Randy Read
A Cambridge scientist whose elegant software tools unlocked the structures of proteins, accelerating drug discovery worldwide.
Born 1957 (age 69)·Canadian-British scientist·Birthday: June 9·Baby Boomers
Biography
Randy Read is a structural biologist who operates at the crucial intersection of complex mathematics and life-saving medicine. Born in Canada, he built his career at the University of Cambridge, where he focused on the fundamental challenge of protein crystallography: determining the three-dimensional shape of proteins from the fuzzy data produced by X-ray experiments. His genius was not in discovering a single protein structure, but in creating the sophisticated statistical methods and software—most notably the CCP4 suite and the PHENIX system—that became the global standard for the field. These tools automated and refined the process of model building and validation, allowing researchers around the world to solve structures faster and with greater accuracy. His work provided the essential scaffolding for countless discoveries in biochemistry and pharmacology, directly enabling the rational design of new drugs and therapies.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Randy was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Randy Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Randy's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 69 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Developed foundational software for protein crystallography, including major contributions to the CCP4 suite and the PHENIX system.
- Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2013 for his contributions to methodological development in structural biology.
- Held a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellowship, one of the most prestigious awards in UK biomedical science.
- His statistical methods for model validation are used as standard practice in determining protein structures.
Did You Know?
He is a dual citizen of Canada and the United Kingdom.
He completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Sir Tom Blundell.
He received the prestigious Gregori Aminoff Prize from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 2017.
Much of his software is distributed freely to the academic community, underscoring his commitment to open science.
“Our software solves a puzzle: how to see a molecule's shape from a broken crystal.”
