Laureation address: Dr Richard Henderson BSc PhD

Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science
Laureation by Professor Malcolm White, School of Biology

Wednesday 15 June 2022

Vice-Chancellor, it is my privilege to present for the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, Dr Richard Henderson.

To understand the world around us, we need to observe it. In the 17th century, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek built his own light microscopes and opened up a new world of biology in a drop of water. In the 20th century, structural biologists developed the use of X-rays to visualise proteins and DNA in atomic detail, revealing the secrets of the machinery of life and heralding a golden age of molecular biology. Today, we honour Richard Henderson, who pioneered the use of electrons to study biological structures – an advance that is catalysing another step change in our ability to see and understand.

Richard’s childhood was spent in the Scottish Borders, and he attended Edinburgh University to read Physics. His interests turned towards the new discipline of molecular biology, and he contributed to early advances in X-ray crystallography during his PhD at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge. While working as a postdoctoral researcher at Yale, Richard developed an interest in solving the structures of membrane proteins. These were (and still are) very difficult to study with X-rays, and Richard turned to the alternative of using electrons, which cause much less damage to biological samples. Returning to the LMB, Richard devoted his scientific career to the development of the technique of electron microscopy. This must have required astonishing levels of perseverance, as the crystallographers made great strides and electron microscopy was viewed as a very poor relation, starved of funding. However, perseverance is one of the key qualities scientists need, and advances in sample preparation, data collection and analysis over decades have culminated in the realisation of Richard’s vision. Over the past ten years electron microscopy has created another step change in our ability to see the world around us, revolutionising the field of molecular biology. In addition to its fundamental importance, the ability to visualise these biological structures at atomic resolution opens the door to many new treatments for human disease.

Amongst numerous awards, Richard shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017. Characteristically, when he got the call from Stockholm, he was in a research seminar so he rejected it – the call not the prize! 

Vice-Chancellor, in recognition of his seminal contribution to the development of the field of electron microscopy, I invite you to confer the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, on Dr Richard Henderson.