Laurence Pearl

Laurence Pearl
Laurence Pearl in his office
Born	Laurence Harris Pearl (1956-06-18) 18 June 1956 (age 61) Manchester
Alma mater	University College London Birkbeck College
Known for	Work on HIV-1 protease, DNA repair Enzymes, Hsp90 and GSK-3
Spouse(s)	Frances M. G. Pearl
Children	two sons, one daughter
Awards	FRS (2008) FMedSci (2007) EMBO member MAE (2012) Novartis Medal of the Biochemical Society (2017)
Website	sussex.ac.uk/profiles/243849
Scientific career
Fields	Drug discovery Structural Biology Biophysics DNA repair Genome evolution Genome instability Proteins Biochemistry
Institutions	University College London University of Sussex Institute of Cancer Research
Thesis	Crystallographic studies of endothiapepsin (1984)
Doctoral advisor	Tom Blundell

Laurence Harris Pearl FRSFMedSci (born 18 June 1956) is a British biochemist and structural biologist who is currently Professor of Structural Biology in the Genome Damage and Stability Centre and was Head of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Sussex.

Born in Manchester in 1956 to a working-class Jewish family, he went to Manchester Grammar School where he was very active in school drama productions, appearing alongside Nicholas Hytner in The Government Inspector. Pearl read Biochemistry at University College London and then obtained MSc and PhD degrees in the Department of Crystallography at Birkbeck College, for studies of endothiapepsin under the supervision of Tom Blundell.

Following Postdoctoral research positions at Birkbeck College and the Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton, Surrey, he returned to UCL as Lecturer in Biochemistry in 1989, becoming Reader and then Professor of Structural Biology in 1996. In 1999 he rejoined the Institute of Cancer Research to chair the new Section of Structural Biology (jointly with David Barford) at the Chester Beatty Laboratories in Chelsea.