born Feb. 19, 1943, Neston, Cheshire, Eng.
British scientist.
After receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 1968, he conducted research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and in 1990 joined the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now Cancer Research UK) in London. In the early 1980s, using sea urchins, he discovered cyclins, proteins that play a key role in regulating different phases of the cell cycle. His work led to the discovery of cyclins in humans and proved important in the field of tumour diagnostics. Hunt shared a Nobel Prize with Leland H. Hartwell and Sir Paul M. Nurse in 2001.