WHO WE ARE

Prof. Craig Franklin

President

Craig has been an active member of the SEB for 25 years. He was awarded the President’s Medal in 1998 and is the former Chair of the Animal Section. Craig is also the convenor of the Conservation Physiology interest group which he initiated in 2011. 

Craig is a Professor in Zoology, the Deputy Head of the School of Biological Sciences and the Executive Director of Research Ethics at the University of Queensland (UQ). In addition to leading the Franklin Eco-lab at UQ, Craig is Director of Research for the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve. He is also an editor for the Journal of Experimental Biology and associate editor for the SEB/OUP journal, Conservation Physiology. 

Originally from New Zealand, Craig was awarded his PhD from the University of Canterbury, and then held postdoctoral research positions at Massey University, UQ and the University of St Andrews before starting his teaching and research position at UQ in 1995.

The focus of Craig’s research programme is in understanding the responses of organisms to changing environmental conditions including assessing and predicting the impact of human-induced environmental change. A major thrust of this research is within the emerging field of conservation physiology. His research combines lab-based experimental studies with fieldwork, and he takes an integrative approach that uses ecological, behavioural, physiological and genomic methodologies. In the field his lab group uses remote sensing technology (acoustic and satellite telemetry, archival tags) to investigate the movement patterns, behaviours and physiology of animals in relation to environmental conditions. 

Professor Craig E Franklin
School of Biological Sciences
The University of Queensland
Brisbane, QLD 4072
Australia
Ph.  +61 7 3365 2355
Email:  c.franklin@uq.edu.au
Website: www.uq.edu.au/eco-lab 

Jim Murray

VICE - PRESIDENT

Professor Jim Murray graduated in Genetics from the University of Cambridge in 1983 as a member of King's College. He was then awarded a Pre-Doctoral Fellowship and studied for his Ph.D. at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany in collaboration with the National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London under Professor Gianni Cesareni , analysing the molecular mechanisms responsible for the maintenance of the yeast 2 micron circle plasmid (1983-1987).

In 1988, Professor Murray was appointed to a University Lectureship in Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge, and was promoted to Reader in Biotechnology in 2001 and to a Personal Chair as Professor of Molecular Biotechnology in 2004, leading an active research group of around 15 postdocs and postgraduate students. Over 20 PhD students have successfully graduated from his lab since 1993, almost all completing with 4 years, and 40 postdoctoral researchers have worked with him. Many now occupy prestigious positions across the globe as researchers and leaders in academia and industry.

Read more about Professor Murray's research.

Professor Jim Murray
Head of School, School of Biosciences
School of Biosciences
murrayja1@cardiff.ac.uk
Sir Martin Evans Building
Museum Avenue
Cardiff
CF10 3AX

Martin Watson

Treasurer

Dr. Martin Watson has recently retired from his post as Senior Lecturer in Genetics at Durham University where he taught for 34 years. His research interests centred on the use of the yeast Sacchormyces cvervesisae as a model organism, particularly with regard to how proteins are targeted for delivery to different compartments within a cell. He pioneered the use of DNA sequencing at Durham, and it is through his interest in yeast that he became involved in the EU financed project to sequence the entirety of the yeast genome. From this he became involved in sequencing the Arabidopsis genome and the functional analysis of the yeast genome.

He has been an ardent supporter of the SEB and a Council member for over twenty years. He was previously Hon. Cell Section Secretary and then from 2001 Hon. Treasurer.

Martin Parry

Publications Officer

Martin Parry is the Professor of Plant Science for Food Security at Lancaster University. His aim is to understand how yield and quality are determined by gene composition and sequences in different environments (e.g. drought and temperature stress). This will enable him to manipulate the appropriate molecular and biochemical controls to increase crop performance in a predictable way for current and future environments. With his group, he has identified and quantified heritable genetic variation that can be exploited in crop breeding and using disruptive biotechnological approaches, has explored ways to increase photosynthesis and yield.

Martin is currently involved in a number of international projects, such as Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency and the International Wheat Yield Partnership. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Food and Energy Security, Associate Editor for the Plant Biotechnology Journal and Co-Editor for the Journal of Integrative Plant Biology. In 2014, in recognition of his contributions to the practice, growth and development of applied biology, Martin was made an Honorary Member of the Association of Applied Biologists. In 2014 he was also awarded the China National Friendship Award by Vice Premier Ma Kai in Beijing.

