Dame Carol Vivien Robinson (born 10 April 1956) is a British

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

and former president of the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

(2018–2020). She was a

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

Research Professor and is the Dr Lee's Professor of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, and a professorial fellow at Exeter College,

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. She is the founding director of th
Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford
and she was previously professor of

mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a ''mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is used ...

at the chemistry department of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

.Carol Robinson's

Early life and education

Born in Kent, the daughter of Denis E. Bradley and Lillian (née Holder), Carol Vivien Bradley left school at 16 and began her career as a lab technician in

Sandwich, Kent Sandwich is a town and civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, south-east England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour and has a population of 4,985. Sandwich was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval build ...

with

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...

, where she began working with the then novel technique of

. Her potential was spotted, and she gained further qualifications at evening classes and day release from her job at

. After earning her degree, she left Pfizer and studied for a Master of Science degree at the

University of Swansea Swansea University () is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it chang ...

, followed by a Ph.D. at the

, which she completed in just two years. During this time she was a student at

Churchill College, Cambridge Churchill College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but retains a strong interest in the arts ...

Career and research

After a

postdoctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

training fellowship at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

, Robinson took up a junior position in the

unit at the

, where she began analysing

protein folding Protein folding is the physical process by which a protein, after Protein biosynthesis, synthesis by a ribosome as a linear chain of Amino acid, amino acids, changes from an unstable random coil into a more ordered protein tertiary structure, t ...

. Robinson and colleagues successfully captured protein folding in the presence of the chaperone

GroEL GroEL is a protein which belongs to the chaperonin family of Chaperone (protein), molecular chaperones, and is found in many bacteria. It is required for the proper protein folding, folding of many proteins. To function properly, GroEL requires ...

, demonstrating that at least some aspects of protein secondary structure could be studied in the

gas phase In the physical sciences, a phase is a region of material that is chemically uniform, physically distinct, and (often) mechanically separable. In a system consisting of ice and water in a glass jar, the ice cubes are one phase, the water is a ...

. Robinson has broken ground as the first woman professor in the department of chemistry at both the

(2001) and the

(2009). Her research has pushed the limits of

electrospray ionization Electrospray ionization (ESI) is a technique used in mass spectrometry to produce ions using an electrospray in which a high voltage is applied to a liquid to create an aerosol. It is especially useful in producing ions from macromolecules becau ...

mass spectrometry, demonstrating that

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

s and other complex

macromolecule A macromolecule is a "molecule of high relative molecular mass, the structure of which essentially comprises the multiple repetition of units derived, actually or conceptually, from molecules of low relative molecular mass." Polymers are physi ...

s can be studied in the gas phase. In addition to her contributions to the study of protein folding, Robinson has conducted important work on

ribosome Ribosomes () are molecular machine, macromolecular machines, found within all cell (biology), cells, that perform Translation (biology), biological protein synthesis (messenger RNA translation). Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order s ...

molecular chaperones In molecular biology, molecular chaperones are proteins that assist the conformational folding or unfolding of large proteins or macromolecular protein complexes. There are a number of classes of molecular chaperones, all of which function to assi ...

and most recently

membrane protein Membrane proteins are common proteins that are part of, or interact with, biological membranes. Membrane proteins fall into several broad categories depending on their location. Integral membrane proteins are a permanent part of a cell membrane ...

s. Her research has made seminal contributions to gas-phase structural biology, with progress toward the study of protein complexes in their native environments for drug discovery. Additionally, she is a co-founder of OMass Therapeutics, a

spin-out company applying mass spectrometry technology to drug discovery.

Honours and awards

Robinson was awarded the

American Society for Mass Spectrometry The American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) is a professional association based in the United States that supports the scientific field of mass spectrometry. As of 2018, the society had approximately 10,000 members primarily from the US, but ...

's Biemann Medal in 2003, and the Christian B. Anfinsen Award in 2008. In 2004 the

awarded her both a Fellowship (FRS) and the

Rosalind Franklin Award The Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award was established in 2003 and is awarded annually by the Royal Society to an individual for outstanding work in any field of Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and to support the promo ...

