Cyrus Chothia

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English biochemist (1942–2019)

title: "Cyrus Chothia" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["british-bioinformaticians", "fellows-of-wolfson-college,-cambridge", "place-of-birth-missing", "alumni-of-university-college-london", "academics-of-university-college-london", "people-educated-at-alleyn's-school", "1942-births", "2019-deaths", "fellows-of-the-international-society-for-computational-biology", "alumni-of-university-college,-durham", "academic-staff-of-weizmann-institute-of-science", "pasteur-institute", "british-people-of-parsi-descent", "french-fellows-of-the-royal-society"] description: "English biochemist (1942–2019)" topic_path: "science/biology" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_Chothia" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary English biochemist (1942–2019) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox scientist"]

FieldValue
nameCyrus Chothia
birth_nameCyrus Homi Chothia
imageCyrus Chothia ISMB 2015.jpg
honorific_suffix
captionChothia in 2015
birth_date
death_date
workplaces{{Plainlist
* University College London<ref name"lesk1"/
thesis_titleThe crystal structures of some molecules active at cholinergic nerve receptors
thesis_urlhttps://www.worldcat.org/oclc/926297115
thesis_year1973
educationAlleyn's School
alma_materDurham University (BSc)
University of London (MSc, PhD)
doctoral_advisorPeter J. Pauling
academic_advisorsMichael Levitt
Frederic M. Richards
doctoral_students{{Plainlist
* Alex Bateman<ref namebatemanphd{{Cite journal
pmid8880921
pmc2143528
year1996
last1Bateman
titleMembers of the immunoglobulin superfamily in bacteria
journalProtein Science
volume5
issue9
pages1939–41
last2Eddy
last3Chothia
doi10.1002/pro.5560050923
pmid8846218
year1995
last1Bateman
first1A
titleOutline structures for the extracellular domains of the fibroblast growth factor receptors
journalNature Structural Biology
volume2
issue12
pages1068–74
last2Chothia
first2C
doi10.1038/nsb1295-1068
s2cid20501031
* Steven Brenner<ref namebrennerphd
* Mark Gerstein<ref namegersteinphd{{Cite journal
last1Gerstein
authorlink1Mark Bender Gerstein
last2Chothia
authorlink2Cyrus Chothia
titleAnalysis of protein loop closure. Two types of hinges produce one motion in lactate dehydrogenase
journalJournal of Molecular Biology
volume220
issue1
pages133–149
year1991
pmid2067013
doi10.1016/0022-2836(91)90387-L
* Julian Gough<ref name"mathgene"/
* Sarah Teichmann<ref nameteichmannphd{{Cite journal
pmid9367767
year1997
last1Park
first1J
titleIntermediate sequences increase the detection of homology between sequences
journalJournal of Molecular Biology
volume273
issue1
pages349–54
last2Teichmann
first2S. A.
authorlink2Sarah Teichmann
last3Hubbard
first3T
authorlink3Tim Hubbard
last4Chothia
first4C
authorlink4Cyrus Chothia
doi10.1006/jmbi.1997.1288
pmid9843945
pmc24505
year1998
last1Teichmann
titleStructural assignments to the Mycoplasma genitalium proteins show extensive gene duplications and domain rearrangements
journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
volume95
issue25
pages14658–63
last2Park
first2J
last3Chothia
bibcode1998PNAS...9514658T
notable_studentsArthur Lesk (postdoc)
awards{{Plainlist
* ISCB Senior Scientist Award (2015)<ref name"iscb-award"
* Dan David Prize (2015)<ref namedan-david-prize}}
signature
website
::

| name = Cyrus Chothia | birth_name = Cyrus Homi Chothia | image = Cyrus Chothia ISMB 2015.jpg | image_size = | alt = | honorific_suffix = | caption = Chothia in 2015 | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | residence = | citizenship = | nationality = | fields = | workplaces = {{Plainlist|

