Amplifying intelligent drug design

Andrew Hopkins' route into the world of science has a familiar start – an inspirational chemistry teacher at school. Less predictably, he made a career in pharmaceuticals after getting his first taste of industrial chemistry in a steelworks. Hopkins grew up in Neath, South Wales, and his first summer job was in the labs at the British Steel plant in nearby Port Talbot. 'By then I'd already got the chemistry bug,' he says. 'What I loved about chemistry is that it is the "liberal science" that allows you to go in many different directions, and it seemed like a natural choice to follow my passion.'