David Owen, Professor of Structural Cell Biology at the University of Cambridge, has made outstanding contributions to our understanding of membrane trafficking through his pioneering use of structural biology for dissecting the mechanisms by which key regulators orchestrate vesicle formation and targeting. An exceptional strength of his research has been the integrated use of structural biology, biochemical and cell biological approaches. Among the proteins whose structures have been determined by the Owen lab, particular adaptors have been implicated in both Alzheimer’s disease and HIV infection.