Ian Read Gibbons. 30 October 1931—30 January 2018

Abstract

Ian Read Gibbons is best known for discovering dynein, a molecular motor that powers the motion of cilia and flagella, is involved in assembling the mitotic spindle and moves chromosomes as well as other cargoes inside cells. Gibbons devoted his career in the lab of more than 50 years to understanding the mechanism of how dynein works in driving motility. In doing so, he built a life-long reputation as a creative, collaborative and tenacious researcher with an unusual gift for crafting innovative solutions to tricky experimental problems. His experimental methods spanned electron as well as light microscopy, biochemistry, molecular biology, crystallography and molecular modelling. He perceived the right set of experimental moves that would allow him to dissect and observe the physical underpinnings of minute biological processes such as the delicate movements of dynein. Gibbons traced his success to the ability to envision how pieces of a scientific puzzle might fit together to make a coherent story: ‘My own approach to research has always emphasized intuition over logic. Perhaps for that reason, I get attracted to questions with aesthetic appeal.’ Even though dynein holds much promise for helping to engineer ways to fight disease, Gibbons' focus was always on the intrinsic grace of understanding nature's workings. Gibbons’ marriage to his biochemist wife Barbara played a particularly vital role in his life. Barbara and Ian worked frequently together as she built her own scientific career through their partnership in the study of dynein. Ian's many scientific accomplishments as well as his dedication to his friends and family represent enduring gifts to us all.