Andrew Wilkie (geneticist)

Andrew Oliver Mungo Wilkie (born 14 September 1959)[1] FRS[4] is a clinical geneticist who has been the Nuffield professor of Pathology at the University of Oxford since 2003.[4][5]

Andrew Wilkie
Born	Andrew Oliver Mungo Wilkie 14 September 1959[1]
Education	University of Cambridge University of Oxford
Awards	FMedSci (2002)[2] EMBO member (2006)[3] FRS (2013)[4]
Scientific career
Fields	Medical genetics
Institutions	University of Oxford
Website	ndcls.ox.ac.uk/researchers/researcher/andrew-wilkie

Education

Wilkie was educated at Arnold School, Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1980 and a Master of Arts degree in 1984.[1] He moved to Merton College, Oxford where he was awarded a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree in 1983 and subsequently a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1992.[1]

Research

Wilkie's research investigates genetic disorders affecting the skull and limbs, especially craniosynostosis[6] – premature fusion of the sutures of the skull. He identified the gene mutation responsible for Apert syndrome and the molecular pathways underlying this and other craniosynostosis conditions. These results have led to many clinical diagnostic tests.[4][7]

Wilkie's discovery that the mutation causing Apert syndrome was more common than expected led him to develop the 'selfish selection' theory, which states that there is a proliferation or survival advantage for some mutations in the testis. Over time, sperm-generating cells carrying such mutations become prevalent, explaining why some conditions are more common in children born to older fathers.[4]

Wilkie demonstrated that the Ras molecular pathway, the common factor in paternal age effect conditions, is also important in the development of nerves and tumours. Consequently, his work has implications for other diseases, including autism and cancer.[4] His research has been funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC).[8]

Awards and honours

Wilkie was elected member of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2002,[2] the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in 2006[3] and a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2013.[4]

Personal life

Wilkie is the son of Douglas Robert Wilkie FRS.[1][9]

References

1. "WILKIE, Prof. Andrew Oliver Mungo". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2016 (online Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. (subscription or UK public library membership required) (subscription required)
2. "Professor Andrew Wilkie FRS FMedSci". London: Academy of Medical Sciences. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016.
3. "Andrew Wilkie, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK". Heidelberg: EMBO. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016.
4. "Professor Andrew Wilkie FMedSci FRS". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where:

   "All text published under the heading 'Biography' on Fellow profile pages is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License." --"Royal Society Terms, conditions and policies". Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2016.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

5. "Prof Andrew OM Wilkie FRS FMedSci FRCP". Oxford: University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016.
6. Wilkie, Andrew O. M. (1997). "Craniosynostosis: genes and mechanisms". Human Molecular Genetics. 6 (10): 1647–1656. doi:10.1093/hmg/6.10.1647. PMID 9300656.
7. Andrew Wilkie's publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database. (subscription required)
8. "UK government grants awarded to Andrew Wilkie". Swindon: Research Councils UK. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016.
9. Woledge, R. C. (2001). "Douglas Robert Wilkie. 2 October 1922 – 21 May 1998: Elected F.R.S. 1971". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 47 (0): 481–495. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2001.0029. PMID 15124650.