David T. Jones (biochemist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
David Jones
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David Jones in 2006
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David Tudor Jones
November 1966 (age 58) |
| Nationality | British |
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| Known for | Protein Fold Recognition Protein Structure Prediction |
| Awards | Royal Society University Research Fellowship (1995–1999) |
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| Institutions | University College London Birkbeck, University of London |
| Thesis | Structural approaches to protein sequence analysis (1993) |
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David Tudor Jones (born in 1966) is a British scientist. He is a Professor of Bioinformatics at University College London (UCL). Bioinformatics is a field that uses computer science to understand biology.
Professor Jones leads the Bioinformatics Group at UCL. He also directs the Bloomsbury Center for Bioinformatics. This center helps scientists use computers to study living things. It offers training and support to researchers. He has also been part of the editorial teams for several science journals.
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Learning and Degrees
David Jones studied at Imperial College London. He earned a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Physics. After that, he went to King's College London. There, he completed a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Biochemistry.
He then moved to University College London. In 1993, he earned his PhD degree. His research focused on understanding protein structures. His supervisors were William R. Taylor and Janet Thornton.
Research and Discoveries
Professor Jones is very interested in how proteins are shaped. Proteins are tiny building blocks inside all living things. Their shape helps them do their jobs. He studies how to predict a protein's shape. This is called protein structure prediction.
He also researches protein folding. This is the process where a protein gets its unique 3D shape. He looks at transmembrane proteins, which are proteins that go through cell membranes. His work also involves using machine learning in biology. Machine learning is when computers learn from data. He also studies genome analysis, which is looking at all the DNA in an organism.
Professor Jones has worked with companies like GlaxoSmithKline. He also helped start a company called Inpharmatica Limited in 1998. This company used computer science and chemistry to study proteins. They looked at how chemicals bind to proteins. This research helped find new medicines.
THREADER
THREADER is a computer program developed by Professor Jones. It helps predict the shape of proteins. This method is known as "protein fold recognition" or "threading." It's used to guess the shape of proteins that are similar to others we already know.
You give THREADER a protein's amino acid sequence. This is like a string of letters that makes up the protein. The program then suggests the most likely 3D shape for that protein. It checks how well the sequence fits different known shapes. This work helped other scientists, like David Baker, create even more advanced methods.
MEMSAT
MEMSAT is another tool developed by Professor Jones. It predicts where parts of a protein cross cell membranes. These parts are called "transmembrane helices." The program uses information from many known membrane proteins. It then uses a special computer method to find the best fit.
MEMSAT was first made in 1994. It has been improved many times since then. The newest version, MEMSAT3 (from 2007), uses a special computer network. This network helps figure out which parts of the protein are inside the cell and which are in the membrane.
CATH Database
Professor Jones helped create the CATH database. This database organizes protein structures. It's like a library for protein shapes. It groups proteins into different levels based on their structure. These levels are Class, Architecture, Topology, and Homologous superfamily. The CATH database uses both computer programs and human experts to sort proteins.
GenTHREADER
GenTHREADER is a faster and more powerful tool. It also helps predict protein shapes. It can look at whole proteins or just parts of them. The program first lines up the protein's sequence with others. Then, it uses threading techniques to check the alignment.
Finally, a computer network evaluates each possible shape. It gives a score to show how confident it is in the prediction. GenTHREADER has led to many improvements. There are now several updated versions, like mGenTHREADER and pGenTHREADER.
PSIPRED
PSIPRED is a website that brings together several protein prediction tools. It includes PSIPRED, which predicts the "secondary structure" of proteins. This is about how parts of the protein fold into simple shapes. It also includes MEMSAT3 for membrane protein prediction and GenTHREADER for fold recognition.
Users can submit a protein sequence to the website. They choose which prediction they want. The results are then sent to them by email.
Helping the Scientific Community
Since 1996, Professor Jones has been part of many research groups. He has served on committees for important science councils in the UK. These include the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC).
His research has received funding from many sources. These include The Wellcome Trust, The Royal Society, and the European Commission. Companies like AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline have also supported his work.
Awards and Honours
From 1995 to 1999, David Jones held a special Royal Society University Research Fellowship. This is a very respected award for researchers. In 2022, he was made a Fellow of the International Society for Computational Biology. In 2023, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is one of the highest honors for scientists in the UK.
