Jump to content

Azim Surani

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Azim Surani
CBEFRSFMedSci
Born1945 (age 78–79)
Kisumu,Kenya
Alma materPlymouth University(BSc)
University of Strathclyde(MSc)
University of Cambridge(PhD)
AwardsGabor Medal(2001)
Royal Medal(2010)
Mendel Lectures(2010)
Gairdner Foundation International Award(2018)[1]
Mendel Medal(2022)
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Cambridge
ThesisModulation of Implanting Rat Blastocysts to Macromolecular Secretions of the Uterus(1975)
Doctoral advisorRobert Edwards
Doctoral studentsKat Arney[2]
Other notable studentsAnne Ferguson-Smith(postdoc)[3]
Websitewww.gurdon.cam.ac.uk/research/surani

Azim SuraniCBEFRSFMedSci[1](born 1945 in Kisumu,Kenya) is a Kenyan-British developmental biologist who has been Marshall–Walton Professor at theWellcome Trust/Cancer Research UKGurdon Instituteat theUniversity of Cambridgesince 1992, and Director of Germline and Epigenomics Research since 2013.[4][5]

Education[edit]

Surani was educated atPlymouth University(BSc),[when?]theUniversity of Strathclyde(MSc)[6]and the University of Cambridge (PhD) where his research was supervised byRobert Edwards,who later won theNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.[1][6][7]

Career and research[edit]

Surani co-discovered mammaliangenomic imprintingwithDavor Solter[8]in 1984, and subsequently examined its mechanism and the functions of imprinted genes.[1]He later established the genetic basis forgerm cellspecification, using asingle-cell analysisin mice.[1]This genetic network also initiates the unique resetting of thegermlineepigenome,including comprehensive erasure ofDNA methylationtowards re-establishing full genomic potency.[1]Epigenetic modifications and re-establishments of imprints then generate functional differences between parental genomes whilst aberrant imprints contribute tohuman disease.[1]

Surani's research is identifying key regulators of humangerm line developmentand epigenome reprogramming, revealing differences between humans and mice attributable to their divergentpluripotentstates and early postimplantation development.[1]He is also investigatingtransposable elements,host defence mechanisms,noncoding RNAs,and the potential for transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in mammals.[1]

Awards and honours[edit]

Surani has received several awards for his work including theRoyal Medal(2010), theGabor Medal(2001) and theMendel Lectures(2010).[citation needed]He received theCanada Gairdner International Award,withDavor 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 theRosenstiel Awardin 2006, with Solter andMary Lyon,for "pioneering work on epigenetic gene regulation in mammalian embryos".[10]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefghi"Professor Azim Surani".royalsociety.org.London:Royal Society.1990. Archived fromthe originalon 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 underCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License."--"Terms, conditions and policies | Royal Society".Archived from the original on 11 November 2016.Retrieved30 August2017.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^Arney, Katharine Luisa (2002).Epigenetic modification in the mouse zygote and regulation of imprinted genes(PhD thesis). University of Cambridge.OCLC894595629.
  3. ^Ferguson-Smith, A. C.; Cattanach, B. M.; Barton, S. C.; Beechey, C. V.; Surani, M. A. (1991). "Embryological and molecular investigations of parental imprinting on mouse chromosome 7".Nature.351(6328): 667–670.Bibcode:1991Natur.351..667F.doi:10.1038/351667a0.ISSN0028-0836.PMID2052093.S2CID4233463.Closed access icon
  4. ^Azim Suranipublications indexed by theScopusbibliographic database.(subscription required)
  5. ^"Azim Surani — The Gurdon Institute".Gurdon.cam.ac.uk.Retrieved29 August2017.
  6. ^abMcFarlane, Alan (2009)."Azim Surani interviewed by Alan Macfarlane".alanmacfarlane.Archived fromthe originalon 6 March 2016.
  7. ^Surani, M. A. H. (1975).Modulation of Implanting Rat Blastocysts to Macromolecular Secretions of the Uterus.ethos.bl.uk(PhD thesis). University of Cambridge.OCLC500574338.
  8. ^Anne C. Ferguson-Smith; Deborah Bourc'his (2018)."The discovery and importance of genomic imprinting".eLife.7:e42368.doi:10.7554/eLife.42368.PMC6197852.PMID30343680.
  9. ^"Gairdner Awards 2018 Laureates | Gairdner Foundation".Gairdner Foundation.Retrieved21 September2018.
  10. ^"Past Winners".Brandeis University.Retrieved25 March2019.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Azim_Surani&oldid=1187879554"