1969, Science and Technology: Insulin structure

In 1969 Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin and her colleagues at the University of Oxford, England, UK, determine the structure of insulin.

Dorothy Hodgkin awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1964

Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin was a British chemist and a pioneer of protein crystallography. In 1964, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for her determinations by X-ray techniques of the structures of important biochemical substances."

Dorothy Hodgkin as Chancellor of the University of Bristol (1970 to 1988)

The discovery of the insulin structure was one of Hodgkin’s most remarkable research projects. It began in 1934, when she received a small sample of crystalline insulin. The hormone fascinated her due to its intricate structure and the wide-ranging effects it has on the human body. Her dream of uncovering insulin’s structure took 35 years to realize due to the complexity of the molecule and the need for advances in crystallography and computing. In 1969, she and an international team succeeded, enabling mass production and the development of improved insulin therapies. Her work revolutionized diabetes treatment, and she continued to guide global insulin research and education.

Dorothy Hodgkin photographed at Oxford University in 1989
along with models and images of the molecules she studied