Stephen Wilson is Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow and Reader in Developmental Biology at the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at University College London. He has established himself as a leader in the study of the molecular basis of embryonic development of the forebrain, using the zebrafish as the experimental model. Amongst his most significant contributions are the discovery of a population of specialised cells in the very early embryo, the function of which is to emit signals that initially specify the forebrain territory, and his demonstration that three secreted proteins cooperatively pattern the dorso-ventral axis of the forebrain: BMPs, Nodal and Hedgehog. These contributions have made a major impact on our understanding of how the forebrain develops, and many others are now finding that the principles uncovered by his research are generally applicable to all vertebrates.