  • Birkbeck College
  • Weizmann Institute of Science
  • Institut Pasteur
  • University College London
  • University of Cambridge
  • Laboratory of Molecular Biology}} | thesis_title = The crystal structures of some molecules active at cholinergic nerve receptors | thesis_url = https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/926297115 | thesis_year = 1973 | education = Alleyn's School | alma_mater = Durham University (BSc) University of London (MSc, PhD) | doctoral_advisor = Peter J. Pauling | academic_advisors = Michael Levitt Frederic M. Richards | doctoral_students = {{Plainlist|
  • Alex Bateman{{Cite journal | pmid = 8880921 | pmc = 2143528 | year = 1996 | last1 = Bateman | first1 = A | authorlink1 = Alex Bateman | title = Members of the immunoglobulin superfamily in bacteria | journal = Protein Science | volume = 5 | issue = 9 | pages = 1939–41 | last2 = Eddy| first2 = S. R.|authorlink2 = Sean Eddy | last3 = Chothia| first3 = C|authorlink3= Cyrus Chothia | doi = 10.1002/pro.5560050923 | pmid = 8846218 | year = 1995 | last1 = Bateman | first1 = A | title = Outline structures for the extracellular domains of the fibroblast growth factor receptors | journal = Nature Structural Biology | volume = 2 | issue = 12 | pages = 1068–74 | last2 = Chothia | first2 = C | doi=10.1038/nsb1295-1068 | s2cid = 20501031
  • Steven Brenner
  • Mark Gerstein{{Cite journal | last1 = Gerstein | first1 = M. | authorlink1 = Mark Bender Gerstein | last2 = Chothia | first2 = C. | authorlink2 = Cyrus Chothia | title = Analysis of protein loop closure. Two types of hinges produce one motion in lactate dehydrogenase | journal = Journal of Molecular Biology | volume = 220 | issue = 1 | pages = 133–149 | year = 1991 | pmid = 2067013 | doi=10.1016/0022-2836(91)90387-L
  • Julian Gough
  • Sarah Teichmann{{Cite journal | pmid = 9367767 | year = 1997 | last1 = Park | first1 = J | title = Intermediate sequences increase the detection of homology between sequences | journal = Journal of Molecular Biology | volume = 273 | issue = 1 | pages = 349–54 | last2 = Teichmann | first2 = S. A. | authorlink2 = Sarah Teichmann | last3 = Hubbard | first3 = T | authorlink3 = Tim Hubbard | last4 = Chothia | first4 = C | authorlink4 = Cyrus Chothia | doi = 10.1006/jmbi.1997.1288 | pmid = 9843945 | pmc = 24505 | year = 1998 | last1 = Teichmann | first1 = S. A. | authorlink1 = Sarah Teichmann | title = Structural assignments to the Mycoplasma genitalium proteins show extensive gene duplications and domain rearrangements | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 95 | issue = 25 | pages = 14658–63 | last2 = Park | first2 = J | last3 = Chothia| first3 = C|authorlink3 = Cyrus Chothia |bibcode = 1998PNAS...9514658T |doi = 10.1073/pnas.95.25.14658 | doi-access = free | notable_students = Arthur Lesk (postdoc) | known_for = | influences = | influenced = | awards = {{Plainlist|
  • ISCB Senior Scientist Award (2015)
  • Dan David Prize (2015)}} | signature = | signature_alt = | footnotes = | spouse = | website = | pmid = 25348407 | year = 2015 | last1 = Lewis | first1 = T. E. | title = Genome3D: Exploiting structure to help users understand their sequences | journal = Nucleic Acids Research | volume = 43 | issue = Database issue | pages = D382–6 | last2 = Sillitoe | first2 = I | last3 = Andreeva | first3 = A | last4 = Blundell | first4 = T. L. | last5 = Buchan | first5 = D. W. | last6 = Chothia | first6 = C | authorlink6 = Cyrus Chothia | last7 = Cozzetto | first7 = D | last8 = Dana | first8 = J. M. | last9 = Filippis | first9 = I | last10 = Gough | first10 = J | authorlink10 = Julian Gough (scientist) | last11 = Jones | first11 = D. T. | last12 = Kelley | first12 = L. A. | last13 = Kleywegt | first13 = G. J. | authorlink13 = Gerard Kleywegt | last14 = Minneci | first14 = F | last15 = Mistry | first15 = J | last16 = Murzin | first16 = A. G. | last17 = Ochoa-Montaño | first17 = B | last18 = Oates | first18 = M. E. | last19 = Punta | first19 = M | last20 = Rackham | first20 = O. J. | last21 = Stahlhacke | first21 = J | last22 = Sternberg | first22 = M. J. | authorlink22 = Michael Sternberg | last23 = Velankar | first23 = S | last24 = Orengo | first24 = C | doi = 10.1093/nar/gku973 | pmc=4384030 | pmid = 12805536 | year = 2003 | last1 = Chothia | first1 = C | authorlink1 = Cyrus Chothia | title = Evolution of the protein repertoire | journal = Science | volume = 300 | issue = 5626 | pages = 1701–3 | last2 = Gough | first2 = J | authorlink2 = Julian Gough (scientist) | last3 = Vogel | first3 = C | last4 = Teichmann | first4 = S. A. | s2cid = 27681885 | authorlink4 = Sarah Teichmann | doi = 10.1126/science.1085371 |bibcode = 2003Sci...300.1701C }}

