Azim Surani
Azim Surani | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1945 (age 80–81) |
| Alma mater | Plymouth University (BSc) University of Strathclyde (MSc) University of Cambridge (PhD) |
| Awards | Gabor Medal (2001) Royal Medal (2010) Mendel Lectures (2010) Gairdner Foundation International Award (2018)[1] Mendel Medal (2022) Kyoto Prize (2025) Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize (2026) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of Cambridge |
| Thesis | Modulation of Implanting Rat Blastocysts to Macromolecular Secretions of the Uterus (1975) |
| Doctoral advisor | Robert Edwards |
| Doctoral students | Kat Arney[2] |
| Other notable students | Anne Ferguson-Smith (postdoc)[3] |
| Website | www |
Azim Surani CBE FRS FMedSci[1] (born 1945 in Kisumu, Kenya) is a Kenyan-British developmental biologist who has been Marshall–Walton Professor at the Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute at the University of Cambridge since 1992, and Director of Germline and Epigenomics Research since 2013.[4][5]
Education
[edit | edit source]Surani was educated at Plymouth University (BSc),[when?] the University of Strathclyde (MSc)[6] and the University of Cambridge (PhD) where his research was supervised by Robert Edwards, who later won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.[1][6][7]
Career and research
[edit | edit source]Surani co-discovered mammalian genomic imprinting with Davor Solter[8] in 1984, and subsequently examined its mechanism and the functions of imprinted genes.[1] He later established the genetic basis for germ cell specification, using a single-cell analysis in mice.[1] This genetic network also initiates the unique resetting of the germline epigenome, including comprehensive erasure of DNA methylation towards re-establishing full genomic potency.[1] Epigenetic modifications and re-establishments of imprints then generate functional differences between parental genomes whilst aberrant imprints contribute to human disease.[1]
Surani's research is identifying key regulators of human germ line development and epigenome reprogramming, revealing differences between humans and mice attributable to their divergent pluripotent states and early postimplantation development.[1] He is also investigating transposable elements, host defence mechanisms, noncoding RNAs, and the potential for transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in mammals.[1]
Awards and honours
[edit | edit source]Surani has received several awards for his work including the Royal Medal (2010), the Gabor Medal (2001) and the Mendel Lectures (2010).[citation needed] He received the Canada Gairdner International Award, with Davor Solter, "For the discovery of mammalian genomic imprinting that causes parent-of-origin specific gene expression and its consequences for development and disease."[9] He won the Rosenstiel Award in 2006, with Solter and Mary Lyon, for "pioneering work on epigenetic gene regulation in mammalian embryos".[10] In 2025 he was awarded the Kyoto Prize in the category "Life Sciences".[11] For 2026 he is awarded the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize.[12]
External links
[edit | edit source]References
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- ^ Azim Surani publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database. (subscription required)
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- ^ Kyoto Prize 2025
- ^ Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize 2026
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