Crick Group Leader James Turner has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of his outstanding contribution to science.
The Royal Society Fellowship is made up of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from or living and working in the UK and the Commonwealth. Fellows are elected for life through a peer review process on the basis of excellence in science.
James is a Principal Group Leader and Assistant Research Director at the Crick. His lab study sex chromosomes and their impact on health and disease in men and women – the development, epigenetics, evolution and cell biology that underpins differences between sexes.
James is recognised for his contributions to mammalian sex chromosome biology. Among many achievements from his lab, he identified mechanisms causing infertility in the common sex chromosome abnormalities Turner syndrome (XO), Jacob syndrome (XYY) and Klinefelter syndrome (XXY), and devised the first therapeutic approaches to reverse germ cell loss in all three conditions.
James has also championed the use of marsupials to resolve unanswered questions in epigenetics, providing a comparative system with which to dissect how non-coding RNAs regulate gene expression.
Most recently, his team have used gene editing technology to create female-only and male-only mice litters with 100% efficiency. Their method could be used to improve animal welfare in scientific research and perhaps also agriculture, by reducing culling in both industries.
“It's a huge honour to be joining the fellows of the Royal Society,” said James. “This Fellowship is a reflection of the many talented people I have worked with during my career, especially my fantastic lab team.”
Paul Nurse, Director of the Crick, said: “Many congratulations to James for this well-deserved recognition of his contribution to the field of genetics and wider biomedical research. Not only is James an outstanding researcher but also a valued science leader at the Crick.”
