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Professor David Hopkinson (1935-2025)
26 March 2025
I am sad to share with you the news that David Hopkinson (Hoppy), died peacefully this past weekend, aged nearly 90.
Hoppy was the former director (1976 - 2000) of the MRC Human Biochemical Unit that was embedded within UCL (as part of the former Galton Laboratory in the Department of Genetics & Biometry, latterly the Department of Biology).
Hoppy studied biochemistry and medicine in Cambridge and London, followed by work in Medical Biochemistry in London with Professor Harry Harris, moving with him to the Galton Laboratory on the retirement of Lionel Penrose, and succeeding him as head of the MRC Human Biochemical Genetics Research Unit. His principal research field was the genetic variation of human proteins. You can read a very illuminating interview with Peter Harper about Hoppy’s life and work at UCL.
Please contact Dallas (d.swallow@ucl.ac.uk) if you wish to send your condolences to his wife Yvonne Edwards or his family, or know about the funeral details when they become available.
Professor Andrew Pomiankowski
Director of the Division of Biosciences