Education

Chothia was educated at Alleyn's School, then went to study at Durham University graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1965. Chothia then completed a Master of Science degree at Birkbeck College in 1967 and a PhD from University College London under the supervision of ,{{Cite journal | last1 = Chothia | first1 = C. | last2 = Pauling | first2 = P. | title = On the conformations of hallucinogenic molecules and their correlation | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 63 | issue = 4 | pages = 1063–1070 | year = 1969 | pmid = 4311249 | pmc = 223427 | doi=10.1073/pnas.63.4.1063 |bibcode = 1969PNAS...63.1063C | doi-access = free

Research and career

After his PhD Chothia worked in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) for three years. He then worked with Michael Levitt at the Weizmann Institute of Science{{Cite journal | last1 = Chothia | first1 = C. | last2 = Levitt | first2 = M. | last3 = Richardson | first3 = D. | title = Structure of proteins: Packing of alpha-helices and pleated sheets | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 74 | issue = 10 | pages = 4130–4134 | year = 1977 | pmid = 270659 | pmc = 431889 | doi=10.1073/pnas.74.10.4130 |bibcode = 1977PNAS...74.4130C | doi-access = free | last1 = Levitt | first1 = M. | authorlink1 = Michael Levitt (biophysicist) | last2 = Chothia | first2 = C. | authorlink2 = Cyrus Chothia | title = Structural patterns in globular proteins | journal = Nature | volume = 261 | issue = 5561 | pages = 552–558 | year = 1976 | pmid = 934293 |bibcode = 1976Natur.261..552L |doi = 10.1038/261552a0 | s2cid = 4154884 | last1 = Sweet | first1 = R. | last2 = Wright | first2 = H. | last3 = Janin | first3 = J. | last4 = Chothia | first4 = C. | last5 = Blow | first5 = D. | title = Crystal structure of the complex of porcine trypsin with soybean trypsin inhibitor (Kunitz) at 2.6-A resolution | journal = Biochemistry | volume = 13 | issue = 20 | pages = 4212–4228 | year = 1974 | pmid = 4472048 | doi=10.1021/bi00717a024

In 1976 Chothia returned to England to work at University College London and the LMB. With Arthur Lesk{{Cite journal | last1 = Lesk | first1 = A. | last2 = Chothia | first2 = C. | title = How different amino acid sequences determine similar protein structures: The structure and evolutionary dynamics of the globins | journal = Journal of Molecular Biology | volume = 136 | issue = 3 | pages = 225–270 | year = 1980 | pmid = 7373651 | doi=10.1016/0022-2836(80)90373-3 | last1 = Lesk | first1 = A. | last2 = Chothia | first2 = C. | doi = 10.1016/S0006-3495(80)84914-9 | title = Solvent accessibility, protein surfaces, and protein folding | journal = Biophysical Journal | volume = 32 | issue = 1 | pages = 35–47 | year = 1980 | pmid = 7248454 | pmc =1327253 |bibcode = 1980BpJ....32...35L }} he showed that proteins adapt to mutations by changes in structure.

