Richard Henderson

Background

Henderson, Richard was born on July 19, 1945 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Son of John Wastle and Grace Simpson Henderson.

Education

Starting in 1975 with Nigel Unwin, Henderson studied the structure of the membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin (bR) by electron microscopy.

Career

A seminal paper in Nature by Henderson and Unwin (1975) established a low resolution structural model for bR showing the protein to consist of 7 transmembrane helices. This paper was important for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that it showed that membrane proteins had well defined structures and that transmembrane alpha-helices could occur. After 1975 Henderson worked without Unwin on the structure of bR. In 1990 Henderson published an atomic model of bR by electron crystallography in the Journal of Molecular Biology.

This model was the second ever atomic model of a membrane protein.

The techniques Henderson developed for electron crystallography are still in use. More recently, Doctor Henderson has devoted his attention to single particle electron microscopy: he was an early proponent of the idea that single particle EM is capable of determining atomic resolution models for proteins, explained in a 1995 paper in Quarterly Reviews of Biophysics.

Although Henderson typically worked independently, he trained a number of scientists who have gone on to independent research careers. These scientists include:David Agard, now at University of California, San Francisco Per Bullough, now at Sheffield Nikolaus Grigorieff, now at HHMI Janelia Research Campus Reinhard Grisshammer, now at National Institutes of Health Edmund Kunji, now at Medical Research Council MBU Peter Rosenthal, now at Medical Research Council NIMR John Rubinstein, now at SickKids Research Institute Gebhard Schertler, now at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Paul Scherrer InstituteChristopher Tate, now at Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology Vincenz Unger, now at Northwestern University Henderson was educated at Boroughmuir High School and (Bachelor of Science Honours in Physics, 1st Class).

He completed his Doctor of Philosophy research under the supervision of David Blow at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology and received the degree from Cambridge University in 1969.

He has worked at the Medical Research Council"s Laboratory of Molecular Biology (Medical Research Council LMB) in Cambridge since 1973, and was its director between 1996 and 2006.

Achievements

• Richard Henderson has been listed as a noteworthy molecular biologist, researcher by Marquis Who's Who.

Works

• Other Work

  • Contributor numerous articles to professional journals.

Membership

Fellow Darwin College, Royal Society, Academy Medical Sciences (London). Member European Molecular Biology Organization, National Academy of Sciences (foreign associate).

Interests

• Canoeing, wine.

Connections

Married Penelope Fitzgerald, 1969 (divorced 1988). Children: Jennifer, Alastair. Married Jade Li, 1995.

Father:

John Wastle Henderson

Mother:

Grace Simpson Henderson

Spouse:

Jade Li

Spouse:

Penelope Fitzgerald

child:

Alastair Henderson

child:

Jennifer Henderson