The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences honours Imperial Professor

Top prize for College's world-leading crystallographer - News

By Danielle Reeves
Tuesday 22 September 2009

An Imperial Professor who leads research into proteins found in the membranes of human cells has been awarded the prestigious Gregori Aminoff Prize 2010 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Professor So Iwata from the College's Department of Life Sciences will receive his 100,000 Swedish Kroner prize at a ceremony in March 2010. The Aminoff Prize has been awarded annually since 1979 for work in the scientific field of crystallography, which is integral to Professor Iwata's research.

In his laboratory at the Diamond Light Source, the UK's national synchrotron facility, Professor Iwata grows large crystalline versions of the proteins found in the membranes of human and other cells. These proteins have various functions including acting as cells' 'gate keepers', controlling which substances and signals enter and leave the cell.

The crystallised versions of the proteins can be more easily analysed than the proteins themselves. Professor Iwata and his colleagues focus Diamond's extremely powerful X-ray beams onto the protein crystals, to try and learn more about their molecular make-up.

Professor Iwata is particularly interested in transporter proteins, which are responsible for the uptake and release of various substances - including sugars, amino acids, drugs and minerals - into or out of the cell. They play crucial roles in many important biological functions, and are important potential targets for new drugs to treat a large number of diseases.

A representation of the structure of Microbacterium hydantoin permease, a membrane protein visualised by Professor Iwata and his team in 2008

On receiving the award, Professor Iwata commented: "I feel very honoured because this award is not for any particular work but for my scientific direction. After 20 years pursuit to find solutions for the challenging but important problem of membrane proteins, this international recognition is particularly sweet. I hope this will boost the College's activities in molecular biosciences - particularly at the Diamond Light Source and at the research complex at Harwell."

Professor Iwata receives the award from the Swedish Academy in recognition of his seminal crystallographic studies of membrane proteins, and because he personally elucidated the structures of many of the membrane proteins which have been solved to date.

Professor Paul Freemont, Head of Imperial's Division of Molecular Biosciences in which the protein crystallography team is based, congratulated Professor Iwata on his award, saying: "I am delighted that Professor Iwata's outstanding achievements in the structural biology of membrane proteins has been recognised by this prestigious international award."

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