Image: Professor Dorothy Hodgkin

Description: Lara Lalemi, a Chemistry PhD student, talks about the achievements of Professor Dorothy Hodgkin (1910 - 1994), the first British woman to win a Nobel Prize and former Chancellor of the University of Bristol: "Dorothy was the University’s fifth Chancellor from 1970 to 1988. She was a pioneer in the field of protein crystallography and was the first British woman to win a Nobel Prize, receiving it for Chemistry in 1964. "Dorothy’s interest in chemistry started when she was just 10 years old and she was one of only two girls at secondary school who were allowed to join the boys as they studied the subject. She went on to achieve a first-class honours degree from the University of Oxford – only the third woman to achieve this distinction.  "She was awarded the Nobel Prize for her pioneering work on protein crystallography and the structures of vitamin B12 and penicillin. Her work helped to unravel the detailed 3D structures of proteins, including insulin, fundamentally shaping our understanding of living organisms. "In Bristol, Dorothy is remembered as our second longest serving Chancellor. She proved to be a hands-on Chancellor, attending many University meetings and functions, public lectures and lunching with student officers in the Union. "Dorothy remains the only British woman to have received a Nobel Prize in any of the three sciences it recognises. Not only was she an amazing scientist, but an icon for many women in science. As someone who has studied her work some 50 years later, I’m struck by its impact and how she managed to achieve such a major breakthrough at a time when so few women were even studying Chemistry, let alone supporting the growth of modern medicine."

Portrait by Jessica Augarde Photography.
Author: University of Bristol
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License: CC-BY-SA-3.0
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