Posted 14 April 2025
Former SVI laboratory assistant and pioneer of protein sequencing, Geoff Begg, recently returned to the Institute to visit the fruits of his labour, which take pride of place in SVI’s foyer.
In 1958, Geoff Begg was employed as a junior laboratory assistant to SVI’s first director, Professor Pehr Edman, a pioneer in the field of protein chemistry. Edman had worked out how to sequence proteins, but the process was slow, tedious and often took years.
Geoff Begg used his initiative to help build a machine that could speed up and automate the sequencing. Nicknamed ‘Matilda’ – and later formally dubbed ‘the Sequenator’ – the world’s first automated protein sequencer took many years to perfect. The results of the Sequenator were stunning at the time, with the machinery making the process over 20 times quicker.
After its commercialisation, variations based on the original design of the Sequenator operated worldwide and generated vast amounts of biochemical data. This data has enabled the characterisation of proteins for diagnostic and therapeutic use and helped scientists understand the function of protein mutations in genetic diseases.
With the advent of the Sequentor, Geoff Begg and Professor Pehr Edman improved the world’s scientific understanding of proteins and how they impact our most critical public health challenges.
Geoff’s contribution is remembers each year through SVI’s Geoff Begg Awards – honouring current staff members who, like Geoff, champion SVI’s values of integrity, open-mindedness, dedication and excellence.