. Her nomination for the Royal Society reads:

''Distinguished for her research on the application of mass spectrometry to problems in
chemical biology Chemical biology is a scientific discipline between the fields of chemistry and biology. The discipline involves the application of chemical techniques, analysis, and often small molecules produced through synthetic chemistry, to the study and m ...
. She has used mass spectrometry to define the folding and binding of interacting proteins in large complexes. Most importantly, she has established that macromolecular complexes such as
GroEL GroEL is a protein which belongs to the chaperonin family of Chaperone (protein), molecular chaperones, and is found in many bacteria. It is required for the proper protein folding, folding of many proteins. To function properly, GroEL requires ...
,
ribosome Ribosomes () are molecular machine, macromolecular machines, found within all cell (biology), cells, that perform Translation (biology), biological protein synthesis (messenger RNA translation). Ribosomes link amino acids together in the order s ...
s, and intact virus
capsid A capsid is the protein shell of a virus, enclosing its genetic material. It consists of several oligomeric (repeating) structural subunits made of protein called protomers. The observable 3-dimensional morphological subunits, which may or m ...
s can be generated in the gas phase and their
electrospray The name electrospray is used for an apparatus that employs electricity to disperse a liquid or for the fine aerosol resulting from this process. High voltage is applied to a liquid supplied through an emitter (usually a glass or metallic capilla ...
mass spectra recorded. This work has demonstrated the power of mass spectrometry in studying very large complexes and allowed her to define changes in their conformation and the manner of their assembly.''

In 2010 Robinson received the

Davy Medal The Davy Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of London "for an outstandingly important recent discovery in any branch of chemistry". Named after Humphry Davy, the medal is awarded with a monetary gift, initially of £1000 (currently £2000). Re ...

"for her ground-breaking and novel use of mass spectrometry for the characterisation of large protein complexes". In 2011 she was given the Interdisciplinary Prize by the

for "development of a new area of research, gas-phase structural biology, using highly refined mass spectrometry techniques", the

Aston Medal The Aston Medal is awarded by the British Mass Spectrometry Society to individuals who have worked in the United Kingdom and have made outstanding contributions to our understanding of the biological, chemical, engineering, mathematical, medical, ...

, and the

FEBS The Federation of the European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) is an international scientific society promoting activities in biochemistry, molecular biology and related research areas in Europe and neighbouring regions. It was founded in 1964 and inc ...

EMBO Embo or EMBO may refer to: *Embo, Taguig, a grouping of barangays in Taguig, Philippines * Embo (''Star Wars''), a ''Star Wars'' fictional character *Embo S.p.A., an Italian automotive manufacturer *Embo, Sutherland, a village in Highland, Scotland ...

Women in Science Award. She was appointed

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE) in the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to science and industry. She received the Thomson Medal Award in 2014. In 2015 she was a laureate of th
L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards
"For her groundbreaking work in macromolecular mass spectrometry and pioneering gas phase structural biology by probing the structure and reactivity of single proteins and protein complexes, including membrane proteins." In 2017 she was elected a Foreign Associate of the US

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

. In 2018 she won the Frank H. Field and Joe L. Franklin Award for Outstanding Achievement in Mass Spectrometry from the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

. In 2019 she won the Novozymes Prize for "almost single-handedly founding a subfield of mass spectrometry proteomics". Also in 2019 she received the

Royal Medal The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society. Two are given for "the mo ...

. In 2020, she was chosen as the recipient of the

Othmer Gold Medal The Othmer Gold Medal recognizes outstanding individuals who contributed to progress in chemistry and science through their activities in areas including innovation, entrepreneurship, research, education, public understanding, legislation, and ph ...

. In 2021 she received the 2022

Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine Established in 1986, the Louis-Jeantet Prizes are funded by the Louis-Jeantet Foundation, ''Fondation Louis-Jeantet'' and awarded each year to experienced researchers who have distinguished themselves in the field of biomedical research in one ...

. and the 2022 European Chemistry Gold Medal by the European Chemical Society. Also in 2021, she became an International Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

. In 2022 she was awarded the Franklin Institute Award for Chemistry. In 2023 she was elected to th
American Philosophical Society
and was awarded th
John B. Fenn Award for Distinguished Contribution to Mass Spectrometry
She was named one of the top ten "Innovators and Trailbalzers" on the 2023 Power List by the Analytical Scientist. In 2024, she received th
EPO European Inventor Lifetime Achievement Award
for her work in mass spectrometry that significantly advanced biochemical research and medical diagnostics. On June 19, 2024, she received a
honorary doctorate from the University of Cambridge
in recognition of her achievements in chemistry. She has been awarded 13 honorary doctorates including th
Weizmann Institute of ScienceAarhus University Denmark

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

, the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

, and the

References

External links

* (See Denis Noble.) * * * * (interview conducted by Erick M. Carreira) {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Carol 1956 births Living people British chemists Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Female fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of Churchill College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Place of birth missing (living people) British women chemists Academics of the University of Oxford Fellows of Exeter College, Oxford Alumni of Swansea University Alumni of Churchill College, Cambridge Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Dr Lee's Professors of Chemistry Rhodes Trustees L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science laureates 21st-century British women scientists Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Presidents of the Royal Society of Chemistry Thomson Medal recipients Mass spectrometrists Benjamin Franklin Medal (Franklin Institute) laureates