Honorary membership of Biochemical Society for VC
Gary Hughes
Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow by Matt Wilson/University of Kent
Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow made an Honorary Member of the Biochemical Society, joining 26 other distinguished scientists currently on the list.
Formed in 1911, the Biochemical Society exists for the advancement of the molecular and cellular biosciences, both as an academic discipline and to promote its impact on areas of science including biotechnology, agriculture, and medicine. It is the largest discipline-based learned society in the biosciences with 7000 members.
Dame Julia’s career began with an undergraduate degree in physics at the University of Bristol, followed by a PhD in biophysics at the Open University Research Unit in Oxford. After postdoctoral studies at Stanford University in California, she moved to the Department of Crystallography at Birkbeck, University of London. She became Professor of Biomolecular Sciences in 1995 and Head of the Department of Crystallography in 1996 at Birkbeck, University of London. She was appointed Vice-Master in 1998.
Her scientific studies pioneered the use of computational methods to study the structures of large biologically important molecules and used this to probe their function and dynamics.
Alongside her scientific research, Dame Julia has played an important role leading some of the UK’s major science institutions. In 2002, she was appointed Chief Executive of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, which funds scientific research projects at British universities. She became the 5th Vice Chancellor of the University of Kent in 2007, and in July 2015 will take up the role of President of Universities UK.
Dame Julia was also the Chair of the British Science Association for five years and was appointed to both the Science and Technology Facilities Council and Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology in 2011. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, society of biology and Institute of Physics and has received seven honorary doctorates and is an honorary fellow of Birkbeck.
She was awarded a CBE in 2001 for services to biophysics and a DBE in 2010.