Professor Julie Ahringer FMedSci FRS

Julie Ahringer has made wide-ranging contributions to molecular genetics through her work on the nematode C. elegans. She carried out the first systematic inactivation of all the genes in any animal, which pioneered genome-wide reverse genetic screening.

Her research has illuminated our understanding of the processes underlying cell polarity and gene expression. This includes showing that spindle positioning is controlled by heterotrimeric G protein signalling, discovering a connection between chromatin marking and mRNA splicing, and most recently revealing mechanisms and principles of genome organisation and gene expression regulation.


Julie is the Director and a Senior Group Leader of the Gurdon Institute, a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and a member of EMBO.  She received the Royal Society Francis Crick Lecture Prize and the Genetics Society of America's George W. Beadle Award.

Subject groups

  • Molecules of Life

    Biochemistry and molecular biology, Cell biology (incl molecular cell biology)

  • Cell Biology

    Developmental biology, Genetics (excluding population genetics)

  • Patterns in Populations

    Evolution

Awards

  • Francis Crick Medal and Lecture

    On 'Genes, worms and the new genetics'.

Committees Participated Role
Sectional Committee 7: Cell Biology October 2023 - September 2026 Member
Research Appointment Panel B(ii) January 2022 - December 2024 Member