Peter Leslie Dutton FRS is a British biochemist, and Eldridge Reeves Johnson Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Understanding electron tunnelling gives scientists a foundation for investigation of biological redox reactions and their relationship to chemical events such as proton exchange, protein conformation, and energy conversion.
[1] Through their understanding of such processes, Dutton and his lab have been able to manipulate electron transfer in structured highly simplified settings, and create man-made versions of proteins.
Such maquettes, simple versions of their highly complex biological counterparts, enable researchers to model the minimal requirements for function.
Futuristic applications could include creation of clean energy sources and prevention of genetic and age-related diseases.