The Netherlands Academy of Sciences announced that Chris Dobson FRS has been awarded the biennial Heineken Prize 2014 for Biochemistry and Biophysics. We congratulate Chris with this exceptional recognition of his contributions to science.
Chris Dobson, John Humphrey Plummer Professor of Chemical and Structural Biology and Master of St. John's College, has played a major role in shaping our understanding of the normal and aberrant behaviour of proteins. Through his research he has established many of the fundamental principles that regulate the folding, misfolding and aggregation of proteins.
His research on non-native states of proteins, initially in the context of the folding process and subsequently their involvement with misfolding and aggregation, has changed the thinking about the physical nature of human conditions associated with protein deposition and amyloid formation, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Chris Dobson's work has revealed the common nature of the amyloid state of proteins and led to the characterisation of its fundamental properties.
By studying the aggregation process, Chris Dobson has demonstrated that oligomeric assemblies generated prior to the formation of mature amyloid fibrils are the molecular species responsible for cytotoxic effects. This discovery has focused the attention on these oligomeric states as key factors in the conversion of normally soluble proteins into aggregates and directly or indirectly as the likely origins of at least some neurodegenerative disorders and of other organ specific diseases such as type II diabetes.
Together with other Cambridge researchers, including Michele Vendruscolo and Tuomas Knowles in the Department of Chemistry, Chris recently received a very major donation that has enabled the creation of the Cambridge "Centre for Protein Misfolding Diseases". This Centre, which is part of the Departmental "Chemistry of Health" initiative, was born out of a sense of urgency: the societal impact of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's is growing at an alarming rate – yet the research that could lead to new treatment or prevention strategies is seriously underfunded.
It is truly excellent news that this new Centre will have a Heineken laureate at its helm.