David Stuart achieved early recognition for his X-ray crystallographic analyses of viral structures of critical importance to animal and human health. The structures of viruses, viral proteins and associated host proteins that he determined clarified how the immune system responds to viruses.
David is MRC Professor of Structural Biology at the University of Oxford, Joint Head of the Division of Structural Biology, and Life Science Director at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron science facility. His research examines a wide range of human and animal viruses using methods including electron microscopy and tomography. He has made numerous contributions to the understanding of the structure of viruses, structural vaccinology and anti-viral drug discovery. Recent work of his Group with collaborators has included structures of the SARS-CoV-2 spike and interactions with antibodies, providing better understanding of how antibodies work against the virus and how variant viruses escape such antibodies. In Diamond he is responsible for Life Science strategy, beamlines (X-ray, IR and UV) and the National Centre for cryo-EM (eBIC) which he was instrumental in setting up and is now a key part of Diamond’s science programme.
David received a Knighthood in 2021 for services to medical research and to the scientific community.
Professional position
- MRC Professor of Structural Biology and Joint Head & Co-founder, Division of Structural Biology, University of Oxford
- Life Sciences Director, Diamond Light Source Ltd, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
- Professorial Fellow, Hertford College, University of Oxford
Subject groups
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Molecules of Life
Biophysics and structural biology, Cell biology (incl molecular cell biology), Biochemistry and molecular biology
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Cell Biology
General microbiology (incl bacteriology and virology)
Awards
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Gabor Medal
For his seminal contributions to understanding virus structure and application to vaccine design, as well as driving the application of engineering and physical science to the life sciences.
