As a crystallographer, he has always found it valuable to collaborate with other groups with complementary expertise in biochemistry and cell biology, since the structure alone is not sufficient to understand function. He also continues his long-term interest in software developments in the techniques of X-ray crystallography, mainly in the initial processing of diffraction data, and has been involved in the UK-wide (and international) crystallographic software collaboration CCP4 since its inception in 1979.
He was elected a member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation in 2001 and a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2005.
Macromolecules are moved into cells and between cellular compartments by the movement of membrane vesicles containing protein and lipid cargo. The formation of these vesicles involves the assembly of complex protein machinery to invaginate the membrane, typically forming a polyhedral coat of clathrin around the vesicle.