Venki Ramakrishnan is a senior scientist at the MRC
Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, where he and
others determined the precise atomic structure of the
ribosome, the enormous molecular complex that reads our
genes to make the proteins they specify. The work also
showed how many antibiotics work by blocking bacterial
ribosomes, which could help to design better antibiotics.
For this work, he shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Since 2015, Ramakrishnan has been president of the Royal
Society, one of the oldest scientific organizations in the
world, and in this role has been a leading voice for
British science.
Ramakrishnan is also the author of a popular memoir, Gene
Machine, which tells about the quest for the structure of
the ribosome and also describes in very frank terms what it
is like to be an outsider who found himself in the middle
of a race for an important problem. It is a frank look at
the process of science with its mixture of insights and
persistence as well as blunders and dead ends, and how
scientists behave, with their mixture of competition and
collaboration, their egos, insecurities and jealousies, but
also their kindness and generosity.
This role is remunerated at £9130 per annum. One member of
the British Library Board is nominated by the Trustees of
the British Museum.The Government’s Governance Code
requires that any significant political activity undertaken
by an appointee in the last five years is declared. This is
defined as holding office, public speaking, making a
recordable donation or candidature for election. Mr
Ramakrishnan has not declared any activity.
