Sir Richard Timothy Hunt was born on February 19, 1943. He is a British scientist who studies how living things work at a molecular level. In 2001, he was given the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Paul Nurse and Leland H. Hartwell for their research on proteins that help control how cells divide. In the early 1980s, Hunt studied fertilized sea urchin eggs and discovered cyclin, a protein that builds up and then decreases in the body during the process of cell division.

Early life and education

Hunt was born on February 19, 1943, in Neston, Cheshire, to Richard William Hunt, who was a lecturer in palaeography in Liverpool, and Kit Rowland, who was the daughter of a timber merchant. After both of his parents passed away, Hunt learned that his father had worked at Bush House, which was the headquarters of BBC World Service radio, possibly in intelligence, though the exact nature of his work remains unknown. In 1945, Richard became Keeper of the Western Manuscripts at the Bodleian Library, and the family moved to Oxford. At age eight, Hunt was admitted to the Dragon School, where he developed an interest in biology through his science teacher, Gerd Sommerhoff, a German educator. At fourteen, he moved to Magdalen College School in Oxford, where he became more interested in science and studied subjects like chemistry and zoology.

In 1961, Hunt was accepted into Clare College, Cambridge, to study Natural Sciences. He graduated in 1964 and immediately began working in the university’s Department of Biochemistry under Asher Korner. There, he worked with scientists such as Louis Reichardt and Tony Hunter. A 1965 talk by Vernon Ingram sparked Hunt’s interest in haemoglobin synthesis. At a 1966 conference in Greece on this topic, he convinced Irving London, a haematologist and geneticist, to allow him to work in London’s laboratory at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. Hunt stayed there from July to October 1966. His PhD, supervised by Asher Korner, focused on haemoglobin synthesis in intact rabbit reticulocytes (immature red blood cells). He received his PhD in 1968.

Career and research

After completing his PhD, Hunt returned to New York to work with London, along with Nechama Kosower, her husband Edward Kosower, and Ellie Ehrenfeld. During this time, they found that very small amounts of glutathione slowed protein production in reticulocytes, and that very small amounts of RNA completely stopped protein production. After returning to Cambridge, Hunt worked again with Tony Hunter and Richard Jackson, who had identified the RNA used to begin hemoglobin synthesis. After 3–4 years, the team found at least two other chemicals that acted as inhibitors.

Hunt often spent summers at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. This location was popular with scientists because of its advanced summer courses and the availability of organisms useful for studying mitosis. The area had many surf clams (Spisula solidissima) and sea urchins (Arbacia punctulata), which were helpful for studying protein synthesis in embryos. These embryos could be easily created using filtered seawater, and their transparent cells made them ideal for microscopic study.

In July 1982, at Woods Hole, Hunt used Arbacia sea urchin eggs as a model organism to discover cyclin proteins. Cyclins are important for controlling the cell-division cycle. Hunt observed how eggs divided after fertilization and included a control group where eggs were activated without fertilization using a calcium ionophore. The eggs were incubated with methionine, some of which had radioactive isotopes. Samples were taken every 10 minutes. The radioactive methionine was absorbed by the cells to make proteins. Proteins were then separated into bands on a gel, and the bands were observed using photographic film that detected radioactivity. Hunt noticed one protein increased in amount before disappearing during mitosis. He named this protein "cyclin" because its levels changed in a cycle. Later, it was found that cyclins are continuously made but broken down during mitosis. Hunt’s discovery was published in Cell in 1983. He later confirmed cyclins were also present in another sea urchin (Lytechinus pictus) and in Spisula clams.

Hunt understood cyclins were important but initially did not know how they controlled cell division. Later research in the 1980s and 1990s, some co-authored by Hunt, used sea urchin and frog (Xenopus) eggs to show cyclins are present in most organisms. Cyclins combine with kinase enzymes (specifically cyclin-dependent kinases) to form maturation-promoting factor (MPF). MPF was identified in 1971 by Yoshio Masui and Clement Markert from Xenopus eggs. MPF triggers mitosis, and its repeated activation and deactivation are key to regulating the cell cycle.

In 1990, Hunt began working at Imperial Cancer Research Fund, later known as the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, in the UK. His research focused on understanding what causes cells to become cancerous—uncontrolled growth due to ignored signals. That same year, Hunt defined the concept of short linear motifs, which are parts of proteins that help them interact with other proteins. In 1993, Hunt co-authored The Cell Cycle: An Introduction with Andrew Murray, published by Oxford University Press. Hunt led his own laboratory at Clare Hall Laboratories until 2010 and remains an Emeritus Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute. He is a member of the Advisory Council for the Campaign for Science and Engineering and has served on the Selection Committee for the Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine. In 2010, Hunt joined the Academic Advisory Board of the Austrian think tank Academia Superior, Institute for Future Studies.

Hunt mentored and collaborated with many researchers. He supervised numerous PhD students, including Hugh Pelham and Jonathon Pines.

Hunt has always supported scientific research. After winning the Nobel Prize in 2001, he traveled globally to speak to both general and specialized audiences. He emphasized the importance of curiosity, fun, and luck in science and believed young people should have power in research, as he did at age 27.

At the World Conference of Science Journalists in Seoul in June 2015, Hunt gave an unscheduled toast at a lunch for female journalists and scientists. As reported by an EU official, Hunt said:

Parts of his remarks were widely shared online, leading to criticism described as public shaming. Hunt resigned from his honorary professorship at University College London after the university requested it and also stepped down from other research roles. He apologized, stating the remarks were made in jest and had been taken out of context. He acknowledged saying he had "trouble with girls." Some scientists and public figures, including former collaborators, argued the backlash was unfair.

Awards and honours

Hunt was elected a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in 1978. He served on the organization's Fellowship Committee from 1990 to 1993, its Meeting Committee from 2008 to 2009, and its governing body, the Council, from 2004 to 2009. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1991. His certificate of election reads:

Hunt was elected a fellow of the UK's Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) in 1998. He also became a foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences in 1999.

In 2001, Hunt was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Leland Hartwell and Paul Nurse for their discoveries about cell cycle regulation by cyclin and cyclin-dependent kinases. The three laureates were cited "for their discoveries of key regulators of the cell cycle," with Hunt specifically recognized for his contributions.

In 2003, Hunt was made an honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (HonFRSE). In 2006, he was awarded the Royal Society's Royal Medal. Two of these medals are given each year for the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge. Hunt received the medal for "discovering a key aspect of cell cycle control, the protein cyclin, which is a component of cyclin-dependent kinases, demonstrating his ability to grasp the significance of the result outside his immediate sphere of interest."

Hunt was knighted in the 2006 Birthday Honours for his service to science.

Personal life

Hunt is married to Mary Collins, an immunologist. Mary Collins previously served as provost of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan and currently holds the position of Director at the Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London. Hunt and Mary Collins have two daughters.