Fellow

Dr Mathew Ridely has made major contributions to public engagement with the biological sciences. He was one the founders and the first chairman of the Centre for Life in Newcastle which combines research, commercial application, schools education, ethical debate and a pioneering interactive life-science exhibition, The Centre has attracted over half a million visitors since it opened in 2000 and has given more than 30,000 school children a taste of biology in “Lifelab”, its school-age teaching lab. It has recently achieved a landmark with the creation of the first embryonic stem cell line. Ridely is well known for his popular books and extensive writings about biological sciences. His book “Genome: the autobiography of a species in 23 chapters” had sold over half a million copies and his “Nature via Nuture: genes, experience and what make us human” recasts the nature-nuture debate and argues that nurture works through genes as much as nature does. He is a profound influence on biomedical science and society.