Chris Higgins (academic)

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Christopher Francis Higgins
Born (1955-06-24) 24 June 1955 (age 69) [1]
Residence Durham, England
Nationality British
Fields Genetics
Institutions Durham University
University of Oxford
Imperial College London
University of Dundee
Alma mater Royal College of Music
Durham University
Thesis Peptide transport by embryos of germinating barley, Hordeum vulgare (1979)
Doctoral advisor John W. Payne[2][3][4]
Notable awards FRSE
FMedSci
EMBO member
FRSA
Children Five
Website
www.dur.ac.uk/vice.chancellor

Christopher Francis Higgins FRSE FRSA FMedSci (born 24 June 1955) is a British molecular biologist, geneticist, academic and scientific advisor. He was the Vice-Chancellor of Durham University from 2007 to 2014. He took early retirement on the 30 September 2014, following a discussion at Senate on limiting the powers of the Vice Chancellor.[5] He was previously the director of the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre and Head of Division in the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London.

Early life

Higgins was born on 24 June 1955 in Cambridge, England.[1][6] He studied botany at Grey College, Durham University, graduating with a first class degree in 1976.[7] He was awarded a PhD in 1979 for his study of peptide transporters in the embryos of germinating Barley.[3][4][8] Working at University of Dundee, his focus turned to genetics and cell biology.

Career

Higgins was appointed Nuffield Professor of Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Oxford. He has published over 200 papers in leading scientific journals like Nature[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Science[22][23] and Cell.[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]

In April 2007, he was appointed Vice-Chancellor of Durham University. He succeeded Sir Kenneth Calman and became the universities 23rd Vice-Chancellor.[8] He took early retirement on the 30 September 2014, following a discussion at Senate on limiting the powers of the Vice Chancellor.[5]

Higgins has been recognised by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) as a 'Most Highly Cited' author. Further awards have been the CIBA Medal, Fleming Prize, and a Howard Hughes International Scholarship [33] along with election to Fellow of the European Molecular Biology Organization, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Royal Society of Arts and the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Alongside his academic success, Professor Higgins has also served as a scientific advisor for the House of Lords Select Committee on Stem Cell Research and advisor to the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology. At present Higgins is the chair of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee, International Review Panel, DKFZ (German National Cancer Centre, Heidelberg) and a trustee of the Kennedy Institute for Rheumatology.

Personal life

Higgins is not currently married, although he has been married twice. He has five daughters, two from his first marriage and three from the second.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.(subscription required)
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Durham welcomes new Vice Chancellor Durham University; 14-04-2007; accessed 23-04-2007
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ http://www.hgc.gov.uk/Client/Content.asp?ContentId=707 Human Genetics Commission Website
Academic offices
Preceded by Warden and Vice-Chancellor of Durham University
2007–September 2014		 Succeeded by
Stuart Corbridge
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