Brian F.C. Clark print  
   Biography
 
Professor Brian F.C. Clark
Career
1961 PhD Cambridge University;
1975 ScD Cambridge University
1964-74 Scientific Staff, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge
1974- Professor of Biostructural Chemistry, University of Aarhus, Denmark
Achievements
1966 Discovery of the Protein Initiation Codon
1968 First crystallisation of a tRNA molecule
1985 The first structure of a GTP-binding domain
1995 Crystal structure of the ternary complex of Phe-tRNAPhe, elongation factor Tu and GTP
1995- Concepts of structural macromolecular mimicry
Areas of Research Interests
• Macromolecular mimicry and molecular mechanism of protein synthesis
• Protein engineering of factors involved in protein synthesis
• Molecular and cellular mechanism of ageing
• Use of phage display to identify differential cellular gene expression
• Functional genomics and technology transfer
Outside Activities
1996-2005 Chairman of the Danish Centre for Molecular Gerontology
1998-1999 Chairman of FEBS
2000-2003 President of the IUBMB
2001- Chairman of TGIR (Task Group on International Relations) of the European Federation of Biotechnology
2001- Member of the Board of Advisors of BankInvest
2003 Vice-Chairman of EMBO Council
Honours
1974- Member of European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
1980- Foreign Member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
1988- Member of the Danish Academy of Natural Sciences (DNA)
2001- FEBS Diplôme d'Honneur
2005- Copernicus Medal from the Polish Academy of Sciences
 
 
  Abstract
 
International Strategic Cooperations in Biotechnology for Europe via the EFB
The Task Group on International Relations (TGIR) is an activity under the aegis of EFB (European Federation of Biotechnology) aiming to facilitate national and International (European and global) interactions. TGIR's role is to provide EFB, the European Commission and other organisations with contacts, avenues and proposals on how to implement the mission of EFB with respect to international relations, in particular focusing on countries outside Europe. TGIR will discuss and formulate strategic considerations and proposals on how the European Union best can handle strategic relations in biotechnology and the life sciences related to innovation, research, human capital, training, infrastructures, public perception and ethical issues. TGIR will foster an internationally-oriented entrepreneurial spirit in Europe by encouraging technology transfer and commercialisation resulting in start-up companies. EFB will thus support training of managemnet skills and networking of financing opportunities. EFB is the pan-European organisation well placed to facilitate broad interaction and collaboration between Europe and the rest of the world in innovation, research and training in the field of biotechnology. So far EFB has received approval from the EC programme for the EFBIC (European Focus on Biotechnology in China) project.