Jean Thomas (biochemist) facts for kids

Dame Jean Olwen Thomas (born 1 October 1942) is a famous Welsh biochemist. She used to be the Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge. Now, she is the Chancellor of Swansea University.

Early Life and Learning Journey

Jean Thomas was born in Treboeth, Swansea. Her parents were John Robert and Lorna Thomas. She went to Llwyn-y-Bryn High School for Girls.

After high school, she studied at University College of Swansea. In 1964, she earned a top degree in chemistry. She then completed her PhD in 1967. Her PhD research looked at how certain chemicals interact in tiny protein-like structures.

A Career in Science and Leadership

After finishing her PhD in 1967, Jean Thomas stayed at Darwin College until 1969. During this time, she worked at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB). This lab focuses on understanding how living things work to help solve human health problems.

She then became a teacher at the university. She was also a Fellow at New Hall, which is now called Murray Edwards College. She even served as the vice president there from 1983 to 1987. In 1985, she earned another special degree, a Doctor of Science, from the University of Cambridge.

Becoming a Professor and College Master

Jean Thomas is now a professor emerita (a retired professor who keeps her title) of biochemistry at Cambridge. She has been a professor there since 1991. From 1993 to 2003, she led the Cambridge Centre for Molecular Recognition.

In 2007, she became a Fellow of St Catharine's College. In 2016, she became an honorary fellow, which is a special title. Also in 2007, she was chosen as the 38th Master of St Catharine's College. This was a big deal because she was the first woman to hold this position since the college started in 1473! She was Master until 2016.

A special scholarship was created in her honor. It's called the Jean Thomas PhD Award. This award helps one student each year pay for their PhD studies at St Catharine's.

Helping Other Organizations

Jean Thomas has also helped many other important groups. She served on councils for science and engineering research. She was also part of the Council of the Royal Society, which is a very old and respected scientific group.

For ten years, starting in 1994, she was a trustee for the British Museum. In 2000, she became a governor of the Wellcome Trust. This is one of the world's largest charities that supports medical research.

From 2000 to 2005, she was the president of the Biochemical Society. In 2014, she became the second President of the Royal Society of Biology. In 2018, she was chosen to be the Chancellor of Swansea University. This is a very important leadership role at the university.

She has also received special honorary titles from several universities. These include University of Wales Swansea, Cardiff University, University of Wales, University of East Anglia, and Aberystwyth University. These honors recognize her amazing career as a Welsh scientist.

Exploring Biochemistry: Genes and DNA

As a biochemist, Jean Thomas has spent her career studying chromatin. Chromatin is like the packaging material for our DNA inside cells. She studies how it's built and how it helps turn genes on and off.

She was the first person to find and describe something called the histone octamer. This discovery helped scientists understand the nucleosome model for chromatin structure. This model was developed by Roger D. Kornberg, who later won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on how genes are used.

More recently, Jean Thomas has focused on understanding proteins like HMGB1 and histone H1. She studies how these proteins interact with DNA. In 2007, her team used a special technique called NMR mapping. They found out how HMGB1 interacts with DNA.

A year later, she showed how histone H1 and HMGB1 have opposite effects on the nucleosome. Histone H1 helps make the DNA structure stable. HMGB1, however, makes it less stable by bending the DNA. Her team also found that H1 can bind to HMGB1, which stops HMGB1 from interacting with DNA.

Jean Thomas also discovered that HMGB1 helps other proteins, like p53, bind to DNA. In 2012, her team used NMR spectroscopy again to study how p53 and HMGB1 interact. She continues to lead a research team at the University of Cambridge.

Awards and Special Honors

Jean Thomas has received many awards and honors throughout her career. These show how important her work is in the scientific world.

• In 1982, she became a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).
• In 1986, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK. She also served as a vice-president of the Royal Society for five years.
• In 1991, she became a member of the Academia Europaea (MAE). This group promotes learning and research.
• In 1993, she was awarded Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE).
• In 2005, she received an even higher honor: Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE). This was for her great contributions to biochemistry.