astex Technology concerned with the discovery of new medicines and based at the Cambridge Science Park. This has now raised £28 million of venture capital and employs about 100 people, mainly scientists.
