Wendy Bickmore

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Wendy Bickmore
Wendy Bickmore Royal Society (cropped).jpg
Bickmore in 2017
Born (1961-07-28) 28 July 1961 (age 63)
Education Chichester High School for Girls [1]
Alma mater
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
Thesis Molecular analysis of DNA sequences from the human Y chromosome
Doctoral advisor Howard Cooke [3]
Website ed.ac.uk/mrc-human-genetics-unit/research/bickmore-group

Wendy Anne Bickmore (born 28 July 1961) [1] is a British genome biologist known for her research on the organisation of genomic material in cells.

Contents

Early life and education

Bickmore was born at Shoreham-by-Sea on 28 July 1961 to Beryl and Keith Bickmore. [1] She was educated at Chichester High School for Girls [1] where her interest in science began being influenced by her biology teacher and her parents who were keen amateur gardeners. Her interest in biochemistry was confirmed having read ‘The Chemistry of Life’ by Steven Rose [4] and she went on to study biochemistry at St Hugh's College, Oxford [5] graduating with a BA. She then undertook a PhD at the University of Edinburgh analysing nucleic acid sequences from the Y chromosome of humans. [6] Her supervisors were Howard Cooke [3] and Adrian Bird. [7] She was an independent fellow at the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine from 1991 until 1996. [8]

Research and career

Her work has focused on how DNA, chromosomes and specific genes are organised and packaged in the cell nucleus, [9] how this process is regulated during development to facilitate the expression of genes, and how aberrant genome organisation is linked to disease. [10] [11] [12] [13]

In 2020, she was recognised for her research examining the likelihood that people will develop serious symptoms of the COVID-19 disease. [14]

Bickmore was president of The Genetics Society from 2015 until 2018. [15]

As of 2021, she is director of the MRC Human Genetics Unit at the University of Edinburgh. [16] [8]

She is a member of the editorial board for Genes & Development . [17]

Selected publications

Awards and honours

Bickmore was awarded EMBO Membership in 2001, [2] elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) in 2005 [1] and elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2005 (FMedSci). [18] She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2017. [19] She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to biomedical sciences and women in science. [20]

Personal life

She is a member of the organisation Trees for Life which is working to restore the forest in the Highlands of Scotland. [21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bickmore, Prof. Wendy Anne" . Who's Who . A & C Black. 2022. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U274935.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. 1 2 Anon (2001). "EMBO member: Wendy Bickmore". people.embo.org. Heidelberg.
  3. 1 2 Bickmore, Wendy Anne (1986). Molecular analysis of DNA sequences from the human Y chromosome (PhD thesis). University of Edinburgh. hdl:1842/10808. EThOS   uk.bl.ethos.375478. Lock-green.svg
  4. Rose, Steven P. R. (Steven Peter Russell), 1938- (1979). The chemistry of life. Sanderson, Cath (2nd ed.). Harmondsworth: Penguin. ISBN   0-14-020790-2. OCLC   6426479.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. St Hugh's College Chronicle 2015–16 (PDF). St Hugh's College, Oxford. 2016. p. 41.
  6. Bickmore, Wendy Anne (1986). Molecular analysis of DNA sequences from the human Y chromosome (Thesis). OCLC   606140886.
  7. Bickmore, Wendy A.; Bird, Adrian P. (1992). "Use of restriction endonucleases to detect and isolate genes from mammalian cells". Recombinant DNA Part G. Methods in Enzymology. Vol. 216. pp.  224–244. doi:10.1016/0076-6879(92)16024-e. ISBN   9780121821173. PMID   1336093.
  8. 1 2 Wendy Bickmore "Wendy Bickmore website". 15 January 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  9. "Prof Wendy Bickmore – Packing DNA". thenakedscientists.com. 4 August 2013.
  10. "wendy bickmore". Archived from the original on 3 April 2009.
  11. Pritchard-Jones, Kathryn; Fleming, Stewart; Davidson, Duncan; Bickmore, Wendy; Porteous, David; Gosden, Christine; Bard, Jonathan; Buckler, Alan; Pelletier, Jerry (1990). "The candidate Wilms' tumour gene is involved in genitourinary development". Nature. 346 (6280): 194–197. Bibcode:1990Natur.346..194P. doi:10.1038/346194a0. PMID   2164159. S2CID   4350729.
  12. Croft, Jenny A.; Bridger, Joanna M.; Boyle, Shelagh; Perry, Paul; Teague, Peter; Bickmore, Wendy A. (1999). "Differences in the Localization and Morphology of Chromosomes in the Human Nucleus". Journal of Cell Biology . 145 (6): 1119–1131. doi:10.1083/jcb.145.6.1119. ISSN   0021-9525. PMC   2133153 . PMID   10366586.
  13. Fraser, Peter; Bickmore, Wendy (2007). "Nuclear organization of the genome and the potential for gene regulation". Nature . 447 (7143): 413–417. Bibcode:2007Natur.447..413F. doi:10.1038/nature05916. PMID   17522674. S2CID   4388060.
  14. "New Year Honours: who from Herefordshire has been recognised?". Hereford Times. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  15. "History". Genetics Society. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  16. Wendy Bickmore ORCID   0000-0001-6660-7735
  17. "Genes & Development -- Genes & Development Editorial Board". genesdev.cshlp.org. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  18. "Professor Wendy Bickmore FRS FRSE FMedSci". acmedsci.ac.uk.
  19. Anon (2017). "Wendy Bickmore FRS". London: royalsociety.org.
  20. "No. 63218". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2020. p. N8.
  21. Wimmer, Doris. "Wendy Bickmore". ESHG Conference 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2021.