In 1992 he proposed that most proteins are built of domains that come from a small number of families. He collaborated with Alexey Murzin, Steven Brenner and Tim Hubbard to create the Structural Classification of Proteins database (SCOP),{{Cite journal | last1 = Hubbard | first1 = T. | authorlink1 = Tim Hubbard | last2 = Murzin | first2 = A. | last3 = Brenner | first3 = S. | authorlink3 = Steven E. Brenner | last4 = Chothia | first4 = C. | authorlink4 = Cyrus Chothia | title = SCOP: A structural classification of proteins database | journal = Nucleic Acids Research | volume = 25 | issue = 1 | pages = 236–239 | year = 1997 | pmid = 9016544 | pmc = 146380 | doi=10.1093/nar/25.1.236 | last1 = Gough | first1 = J. | authorlink1 = Julian Gough (scientist) | last2 = Chothia | first2 = C. | authorlink2 = Cyrus Chothia | title = SUPERFAMILY: HMMs representing all proteins of known structure. SCOP sequence searches, alignments and genome assignments | journal = Nucleic Acids Research | volume = 30 | issue = 1 | pages = 268–272 | year = 2002 | pmid = 11752312 | pmc = 99153 | doi=10.1093/nar/30.1.268

During his career, Chothia supervised 19 successful PhD students to completion including Alex Bateman,{{Cite journal | pmid = 10656805 | year = 2000 | last1 = Al-Lazikani | first1 = B | title = Canonical structures for the hypervariable regions of T cell alphabeta receptors | journal = Journal of Molecular Biology | volume = 295 | issue = 4 | pages = 979–95 | last2 = Lesk | first2 = A. M. | last3 = Chothia | first3 = C | doi = 10.1006/jmbi.1999.3358 | pmid = 11812158 | year = 2002 | last1 = Bashton | first1 = M | title = The geometry of domain combination in proteins | journal = Journal of Molecular Biology | volume = 315 | issue = 4 | pages = 927–39 | last2 = Chothia | first2 = C | doi = 10.1006/jmbi.2001.5288 | pmid = 17223535 | year = 2007 | last1 = Bashton | first1 = M | title = The generation of new protein functions by the combination of domains | journal = Structure | volume = 15 | issue = 1 | pages = 85–99 | last2 = Chothia | first2 = C | doi = 10.1016/j.str.2006.11.009 | doi-access = free

Awards and honours

Chothia was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2000. His certificate of election and candidature reads:

In 2015, Chothia was elected a Fellow of the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) and was awarded the ISCB Accomplishment by a Senior Scientist Award in honour of his work in using computational methods to understand protein structure.

Alongside David Haussler and Michael Waterman, Chothia was awarded the 2015 Dan David Prize for his contributions to the field of bioinformatics.

