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.
Professional positions
Director, Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge
Interest and expertise
Subject groups
Biochemistry and molecular cell biology
Biochemistry and molecular biology, Cell biology (incl molecular cell biology)
Microbiology, immunology and developmental biology
Developmental biology, Genetics (excluding population genetics)