Council Members
President
Pat (J.S.) Heslop-Harrison is Professor of Plant Cell Biology and Molecular Cytogenetics at the University of Leicester.
He looks at the organization, function and evolution of chromosomes with a particular focus on the repetitive DNA. Much of his work is with plants, including tropical crops and polyploids, and interest in comparative genomics means the projects extend to Drosophila and bivalves, with simpler models used for systems biology. He is interested in training and research application whether in agriculture and plant breeding for resource-poor farmers, or policy development,or through his spin-out company involved in hyperspectral photon detection. His homepage is www.molcyt.com and his email address is phh4(a)le.ac.uk.
Vice President
Keith Lindsey is Director of Research and Professor of Plant Molecular Biology at Durham University's School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences. He is also co-founder and a Scientific Director of Creative Gene Technology Ltd., a University spin-out company focused on developing new products for the AgBiotech arena. His basic research interests are in understanding molecular mechanisms of plant development.
His early research was aimed at understanding the control of plant secondary metabolism, with the ultimate goal of developing biotechnological approaches to exploiting plant cells as synthetic factories. More recently his work has been characterized by an integrative approach, using genetics, genomics, proteomics and physiology to understand gene function during embryogenesis and in meristems, which represent the source of stem cell-like cells in plants. Most of his work currently is with the powerful genetic model Arabidopsis. He is a member of the UK Government Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) and, until recently, the Multinational Arabidopsis Steering Committee and the BBSRC Steering Committee for Arabidopsis Functional Genomics (GARNet). He has worked on a number of other BBSRC and Scottish Office Committees and Working Groups.
keith.lindsey@durham.ac.uk
Treasurer
Dr Martin Watson is a researcher at Durham University and works on natural killer cells (Ooooh-er! ed) looking to target virally infected or cancerous cells.
He has been an ardent supporter of the SEB for many years and is now in control of the Society purse strings. Martin.watson@durham.ac.uk
Publications Officer
Prof Mike Burrell trained as a biochemical plant pathologist which led his research into Ain plants. He has worked in both academia and in industry.
m.burrell@sheffield.ac.uk
Animal Section Chair
Craig Franklin is the Animal Section Chair. Craig has been a member of the SEB for 15 years, initially joining while as research fellow in Professor Ian Johnston's group at The University of St. Andrews. He continued his close association with the SEB when he moved to The University of Queensland in 1995 where he is currently a Professor in Zoology and an Australian Professorial Research Fellow. In 1998 Craig was awarded the Presidents Medal.
Craig has a strong interest in experimental biology/physiology, and his research incorporates both lab and field based studies and uses a range of molecular, physiological and ecological techniques and tools. Craig believes the scope and variety of his research program, which covers many of the animal focus groups in the SEB allows him to have a very broad appreciation of the interests of members.
Craig will provide a fresh perspective to the SEB as to date his involvement in the administration and direction of the SEB has been minimal. You can contact Craig on c.franklin@uq.edu.au
Cell Section Chair
Professor Patrick Hussey is the Plant Section Chair. Patrick has been working on the structure, function and regulation of the plant cytoskeleton and its potential role in biotechnology for over 25 years. During this time he has, off and on, been a member of the SEB giving my first talk as a PhD student with now Prof Iain Hagan to a crowd of 4 people including 3 supervisors and Brad Amos back in 1985 when the meeting was held at Southampton University.
Patrick is currently the Professor of Plant Molecular Cell Biology at the University of Durham. He received his PhD in Biology from the University of Kent at Canterbury in association with the John Innes Centre in Norwich. After postdoctoral work at the University of Minnesota and the John Innes Centre, he took up a lectureship in Royal Holloway University of London where he was awarded a Personal Chair in 1999. He moved to the University of Durham in 2000.
Plant Section Chair
Christine Raines (University of Essex) is the Plant Section Secretary. You can contact Christine at rainc@essex.ac.uk
Education Section Secretary
Jeremy Pritchard s the chair of the Education and Public Affairs (EPA) section within the Society of Experimental Biology (SEB) committee and is also anadmissions tutor for Biology.
When SEB isn't utilising his time and knowldge, Jerry is a lecturer/researcher in the School of Biosciences at the University of Birmingham. By training he is a plant physiologist, but like most biologists, because the recent rise of genetic technologies has revolutionised research, he now also works in the more molecular areas. Jerry’s research is aimed at understanding how plants regulate the transports of water, sugars and salts, focusing at the cell level to understand whole plant and ecological responses to environmental change including salt, drought and Herbivory. His teaching however, is more diverse than his research – whilst Jerry does teach courses about his specific research area he also runs courses on Evolution, Ecology and field biology.
You can contact Jeremy at j.pritchard@bham.ac.uk
Elected Member
Gudrun de Boeck (Univeristy of Antwerp)
After studying Biology at the Hasselt University and the Catholic University of Leuven, Gudrun started her professional career at the Ecophysiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology research group at the University of Antwerp as a PhD student in December 1991. She finished her PhD entitled ‘Physiological effects of sublethal Copper exposure on the energy metabolism of the common carp, Cyprinus carpio’ in June 1996. Gudrun then rejoined the lab as a postoctoral fellow after an intensive but fun postdoc at the lab of Professor Chris Wood, Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada with whom she still collaborates frequently in nice places like the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, BC, Canada. At present, Gudrun's career has led her to the position of senior lecturer at the Ecophysiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology research group.
Gudrun's research focuses on effects of environmental factors (hypoxia, temperature, salinity, heavy metals, stress hormones…) on the energy metabolism and iono- and osmoregulation of fish. She believes comparative physiology is important, and is fascinated to see how different fish species respond to environmental changes in different ways. The aim of the research is to unravel the physiological mechanisms that bring about these differences. Species studied up to now are common carp, crucian carp, trout, zebrafish, gudgeon, oscars, seabass, spiny dogfish, spotted dogfish… Techniques used include measurements of critical swimming speeds and respiration rates, blood electrolytes, transporter enzymes, blood gases and acid-base balance, fuel utilisation and energy stores including metabolomics in collaboration with the team for Applied Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, induction of protective proteins including proteomics in collaboration with Centre for Proteome Analysis & Mass Spectrometry, and NMR-spectroscopy and imaging in collaboration with the Bio Imaging Lab at the university. For more information on her courses, publications or research projects click here or for more information on their research group click here.
Even with her busy schedule Gudrun always has time to play with her daughter Sam (°2001) and son Robbe (°2003), travel with her Ducati ST4s, or play basketball with the babes from BBC Haacht.
You can contract Gudrun on gudrun.deboeck@ua.ac.be
Independent Members
Alun Anderson
Alun is currently writing a book on ‘The Future of the Arctic’ to be published by HarperCollins in 2009. He also helps manage a start-up business called Xconomy.com which is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Seattle and brings together scientists and investors. He is Senior Consultant at New Scientist magazine and a member of the Council of the Royal Institution. Between 1992 and 2005 he was variously Editor, Editor-in-Chief and Publishing Director of New Scientist magazine.
Before that he worked at the journals Nature (as News & Views Editor, Japan bureau chief and US Editor) and at Science (as International Editor) and lived in London, Tokyo and Washington DC. He received his doctorate from the University of Edinburgh and working as a post-doc in the Animal Behaviour Research Group in Oxford.
Geraldine Schofield
Geoff Randall
