Married, 2 Children.
Training and Employment
- BSc (Special) in Zoology, London University,1962.
- PhD Zoology, London University, 1970.
- 1959-62: Department of Zoology, University College London. Undergraduate.
- 1962-65: Department of Zoology, University College London. PhD research student- Supervisor, Michael Abercrombie.
- 1965-66: Laboratoire de Zoologie (Vers), Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle, Paris.
Research Assistant: working on the isolation and characterization of strains of rodent malaria
Director, Professor Alain Chabaud. - 1967-70: Department of Cell Biology, University of Glasgow. Assistant Lecturer.
- 1970-75: Department of Experimental Pathology, Charing Cross Hospital Medical School, London.
Research Fellow supported by the Muscular Dystrophy Group of Great Britain.
Working on the regeneration, transplantation, and pathology of skeletal muscle - 1975-78: Lecturer in above department.
- 1978-89: Senior Lecturer in above department.
- 1989-92: Reader in Experimental Pathology,
Charing Cross & Westminster Medical School - 1993-94: Professor of Experimental Pathology,
Charing Cross & Westminster Medical School - 1994- 2005: Professor of Experimental Pathology, Head of Muscle Cell Biology Group, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Royal Postgraduate Medical School
- December 2005-present: Principal Investigator, Center for Genetic Medicine, Children’s National Medical Center;
Professor of Integrative Systemic Biology, George Washington University, Washington DC
Memberships
- British Society for Cell Biology.
- Cell Transplantation Society.
- American Society for Gene Therapy
Honours
- Elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Science
- Chair of Scientific Advisory Board of International Parent Project for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
- Award of ‘Chaire International de Rechearche Blaise Pascal’ 2004-5
Research
My research interests centre of the cell biology of skeletal muscle, with specific interest in the mechanisms involved in the repair and regeneration of muscle in a variety of myopathic conditions. This has led, over the years my contributing a number of major research developments that have improved our understanding of muscular dystrophy and intiated two of the potential therapeutic approaches t being trialled in DMD boys.
The first of these was myogenic stem cell transplantation, on which we collaborated with Eric Hoffman. The second is antisense mediated exon-skipping to restore expression of the dystrophin gene, where, in collaboration with Steve Wilton in Perth, we demonstrated that this approach was able to generate expression of functionally useful amounts of dystrophin protein from mutant dystrophin genes. We have continued this second line of research and are currently investigating the mechanisms that underlie entry of antisense constructs into muscle fibres.