Neil Brockdorff
British biochemist (born 1958)
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Neil Alexander Steven Brockdorff (born 1958) is a British biochemist who is a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow and professor in the department of biochemistry at the University of Oxford.[5][6] Brockdorff's research investigates gene and genome regulation in mammalian development.[7] His interests are in the molecular basis of X-inactivation, the process that evolved in mammals to equalise X chromosome gene expression levels in XX females relative to XY males.[7]
1958 (age 67–68)[1]
University of Glasgow (PhD)[2]
Neil Brockdorff | |
|---|---|
Neil Brockdorff at the Royal Society in London, July 2018 | |
| Born | Neil Alexander Steven Brockdorff 1958 (age 67–68)[1] |
| Education | Hampstead School[1] |
| Alma mater | University of Sussex (BSc) University of Glasgow (PhD)[2] |
| Awards | EMBO Member (1999)[3] |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Developmental epigenetics X inactivation[4] |
| Institutions | University of Oxford |
| Thesis | The effect of oestradiol-17β on the ribonucleases and ribonuclease inhibitor of immature rat uterus (1985) |
| Website | www |
Education
Brockdorff was educated at Hampstead School, the University of Sussex (BSc)[1] and the University of Glasgow (PhD).[2]
Career and research
X inactivation is an important model for understanding how epigenetic mechanisms, for example modification of DNA and histone proteins around which DNA is packaged, contribute to gene regulation in developmental biology.[7][8] In earlier work Brockdorff demonstrated that an unusual functional RNA molecule, XIST, controls the X inactivation process.[9][10] Building on this finding he has elucidated key steps in XIST gene regulation during early development, and has defined major pathways through which XIST RNA induces chromosome wide gene silencing.[7][11][12][13]
Awards and honours
Brockdorff is a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB).[citation needed]
