Yuri Ovchinnikov (biochemist)

Yuri Anatolievich Ovchinnikov (Russian: Юрий Анатольевич Овчинников; 2 August 1934 – 17 February 1988) was a Soviet bioorganic chemist. He was the youngest vice president of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (1971-1988) and a member of the Central Committee of CPSU. Ovchinnikov was director of the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry in Moscow. He was a leading proponent of using molecular biology and genetics for creating new types of biological weapons.

He worked in the Laboratory of Nobel prize winner Prof. V. Prelog at Zurich High Technical School.

He contributed to the field of biophysics and biochemistry through his extensive research in rhodopsin and structural biology.