Michael Ferguson

Sir Mike Ferguson is Regius Professor of Life Sciences and Associate Dean of Research Strategy at the University of Dundee. Mike believes in the fundamental importance of interdisciplinary research and is particularly interested in Translational Research. He led the construction of the Discovery Centre, which he directs and is also Director of the Dundee Proteomics Facility that supports work within the School of Life Sciences and clinical biomarker discovery projects with colleagues at the School of Medicine.

As a member of the Board of Governors of the Wellcome Trust, Mike works with his colleagues to maintain and develop a portfolio of activities dedicated to “extraordinary improvements in health by supporting bright minds”. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the MMV and scientific advisory boards for the Structural Genomics Consortium and the Crick Institute.

Together with Professor Alan Fairlamb and other colleagues, Mike established the Drug Discovery Unit in 2006 following successful awards from the SFC in 2005 to set up a Scottish facility for compound screening and from the Wellcome Trust to turn this into a full drug discovery facility. Mike continues to be an ambassador for the Unit through his role as Director and is a member of the Discovery Portfolio SAB.

Mike’s personal research takes a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the biochemistry of protozoan parasites that cause tropical diseases. He has published over 250 peer reviewed research papers and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Fellow of the Royal Society of London, and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and a member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation. He was also made a Commander of the British Empire for services to science in 2008, awarded a Royal Medal by The Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2013 and appointed first Regius Professor of Life Sciences by the Queen in 2013.