The Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Annual Lecture

Summary:

Date: Tuesday 11 November 2025

Time: 17.30-18.30 (followed by a drinks reception)

Venue: MSRH Lecture Theatre B10, Imperial College London, White City Campus, 82 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ.

Abstract:

In 2008, scientists achieved a breakthrough by capturing spectra of complex membrane proteins, those tiny molecules embedded in cell membranes, directly in the gas phase of a mass spectrometer. This was a turning point, allowing researchers to study these complex proteins in unprecedented detail without breaking them apart.

Thanks to this advancement, scientists can now investigate the inner workings of vital proteins like receptors that detect signals, channels that control the flow of ions, and transporters that move substances in and out of cells. These proteins are incredibly important; they regulate everything from how our cells communicate to how drugs work in our bodies.

This new approach isn't just for the lab: it has huge potential for developing new medicines. By understanding how drugs interact with these proteins at the molecular level, researchers can design better treatments for diseases. Recently, scientists have even started extracting and studying these proteins directly from human tissues, including specific parts of the brain linked to psychiatric conditions giving us a closer look at the molecular roots of mental health issues.

In this talk, I’ll share exciting recent discoveries showing how exploring these tiny machineries with cutting-edge technology is opening new doors in medicine and neuroscience - bringing us closer to understanding and treating some of the most complex health challenges.

About the Speaker:

Professor Dame Carol Robinson graduated from the Royal Society of Chemistry in 1979 and completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge. She currently holds the University Chair of Dr Lee’s Professor of Chemistry and is the first Director of the Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery at Oxford, and was the first female Chemistry Professor at both Oxford and Cambridge. She is recognised for establishing mass spectrometry as a viable technology to study the structure, function and interactions of proteins and their complexes. Her collaborations span both academic and industrial laboratories, and in 2016, her spin-out company, OMass Technologies, was founded.

About the Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Annual Lecture:

The Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Annual Lecture celebrates the legacy of Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson, a pioneering English chemist whose six-decade career at Imperial significantly advanced inorganic chemistry and homogeneous transition metal catalysis. Sir Geoffrey's journey began in 1939 as an undergraduate at Imperial, where he later completed his PhD in 1943. After gaining international experience, he returned to Imperial in 1956 as a Professor of Chemistry, a position he held for 32 years. His ground-breaking work in organometallic chemistry earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1973, and he was knighted in 1976. Even after becoming Professor Emeritus in 1988, he continued to contribute to the field with a small research group. In 2022, the Department of Chemistry inaugurated this annual lecture to honour his remarkable contributions.