John R. Helliwell (born 1953, Wickersley, Yorkshire[1]) is a British crystallographer known for his pioneering work in the use of synchrotron radiation in macromolecular crystallography.
[3] His research has contributed to over 100 Protein Data Bank crystal structure depositions spanning enzymes, lectins and crustacyanins with ligands such as saccharides, carotenoids and metallodrugs or metalloimaging agents.
[4] In 2014 the American Crystallographic Association awarded Helliwell the A. L. Patterson Award for `his pioneering contributions to the development of the instrumentation, methods and applications of synchrotron radiation in macromolecular crystallography',[5] and in 2015 he was awarded the Max Perutz Prize by the European Crystallographic Association for `his long, generous and fruitful dedication to developing all aspects of the use of synchrotron radiation for crystallography and for his boosting support to global development of synchrotron and neutron facilities'.
[6][7] In 2000, he was awarded the Professor K. Banerjee Centennial Silver Medal by the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science.
[15] John Helliwell served as Editor in Chief of Acta Crystallographica and Chairman of the International Union of Crystallography Commission on Journals from 1996 to 2005,[16] and in numerous other roles at the IUCr;[15] he was Chair of the IUCr Committee on Data from 2017 to 2023.