Randy Read facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Randy Read
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Randy Read at the Royal Society admissions day in London, July 2014
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| Born |
Randy John Read
9 June 1957 |
| Alma mater | University of Alberta (BSc, PhD) |
| Known for |
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| Awards | Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | University of Cambridge |
| Thesis | X-ray crystallographic studies on serine proteinases and their protein inhibitors (1986) |
| Doctoral advisor | Michael N. G. James |
Randy John Read (born on June 9, 1957) is a very important scientist. He is a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow and a professor at the University of Cambridge. He studies something called protein crystallography. This means he looks at the tiny, 3D shapes of proteins using X-rays.
Education and Early Life
Randy Read went to the University of Alberta in Canada. He earned his first degree, a Bachelor of Science, in 1979. Later, in 1986, he completed his PhD. For his PhD, he used X-ray crystallography to study special proteins called serine proteases. His teacher and guide for this work was Michael N. G. James.
Career and Research Work
After finishing his PhD, Randy Read became a professor at the University of Alberta. He worked there from 1988 to 1998. Since then, his main work has been in protein crystallography. This field helps us understand the exact 3D shapes of tiny protein molecules. He also works with something called maximum likelihood estimation. This is a smart way to find the most likely answer when you have a lot of data, like figuring out the best possible shape for a molecule.
Professor Read's research has been published in many top science magazines. These include Nature and Science. His work helps other scientists learn more about how proteins work.
Awards and Special Honours
In 2014, Randy Read was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honour for scientists in the United Kingdom. It means he is recognized for his amazing contributions to science.
He is especially known for creating computer programs that help scientists study the shapes of large molecules. One of his most famous programs is called Phaser. This program helps scientists figure out the shapes of molecules by comparing them to shapes that are already known. It's like using a puzzle piece you already have to help you find the right spot for a new one.
He also came up with a better way to make sure the computer models of molecules are very accurate. This method is now used in many other important computer programs.
Besides developing software, Professor Read has also done important work studying the shapes of proteins that are linked to diseases. For example, he has studied bacterial toxins and other proteins called serpins. Understanding their shapes helps scientists learn how they work and how to fight diseases.
