Professor Jennifer Martin, Honorary Professor, University of Queensland; Adjunct Professor, Griffith University.

What has protein crystallography ever done for us?*

All right, but apart from (i) showing that proteins can form beautiful crystals, (ii) clarifying that protein structures are ridiculously diverse, (iii) revealing the molecular basis of biological activity, (iv) providing the foundation for structure-based drug design, (v) underpinning the de novo design of proteins with new functions, and (vi) enabling the highly accurate prediction of more than 200 million AI-generated protein structures, what has protein crystallography ever done for us?

This public lecture takes a ramble through the history, philosophy and practice of protein crystallography across the past century, highlighting examples of the discipline’s enormous impact on biology, chemistry, and physics.

*With apologies to Monty Python’s Life of Brian sketch “What have the Romans ever done for us?”

Professor Jennifer L. Martin AC FAA (Jenny) was the University of Wollongong (UOW) Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research & Innovation) from 2019 to 2022. Prior to that role, Jenny enjoyed a 25-year career at the University of Queensland (supported by four nationally competitive research fellowships including an inaugural ARC Laureate Fellowship) and at Griffith University as Director of the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery. Professor Martin is recognised internationally for her pioneering research in protein crystallography, a branch of structural biology that seeks to understand how biological machines operate. She studies disease-causing proteins in order to design new drugs to combat disease.

In 2018, Professor Martin was awarded the highest civilian honour in Australia, Companion (AC) in the General Division of the Order of Australia, “for eminent service to science, and to scientific research, particularly in the field of biochemistry and protein crystallography applied to drug-resistant bacteria, as a role model, and as an advocate for gender equality in science”. Professor Martin was President of the Asian Crystallograpic Association from 2016-2019. She is currently a member of the Executive Committee for the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr), chairs the IUCr Gender Equity and Diversity Committee, and chairs the Advisory Committee to the Worldwide Protein Data Bank. Jenny was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2017 and was a member of the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Steering Committee, which established the Athena SWAN pilot to address gender equity in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine. She is currently on a gap year (and enjoying it far too much!).