You can contact Martin via email at m.parry@lancaster.ac.uk

Patrick J Hussey

Past President

Patrick holds the Chair of Plant Molecular Cell Biology in the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, University of Durham. He received his PhD in Biology (1986) from the University of Kent at Canterbury in association with the John Innes Centre, 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 (1990), where he was awarded a Personal Chair (1999). While at Royal Holloway he was also Warden of Founder’s Hall (1990/91). He moved to the University of Durham in 2000. In 2010 he became the Head of School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences and recently took up the role of Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Science).

His main research interest is in the structure, function and regulation of the plant cytoskeleton and its potential role in biotechnology and he has been working in this field for the last 30 years. A large focus of his laboratory is plant cell imaging and he recently established the Durham Centre for Bioimaging Technology which is a multidisciplinary centre that includes computer scientists, physicists, mathematicians, chemists as well as biologists with the aim of enhancing research within this field. He has published over a hundred research articles many of which are in high impact journals e.g. Nature journals, Current Biology, PNAS, Plant Cell, Journal of Cell Science, Plant Journal. He has received funding for, and supervised, over 40 postdocs, PhD and MSc students since obtaining his lectureship in 1990.

Since 1983, he has been associated with the Society for Experimental Biology. In 2001 he became a Group Convenor for the Cell Section and then Head of the Cell Section in 2009. In 2013 he was elected as Vice-President of the Society, and President for 2015–2017. 

Patrick can be contacted by emailing p.j.hussey@durham.ac.uk. 

Gudrun de Boeck

Elected Member

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 postdoctoral 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. 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 (for example, hypoxia, temperature, salinity, food availability and heavy metals) on the performance 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.

Even with her busy schedule Gudrun always has time to play with her daughter Sam and son Robbe, travel with her Ducati ST4s or play basketball with the babes from BBC Haacht.

Read more about Gudrun

You can contract Gudrun on gudrun.deboeck@uantwerpen.be.

GREIG D'CRUZ

Independent Member

An Australian who now calls London home, Greig is the current Head of Compliance Monitoring (Europe) at Royal Bank of Canada and is also a Board Trustee at Futureversity where he chairs the Risk and Finance Committee.

A Certified Internal Auditor, with post-graduate qualifications in Engineering and Commerce he has over 15 years of experience in risk management having spent time living and working in Melbourne, London, New York and Johannesburg.

Greig is passionate about financial literacy, the promotion of science and mathematics as rewarding career opportunities for young people and the strengthening links between academia and the corporate sector.

Heider Ridha

Independent Member

Heider is an Operating Partner at TDR Capital, a private equity firm with over €8 billion across sectors. TDR has a track record of driving superior returns by high impact strategic and operational improvements. Before TDR, Heider worked for almost 10 years at Bain & Company and at the World Bank. He advised corporate CEOs, investment executives and government leaders on their key strategic issues. His areas of focus included private equity, energy, consumer goods, and industrialisation. Heider is passionate about social impact and believes each person can help to make this world an even better place. 

Sue Broom

Independent Member

Sue Broom is an experienced agricultural and scientific journalist and broadcaster. Following a degree in agriculture and an MSc in genetics, she joined the BBC after working on animal breeding projects in Mexico and China. Starting with producing and presenting Farming Today on Radio 4, she went on to spend over 20 years making a wide range of programmes in the Science Unit including Science Now, Leading Edge, Big Bang, Frontiers, Science in Action and many ad hoc short series and ‘one-offs’ for Radio 4 and the World Service. She has also written articles for magazines and national newspapers including Country Life and The Times and spent time in the BBC Radio Drama department, devising and producing science-based plays.

Her main interest is in any aspect of genetics in health or food production. The relevance, ethical dilemmas and wonder of the science itself are an unbeatable journalistic combination.

Lynne Sneddon

Animal Section Chair

See Lynne's profile here

John Love

Cell section chair

See John's profile here

Stefan Kepinski

Plant Section Chair

See Stefan's Profile here