The Oxford Science Lecture Series
Dr Areej Abuhammad
University of Bristol, UK and University of Jordan, Amman
“Building Bridges in Science: A Journey Inspired by Dorothy Hodgkin’s Legacy ”
Dorothy Hodgkin Memorial Lecture 2025
Somerville College, Oxford, 4th March 2025
Dr. Areej Abuhammad delivered the 2025 Dorothy Hodgkin Memorial Lecture commemorating 80 years since the structural elucidation of penicillin. As a current Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Bristol and a structural biologist from the University of Jordan, Amman, this was both personal and symbolic for Areej: a convergence of legacy, persistence, and scientific vision.
The lecture explored Dorothy Hodgkin’s pioneering contributions to structural chemistry, focusing on her groundbreaking determination of penicillin’s β-lactam structure and her decades-long work on insulin. Areej highlighted how DH’s story, which was rooted in interdisciplinary collaboration, quiet conviction, and technical brilliance, remains deeply relevant to today’s scientific landscape.
In particular, she emphasized how Hodgkin’s ability to build bridges, not only across disciplines, but also across institutions, nations, and generations, was central to her success. Her work demonstrated the power of scientific collaboration, the critical role of supportive institutions, and the importance of embracing new technologies, from early computing to novel methods of model-building, to solve problems once deemed impossible.
Drawing on her own life journey, Areej reflected on the parallels between Hodgkin’s structural intuition and her early fascination with molecular geometry. Areej related how DH’s connection to Jerash, a site near her own hometown in Jordan, shaped DH’s understanding of patterns just as structure became Areej’s own language of scientific understanding.
The lecture also addressed systemic barriers faced by women in science, both in Hodgkin’s time and today, and emphasized the enduring need for mentorship, equity, and investment in long-term, curiosity-driven research. From building a lab from scratch to mentoring students in crystallography across continents, Areej shared what it means to carry forward a legacy not just of scientific excellence, but of creating space for others.
Above all, the talk was a tribute to the invisible bonds, of atomic, human, and historical aspects that connect us. Dorothy Hodgkin’s legacy is not only scientific; it is in every sense of the word, structural.
Professor Elspeth Garman
Professor of Molecular Biophysics (retired), University of Oxford.
Former President of the British Crystallographic Association