References

References

  1. {{MathGenealogy
  2. "Cyrus H. Chothia, Chemistry Tree".
  3. Bateman, Alexander George. (1997). "Evolution of the structure and function of the immunoglobulin superfamily". University of Cambridge.
  4. "Dr Alex Bateman – Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute".
  5. Brenner, Steven Elliot. (1996). "Molecular propinquity : evolutionary and structural relationships of proteins". University of Cambridge.
  6. Gerstein, Mark Bender. (1992). "Protein recognition : surfaces and conformational change". University of Cambridge.
  7. Gough, Julian John Thurstan. (2002). "Hidden Markov models and their application to genome analysis in the context of protein structure". University of Cambridge.
  8. "Dr. Julian Gough's home page at the University of Bristol".
  9. Teichmann, Sarah Amalia. (1999). "Genome evolution : analysing proteomes with new methods". University of Cambridge.
  10. "ISCB Cyrus Chothia, Curtis Huttenhower, and Larry Hunter Named 2015 ISCB Award Winners".
  11. "Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales among 2015 Dan David Prize winners".
  12. Anon. (2014). "Chothia, Cyrus Homi".
  13. "Wolfson College: Emeritus Fellow Dr Cyrus Chothia MA MSc FRS".
  14. (27 November 2019). "Cyrus Chothia (1942–2019)".
  15. "Cyrus Chothia: The protein origins of biological complexity, LMB Emeritus".
  16. "Structural genomics and protein structure". Mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk.
  17. {{DBLP
  18. "cyrus chothia". Google Scholar.
  19. (1989). "Conformations of immunoglobulin hypervariable regions". Nature.
  20. {{Scopus
  21. "Dan David Prize Awarded to Dr Cyrus Chothia". Alleyn's School.
  22. Chothia, Cyrus. (1973). "The crystal structures of some molecules active at cholinergic nerve receptors". University College London.
  23. (1992). "One thousand families for the molecular biologist". Nature.
  24. "UK government grants awarded to Cyrus Chothia". [[Research Councils UK]].
  25. Alex Bateman. (2015). "Cyrus Chothia's academic family tree". twitter.
  26. Al-Lazikani, Bissan. (1999). "Canonical structures of immunoglobulins and T cell receptors". University of Cambridge.
  27. "Dr Bissan Al-Lazikani Team leader". The Institute of Cancer Research.
  28. Apic, Gordana. (2003). "Evolution of multidomain proteins in genomes". University of Cambridge.
  29. (1994). "Structural conservation of hypervariable regions in immunoglobulins evolution". Nature Structural Biology.
  30. Bashton, Matthew. (2004). "Functional analysis of domain combinations". University of Cambridge.
  31. "Dr Matthew Bashton: Research Associate: INSTINCT project".
  32. Bolser, Daniel Murray. (2007). "The surfaces involved in the formation of protein complexes". University of Cambridge.
  33. Bremang, Michael Anthony. (2012). "The mouse protein repertoire : studies on alternative splicing, function and quality". University of Cambridge.
  34. de Bono, Bernard. (2004). "Immunoglobulin superfamily proteins in human and mouse". University of Cambridge.
  35. (2003). "Exegesis: a procedure to improve gene predictions and its use to find immunoglobulin superfamily proteins in the human and mouse genomes". Nucleic Acids Research.
  36. Hill, Emma Elizabeth. (2002). "Evolution of protein families: genome sequences and three dimensional structures". University of Cambridge.
  37. "Emma Hill's Homepage". University of California, Berkeley.
  38. "Emma Ganley (née Hill) PLOS staff". [[PLOS]].
  39. Madera, Martin. (2005). "Hidden Markov models for detection of remote homology". University of Cambridge.
  40. (2004). "The SUPERFAMILY database in 2004: additions and improvements". Nucleic Acids Research.
  41. Maslau, Siarhei. (2007). "Formation of the small molecule metabolism of Escherichia coli". University of Cambridge.
  42. Miller, G. S. P.. (1987). "Computer display and manufacture of 3-D models". University of Cambridge.
  43. (1987). "Interior and surface of monomeric proteins". Journal of Molecular Biology.
  44. (1987). "The accessible surface area and stability of oligomeric proteins". Nature.
  45. Park, Jong Hwa. (1997). "Genome sequence analysis and methods". University of Cambridge.
  46. {{GoogleScholar
  47. "Jong Bhak's home page: An entrepreneur and a scientist". jongbhak.com.
  48. Sasidharan, Rajkumar. (2004). "Protein evolution : the selection of acceptable mutations". University of Cambridge.
  49. (2007). "The selection of acceptable protein mutations". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
  50. Vogel, Christine. (2004). "A domain perspective on the evolution of the protein repertoire". University of Cambridge.
  51. (2006). "Protein Family Expansions and Biological Complexity". PLOS Computational Biology.
  52. "EC/2000/04: Chothia, Cyrus". Royal Society.
  53. (2015). "Message from the ISCB: 2015 ISCB Accomplishment by a Senior Scientist Award: Cyrus Chothia". Bioinformatics.
  54. "Meet the ISCB Fellows Class of 2015".

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british-bioinformaticiansfellows-of-wolfson-college,-cambridgeplace-of-birth-missingalumni-of-university-college-londonacademics-of-university-college-londonpeople-educated-at-alleyn's-school1942-births2019-deathsfellows-of-the-international-society-for-computational-biologyalumni-of-university-college,-durhamacademic-staff-of-weizmann-institute-of-sciencepasteur-institutebritish-people-of-parsi-descentfrench-fellows-of-the-royal-society