Chris McManus, Professor of Psychology and Medical Education at University College London, has made discoveries of substantial practical importance in two separate fields: medical education and cerebral lateralisation. A clinician by training, a psychologist by profession and a philosopher by inclination, Professor McManus has carefully dissected processes in many aspects of medical education, challenging cherished beliefs when necessary and integrating his psychological and medical insights. Three large-scale cohort studies provide the only large longitudinal data available in the UK on the selection, training and postgraduate careers of medical students and doctors. Elegant multivariate statistical methods underpin influential papers on topics such as the fairness of student selection, the validity of A-levels in selection, the effect of intercalated degrees and the antecedents of stress and burnout in doctors. McManus’ work on lateralisation includes his influential 1985 monograph, which presents a genetic model of handedness and cerebral dominance. He continues to make important contributions to this field and his book, Right hand, Left Hand: the origins of asymmetry in minds, brains, bodies and cultures won the 2003 Aventis Prize.