Helen Jane Dyson is a British-born biophysicist and a professor of integrative structural and

computational biology Computational biology refers to the use of techniques in computer science, data analysis, mathematical modeling and Computer simulation, computational simulations to understand biological systems and relationships. An intersection of computer sci ...

at the

Scripps Research Institute Scripps Research is a nonprofit American medical research facility that focuses on research and education in the biomedical sciences. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the institute has over 170 laboratories employing 2,100 scientists, tec ...

in La Jolla, California. She was the 15th

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the ''

Biophysical Journal ''Biophysical Journal'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Cell Press on behalf of the Biophysical Society. The journal was established in 1960 and covers all aspects of biophysics. The journal occasionally publishes spec ...

''. She was elected a

Member of the National Academy of Sciences Membership of the National Academy of Sciences is an award granted to scientists that the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of the United States judges to have made “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research”. Membership ...

in 2022.

Early life and education

Jane Dyson was born in England, and was raised near Sydney. Dyson received her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

in 1973. She received her

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

inorganic chemistry Inorganic chemistry deals with chemical synthesis, synthesis and behavior of inorganic compound, inorganic and organometallic chemistry, organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subj ...

from the same institution in 1977.

Career and research

After her PhD, Dyson did 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 ...

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

ship at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

with Paul Schimmel in 1977. From 1979 to 1984, Dyson was a UNESCO Lecturer in the School of Chemistry at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

. In 1984, she joined the lab of

Richard Lerner Richard Alan Lerner (August 26, 1938 – December 2, 2021) was an American research chemist. He was best known for his work on catalytic antibodies and combinatorial antibody libraries. Lerner served as President of The Scripps Research Inst ...

at the Scripps Research Institute. In 1992, Dyson was appointed an associate professor at the department of

molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

at the

. In 2001, she was promoted to professor. Dyson applies biophysical techniques including

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, most commonly known as NMR spectroscopy or magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), is a Spectroscopy, spectroscopic technique based on re-orientation of Atomic nucleus, atomic nuclei with non-zero nuclear sp ...

(NMR),

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 ...

circular dichroism Circular dichroism (CD) is dichroism involving circular polarization, circularly polarized light, i.e., the differential Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption of left- and right-handed light. Left-hand circular (LHC) and right-hand ci ...

, and

fluorescence spectroscopy Fluorescence spectroscopy (also known as fluorimetry or spectrofluorometry) is a type of electromagnetic spectroscopy that analyzes fluorescence from a sample. It involves using a beam of light, usually ultraviolet light, that excites the electro ...

to study the relationships between the amino acid sequences of proteins and their structure and function. Dyson is well known for her work on

intrinsically disordered proteins In molecular biology, an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) is a protein that lacks a fixed or ordered protein tertiary structure, three-dimensional structure, typically in the absence of its macromolecular interaction partners, such as other ...

Awards and honours

Dyson has received several awards for her research including the Roslyn Flora Goulston Prize for Biochemistry from the

in 1971. The Postdoctoral Award from the Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Fund in 1977. In 2009, she was awarded a D.Sc. from the Faculty of Science at the University of Sydney. In 2010, Dyson received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the San Diego Section of 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 ...

''Biophysical Journal''

Jane Dyson was the fifteenth editor-in-chief of the ''

'' and the first woman editor of the journal.

Personal life

Dyson is married to scientist Peter Wright, who also studies intrinsically disordered proteins. They have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyson, Jane Women biophysicists University of Sydney alumni Scripps Research faculty British academic journal editors Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British emigrants to Australia Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences