“Science is a constant pursuit of truth and an exploration of the unknown.

Ever since my mother gave me William Bragg’s book “Concerning the Nature of Things” for my 16th birthday that’s been my unshakeable belief.

The book introduced me to the remarkable subject of x-ray crystallography, a technique that allows scientists to see the structure of molecules that previously had only been visualised in theory.

The book changed my life and from that moment on, I was captured by chemistry and by crystals.

At Oxford and Cambridge, I devoted myself to revealing the atomic structure of molecules through x-ray crystallography.

Behind so much scientific discovery is curiosity and so it proved when I began using the technique to determine the structure of proteins.

My research was paused by the Second World War, when I turned by attention to the pressing need to map the antibiotic penicillin which took 4 years, followed by the structurally complex vitamin B12 which took 8.

In 1964, my years of research were recognised by becoming the first female British scientist to receive the Nobel Prize.

But it was the 34 years I spent mapping the structure of Insulin, and its impact on the treatment of diabetes, which confirmed my belief that science not only has the power to transform lives but also create a better future”.