Benjamin Blencowe

Ben Blencowe was born in London and raised both in London and Vancouver. He studied microbiology and molecular biology at Imperial College London, where he received a BSc (hons). He undertook PhD research in the group of Professor Angus Lamond at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, as an external student of the University of London. Ben then joined the laboratory of Professor Phillip Sharp (Nobel Laureate) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a Human Frontier Science Program Long-Term Fellow. He was subsequently recruited to the University of Toronto where he is currently Professor of Molecular Genetics, Banbury Chair in Medical Research and Canada Research Chair in RNA Biology and Genomics. He also serves as the Director of the University of Toronto’s Donnelly Sequencing Centre. Ben is additionally appointed as part-time Professor of RNA Biology and Genomics at the Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King’s College London, and Joint-Group Leader (with Professor Jernej Ule) at the Francis Crick Institute. 

Ben is internationally recognized for his contributions to the field of RNA Biology. By pioneering the development and application of high-throughput RNA profiling technologies, he and his colleagues discovered and characterised entire landscapes of alternative splicing regulation in diverse cell types, species, and disease states. These and other studies provided fundamental insight into the complexity, mechanisms, and evolution of alternative splicing. His research has further revealed pivotal roles for alternative splicing in the control of stem cell pluripotency and neurogenesis, and has demonstrated how its mis-regulation represents a convergent mechanism linked to autism spectrum disorder. Ben has received numerous awards and honours, including the Premier of Ontario Research Excellence Award (1999), Canadian Society of Molecular Biosciences Senior Investigator Award (2011), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada John C. Polanyi Award (2011), and the Canadian RiboClub Life Achievement Award (2019). Ben was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2017, and Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 2019.