News New Honorary Member A leading biophysicist has been made the latest Chief Executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Biochemical Society Honorary Member. Professor Sciences Research Council, which funds scientific Dame Julia Goodfellow, DBE, CBE, was made an research projects at British universities. She became Honorary Member at last December’s Annual General the 5th Vice Chancellor of the University of Kent Meeting, joining 26 other distinguished scientists in 2007, and later this year will take up the role of currently on the list. President of Universities UK. Dame Julia’s career began with an undergraduate Dame Julia was also the Chair of the British degree in physics at the University of Bristol, followed Science Association for five years and was appointed Downloaded from http://portlandpress.com/biochemist/article-pdf/37/1/56/3161/bio037010056.pdf by guest on 24 September 2021 by a PhD in biophysics at the Open University Research to both the Science and Technology Facilities Council Unit in Oxford. After postdoctoral studies at Stanford and Prime Minister’s Council for Science and University in California, she moved to the Department Technology in 2011. She is a Fellow of the Academy of of Crystallography at Birkbeck, University of London. Medical Sciences, Society of Biology and Institute of She became Professor of Biomolecular Sciences in Physics, has received seven honorary doctorates and 1995 and Head of the Department of Crystallography is an honorary fellow of Birkbeck. in 1996 at Birkbeck, University of London. She was Honorary Membership was instituted at the very appointed Vice-Master in 1998. beginning of the Society’s existence and, although Her scientific studies pioneered the use of the criteria for election altered throughout the 20th computational methods to study the structures of century, the abiding desire of the Society has been large biologically important molecules and used this to honour distinguished scientists, working in the to probe their function and dynamics. UK and elsewhere who have a clear connection with Alongside her scientific research, Dame Julia has the Society. played an important role leading some of the UK’s For a full list of Honorary Members, visit http:// major science institutions. In 2002, she was appointed bit.ly/1Cah7jH. ■ Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow with former President of the Society, Ron Laskey 56 February 2015 © Biochemical Society.