Steve joins the Crick from UCL, where he is Professor of Developmental Genetics and was the Vice-Dean for Research in the Faculty of Life Sciences. He brings a wealth of experience in supporting the research community, with a particular focus on early career researchers and technical support staff.

Steve has served on Wellcome funding panels for many years and was, until recently, the UCL Academy of Medical Sciences Springboard Champion. At UCL, Steve helped to establish the UCL Excellence Fellowship scheme that has facilitated recruitment of many outstanding junior biomedical researchers.

Steve has previously held positions at the University of Michigan and King’s College London. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2002 and to EMBO in 2005. In 2009 he was awarded the Remedios Caro Almela Prize in Developmental Neurobiology. He has been a member of the International Scientific Advisory Boards and Review Committees for several leading research institutes (including EMBL and the Max-Planck Institute for Neurobiology).

In undertaking this new role, Steve will now split his time between the Crick and UCL. His research interests lie in understanding the genetics and developmental mechanisms behind brain and eye development, using zebrafish as a model system. He has recently worked with Vivian Li, group leader of the Stem Cell and Cancer Biology Laboratory, to investigate the genetic basis for how neurons on the left and right sides of the nervous system in zebrafish develop different properties (published in Science on 2 May). 

I’m really excited to be taking on this new role and supporting the people and activities that make the partnerships thrive. I particularly look forward to working with staff at the Crick to understand how we might make our partnerships even more successful.

- Steve Wilson

Partnerships between the Crick and its three university partners are crucial for carrying out ground-breaking research across a range of scientific disciplines. These partnerships enable university attachments; new collaborations, particularly in clinical and physical sciences disciplines; career development and networking opportunities.